Acer's President
Gianfranco Lanci is talking some
big talk these days, but not completely without reason. The Taiwan-based computer manufacturer says it does not expect to see a decline in revenue this year over last, meaning that it should clear somewhere in the realm of $17 billion -- its 2008 revenue figure. Much of the good news (and sales) hails from Asia, where retail markets have not been as hard hit by the economic insanity of the last year. Moreover, Lanci also said that with these figures, Acer "can finally pass
Dell" sometime between this quarter and the next. He also added that the company expects to "breach the gap with
HP" when it comes to notebooks, netbooks, and smartphones. So... that means we can expect a ton of
Acers this year, right? Right.
Update: Well,
that was fast.
posted Oct 14th 2009 11:24AM
We sell more crappy PCs than Dell. And we don't make much money while doing that. But that kind of number is really what's important, right?
Not that we make the world a better place. Or that we make a good profit margin for our stockholders and long-term future. We make more computers that end up in landfills much faster than better-built computers.
What an accomplishment. /sarcasm
cool story Gianfranco, but Acer sucks...
We're losing money on every unit, but we'll make it up in volume!!!
Acer now owns Gateway which also stinks on ice. I had a Gateway tablet PC and the thing overheated so much, the hard drive failed, the screen failed, the keyboard failed, finally after spending endless hours on the phone they agreed to give me back 50% of the money I paid.
To beat Acer in Asia, Dell and HP need to unite and become:
HellP. Giving Help to Asia. Giving Hell to Acer.
The Acer build quality is absolutely rubbish. I would pick an HP or Dell any day of the week over a cheap flimsy Acer.
@Sax25
If you care about build quality, why would you touch anything with any of those brand names? I've always considered the likes of HP, Dell, and Acer to be on par all around (with the possible exception of business-class laptops).
Wow, I can't believe how much ignorance there is on a site like Engadget over the quality of Acer products. Check out the latest reader surveys in PCMag. You can view them for free (although you have to register). The subjective reliability rating of Acer/Gateway is just as good as Dell, Toshiba, Lenovo, and better than HP (which has been tanking in recent years). Not only that, its percentage needing repair is 12%, which is lower than Lenovo (22%), Dell (23%), and HP (19%) that so I would quit perpetuating your outdated opinions. The only companies that had better reliability based on those 2 metrics are Asus. Sony, and Apple, and they are often in a difference price range.
With respect to build quality, please go to your local store to check out the laptop section of the HPs, Acers, Dells and Toshibas there. The latest few Acer laptops I checked out were cheaper, faster, and used higher quality plastics than the HPs in the same price range. I don't know what laptops you guys have been looking at lately. I just bought a gateway and the internal components are what you find in any other laptop. It also runs cool, which isn't something I can say for my last laptop that HP decided could handle a hot AMD processor fit into a tiny space.
Acer uses the same ODM and OEMs as HP, Dell, and Lenovo, so there is no reason to bias that Acer computers have poor quality, all the Acers I've seen and used are as solid as any other brand. Laptops from these brands are probably built on parallel assembly lines under the same roof in a Foxconn factory in Kunshan anyway.
Have 3 acer products. A 23" screen, projector and a 5 year old acer laptop and none have failed. Where as my dell laptop of the same age has had the battery leak out and has just recently developed a short on the mainboard making it useless, you wanna talk to me about build quality, boy?
Acer will never overtake HP until they rebuff their image as "the laughing stock of the business market." I deal with larger business on a daily basis, and most of them would rather go back to the abacus than put Acer in their environment.
But abacus make business man look smart?
Sorry Acer, not before Apple does. Nobody wants your hideous hunks of ginormous flimsy plastic uglifying desks and coffee shops around the world. Shudders at the thought.
if Apple has less than 10% of the market how do you expect them to overtake companies with a 30 or 40% share?
