Acer Inc (宏碁) yesterday said it plans to begin selling its laptops and desktop computers running Google Inc’s Web-based Chrome operating system in Taiwan next week to broaden its product offering for the education and business markets.
The company’s 11.6-inch Chromebook is priced from NT$8,690 (US$286) and the larger 13.3-inch model costs NT$11,900, while prices for its Chromebox desktop PCs start from NT$7,990, Acer said.
The price of Acer’s Chromebox desktop PC is higher than Asustek Computer Inc’s (華碩) similar product, Chromebox CN60, that was also launched yesterday and priced at NT$5,999.
Photo: CNA
PRICE SENSITIVE
Samuel Chang (張世欣), director of Acer Taiwan’s marketing division, told a press briefing that Acer’s Chromebooks are designed to fit the demands of price-sensitive consumers, people who need a second computer, and the education and business sectors.
Last year, the company ranked as the world’s second-largest maker of Chromebook laptops, with a 21.4 percent market share, as the Taiwanese PC vendor offered low-cost, high-performance products in the category, research firm Gartner Inc said.
New data from market intelligence firm ABI Research shows that worldwide shipments of Chromebooks are forecast to reach 4.1 million units this year, almost double the 2.1 million units shipped last year.
TOP VENDORS
The top three Chromebook vendors — Acer, Samsung Electronics Co of South Korea and Hewlett-Packard Co of the US — accounted for 74 percent of shipments during the first half of the year, ABI Research said.
However, ABI Research said that the devices have had a slow start because of their “questionable need.”
Vertical markets such as elementary education have been a driving force behind Chromebooks, it said.
In emerging markets, especially in the Asia-Pacific region and eastern Europe, business-purchasing entities account for 75 percent of Chromebook sales, it said.
It forecast that North America would account for 78 percent of the Chromebook market this year, while other regions, especially the Asia-Pacific region and western Europe, are expected to grow in market share by 2019.
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