Tue, Oct 13, 2009 page12

• Acer initiates worldwide recall of notebook lines

  WIRING PROBLEM Five different Aspire models have had problems with their speaker wires, which could overheat and melt under the pressure of users’ hands

  • By Jason Tan / STAFF REPORTER
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  Acer Inc (宏碁), the world’s ­second-biggest notebook brand, yesterday confirmed a worldwide voluntary recall of several models of its Aspire laptop, citing overheating problems.

  The company initiated a global recall on Friday on five models because of a fault with the wiring inside the laptops, Evans Chuang (莊怡歡), from Acer’s public relations department, told the Taipei Times yesterday.

  It has begun informing channel partners in Taiwan about the recall details and consumers can access the company’s Web site to determine if their products are affected, but declined to reveal how many units were expected to be recalled.

  The affected models are the Acer Aspire AS3410, AS3810T, AS3810TG, AS3810TZ and AS3810TZG. The issue is only valid for models manufactured before Sept. 15.

  “In the affected units, the microphone cable may overheat when extreme pressure is applied repeatedly to the left palm rest. As a result, the unit case may become deformed and the system may malfunction,” the company said on its Web site.

  Acer is therefore voluntarily instituting a safety recall program to proactively replace the microphone cable in the affected units to eliminate any risk of overheating, it said.

  Acer’s product advisory Web site allows customers to enter their laptop’s serial and identification numbers to check if their PCs require replacement.

  Separately, Acer announced yesterday third-quarter consolidated sales figures at NT$167 billion (US$5.2 billion), up 5 percent from the corresponding period last year and a rise of 40 percent over the second quarter.

  The company said in a statement that the worst of the recession was over and that its shipment would continue to post growth in the fourth quarter over the third.

  “Although shortages of key components such as optical disk drive, DDR III and 500GB HDD will likely continue, Acer remains confident to achieve 10 percent sequential sales growth in the fourth quarter,” Citigroup said in a report yesterday.

  One of the driving forces came from China, where Acer indicated that its market share should easily reach 10 percent by year’s end, from 8 percent in the first half of the year, the report said.

  “Acer has been leveraging its global franchise to gain market share in China. After the management reshuffle in China, Acer has further strengthened relationships with channel distributors,” Citigroup said.

  Sales contribution from smartphones — which will help increase Acer’s margin — will reach more than 10 percent in five years, up from contribution of three percent to 4 percent next year, it said.

  Acer’s shares edged down 0.2 percent to close at NT$82 in Taipei yesterday.
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