Not sure if Apple will ever overtake any major computer ranking, because they are not as popular as their owners think they are; But I think Acer has a good chance especially since they have been buying up companies such as Gateway and have a lot of hidden sales because of name loyalty to many the brands they now own.
MaX PL: Reality Distortion Field?
Like Newton, my dear friend, I think you have been hit by an Apple in the head.
Unlike Newton, the Apple has distorted your sense of reality and common sense.
Apple?? Surely you cant be that delusional...
well it would seem that high is in fact high
Go Acer!!!
To counter the mass of negative.
I'm using Acer laptop BTW and love it much more than HP laptop. I shouldn't mention Acer has better hardware and smaller price, should I?
go grammar?
^ Acer laptops don't have grammar check.
Same here. I've put this thing through a lot of abuse over the past 4 years and everything still works.
> Acer laptops don't have grammar check.
There is a good spell check program Spell Check Anywhere (SpellCheckAnywhere.Com). It works in all programs, including web, and blogs. It includes an optional grammar check.
I'm not sure Acer being poorly made is the case anymore, I've had several Acer products over the past years and they have all performed very well. They pretty much have the world covered with the exception of the US. I suspect that was due to their products quality over 15 years ago. We are a spiteful country. I finally gave them another chance and haven't been let down.
Acer computers aren't any more poorly made than any other computer using the same oem parts. Retail brand end-build is totally irrelevant and there's no reason to think that Acer uses junky hardware any more than any other PC brand.
My experience with an Acer laptop has also been positive.
I think that when it comes to prebuilt PCs it's mostly just about support, choosing components that work and the software which comes preinstalled. There's no additional magic to it. That's why a company that can do that for cheap (like Acer) is destined to succed.
I've only owned one Acer and it was the worst computer ever. I bought the computer last year and it was nothing but trouble. Acer sent me an email telling me I needed to install a bios update or else my lan would stop working. wtf? I installed the update and then my audio over hdmi died. I struggled with that for weeks and then the thing just started rebooting spontaneously. So I went to reinstall with the disks that the acer assistant had me create for a system restore and they didn't work! Wtf? Then acer charged me 40 bucks for a replacement that their utility failed to make correctly. I reinstalled the OS and dumped the turd. Horrible, horrible computer. Then Best Buy stopped carrying the model that I had because of complaints and too many returned. acer is crap.
It is always possible to come across a lemon model with any mass produced electronic and/or mechanical product. I don't think there is a company out there with a 100% clean record.
That is interesting Acer would state your ethernet port would stop working. I really don't think that would happen on it's own. Most likely they came across a Windows update that when applied, caused a conflict to happen resulting in the ethernet port going down.
In my experience, Windows updates can often lead to unwanted/unexpected outcomes. When I used to use Windows, I always combed through the update list before blindly downloading/installing them.(It seems they always want to sneak things in there) Not to say that is what is going on with you; I just wouldn't be surprised is all because of Microsoft's fault, not your own. All just speculation though.
I wonder why Asia has not been "as hard hit" in the last year.
Maybe it is because we are giving them all of our damn business....
Good luck with that Acer, having worked for a company that made the mistake of ordering about 1000 of your 4xxx series TravelMate laptops I wish you luck in your endeavor to overtake number 2. We are still trying to figure out what to do with all of these makeshift boat anchors.
I've got a quad-core AMD box from Acer sitting under my desk as we speak (type). Although it has performed somewhat admirably, it has also featured some very funky quirks -- like freezing for a few moments when I open particular media files/applications. Never had another computer do that, and this is after multiple OSes, different harddrive, etc..
It's very strange, and I'm chomping at the bit to move along from this machine. I was taken in by Acer's low price, but I don't think I'd recommend their stuff at this point.
Have you tried a new video card?
I think they aren't so much overtaking dell as much as that dell is straggling behind, it really seems someone let the steam out of dell, even the tv shows don't have dell logo's on all computers screens anymore.
smallville?
Don't know what shows you watch, but I still see lots of Dells. The Big Bang Theory has a prominent XPS laptop. Smallville doesn't have the Alienwares anymore, but still have Dells. That's two I know of right off.
Though during Atlantis, Stargate quit using Dell-branded tablets that Dell didn't make...
Good for them
Acer already most likely surpasses Dell due to all the OEM work they do, this is just Acer *branded* computers. I love how people will talk smack on Acer and Asus or Foxconn and then talk up their Apple or whatever "brand" computer which is made with OEM components from said companies. Just like people who swear by one LCD brand or another... when most brands buy the panels from the same handful of makers.
But it's not just a matter of, "they all come from the same source so there's no difference", it's a matter of how well that product was designed before it was sent for production. It's all those smart or dumb hardware choices based on financial grounds that make the difference between the longevity and durability of computers from two different companies which are produced by the same manufacturer.
I think Acer is improving its game, I am very impressed with its netbook killer, the 1410 here in the U.S, great specs and price to match. I'm also impressed with some of their designs like the Gemstones and Timelines.
Go Acer!
DELL > Acer on my humble opinion
Um..no. people don't know of the acer brand until they start their research, which most consumers don;t do. HP, Dell,Apple, and to a lesser degree Sony enjoy 'I know that brand makes computer' recognition. IBM also, but less so i think amongst 20 somethings
Acer overtake Dell 2.0? Wow! Them's fighting words!
My own experiences with Acer have been mixed. I bought an Acer in December 2006 when (much like now) free upgrades to the next new version of Windows (then Vista) were available. The notebook I got was a much better value than anyone else's offerings - that I liked. Someone else I knew had had an Acer laptop, which was reassuring. And Acer, at least in an unscientific Google search on "(name of computer maker) complaints", had fewer hits than Dell, which helped close the deal for me. The machine itself was reasonably attractive.
Once I got it, though, I would eventually be disappointed. Within 6 months there were problems with startup and I wound up sending the unit back a total of 4 times (paying my own shipping to get it to Temple, TX where Acer's repair facility is).
When my economic stimulus check arrived mid-2008, I went out and bought an HP notebook instead. I haven't regretted it. Although I would have to say HP has done a better job on their notebook construction, visual appeal and pricing in recent years. I think they're a bigger threat to Dell than Acer.
While I do believe Dell 2.0 (this is with CEO Michael Dell at the helm since his departure years ago) makes decent machines, when I see them at retailers selling at prices above similarly equipped HP machines, I just shake my head. HP gets it - style, performance, price AND quality are what customers want. I don't think Acer or Dell quite get that yet.
Watching Acer and Dell duke it out will be like watching two Division III schools play college football. Sure, it'll be competitive, but will the masses pay attention?
Well, I have had my Acer Aspire 5100 for a bit over a year now and had to send it away TWICE for repairs. NOT impressed.
omg twice?? That's that's twice as much as once!
Yes, everyone. Lets cheer for the most mediocre and boring PC maker in the market. Yay for cheap greyish boxes!
Just because you have to send a computer in for repair doesn't mean much...if it did DELL would be long dead...every dell I've had I had to get something on it replaced 5+. Especially my DELL XPS laptop going on 9 repairs.
Stay away from Acer. My wife lost her job because they took support from the US to India.......
they may be cheap but they become faulty VERY easily. If they could fix that then i'd definately recommend an acer, they have good spec and a good price but they break all the time. I don't know anyone who has had 1 for more than 3yrs without having a fault.
As I mentioned in another comment, PCMag surveys show that Acer is actually more reliable than both Dell and HP. Dell is worse than average (one confidence interval), and HP is significantly worse than average (2 confidence intervals), while Acer is within the average range along with Sony, Lenovo and Toshiba, while Asus and Apple are in the above average range for reliability. These surveys are freely accessible along with free registration. Check it out so you don't have to keep spreading misconceptions.
My sisters Aspire One processor was fried a while ago. Nuff said.
so im rooting for Asus.
go Asus!
I agree. I have an Asus Eeepc 900HA and an Asus G50V and I love them both.
My Acer 9420 laptop has been going strong for 3 years now with no problems. The only quirk is that the dvd slim drive front cover seems to pop off quite easily.
However, I have noticed that the Acer north america website is horribly slow, so I go to the Europe website to download the drivers and stuff.
My father bought an Acer at a very cheap price compared to other brands with similar specs. It's webcam wouldn't work. Spent a day with it and found some drivers for a different webcam/notebook combo that worked on the Acer. It was good...for six months. After the six month period, the notebook would randomly freeze and require a restart. My father dealt with it for a few weeks, and he noticed that whenever he would move the laptop, it would freeze. Reinstalled Vista three times and the problem persisted... It was definitely a hardware issue.
We decided to use the warranty to get it repaired. Waited on the phone for a REALLY long time to get a representative. The conversation with the representative was quick. He gave me the Repair number and address. Had to pay for shipping myself (not that big a deal). Sent it out and two weeks later it came back. It was the same laptop, but it had changed inside. The thing was snappier, ran cooler, ran quieter and was all around better. They doubled the size of one of the two hard drives as well. Had to do the webcam fix again. The repair list included motherboard, cpu etc. Since then, the laptop has been running strong and gone through much abuse. After the fix, my father was happier than ever with the Acer and he will be going for another one when this one gets too old.
A balanced and intelligent post about Acer customer service...on Engadget? Wow!
All these Acer bashing won't make Dell any better. I heard alot of
craps from Dell as well as HP. Computers are just computers.
Does it has something to do with our typical american bubblehead
arrogance?
Smartphones? So we're going to see Acer-branded smartphones on all the major carriers within the next year, and maybe within the next quarter or two?
To those of you who wonder how Apple can even come up in this discussion with less than 10% marketshare, you're confusing OS marketshare with devices sold.
In terms of annual sales, Apple, I believe is currently in fifth place for US marketshare, after recently dropping down from fourth.
They are slightly lower in worldwide sales.
No good statistical statement is valid though, without something to back it up:
http://www.electronista.com/articles/09/07/15/idc.prelim.q2.
Maybe Gianfranco Lanci will... make them an offer they cant refuse...
The only Acer laptop I've dealt with is the Acer Aspire 1410T; and I'd pick it over any netbook while gladly paying the premium over your typical 11"-12" netbook.
Getting a CULV under $500 in a machine that's pretty thin and sexy is tough to beat.
Take any Acer, wipe the drive and put Ubuntu on it. You'll never be happier(unless your really into gaming; Your stuck with Windows then. Sorry.)
Doesn't matter because both Dell and Acer make crappy products - (typed on my work's Dell Latitude)
The oldest computer in my house is an Acer 3000 series from 05 and it works better than a HP that is 1 year old & a 2 year old Dell.
Maybe I got one of the models that work; who knows but mines has been fine.
Acer Aspire 8920g with Blu Ray > Dell or Hp
I thought cheap price over quality build was the American way ever since Wal-Mart became the 'company that best represents America'.
I purchased a acer 15 yrs ago and It never worked for the three months I owned it. Finally had enough and returned it to the retailer who told me every one they had sold had been returned.
What can one say make sure you have a good warrenty with whoever you get! glenn
Kudos to Acer for working hard in the competitive PC world. Best of luck to the Taiwanese competitors. May you improve you quality and design standards thought out the end of the decade while keeping prices in check.
On a side note I think Samsung will work hard to grab market share. I mean they basically own the Ram industry as well they have great ability to create great displays. Samsung is also a leader in battery technology. If Samsung can start integrating these advantages into PCs,, look out industry.
Sad.... Is this all they can do? Announcing all the time that they will beat the competitors?
They just keep copy and copy and copy. Heart less and soul less companies: Acer, Gateway, Packardbell and emachine brothers and sisters...
Sad, soul less and arrogant..