Acer Displaces Dell as #2 Computer Maker

Acer Aspire One

As of today, it is official, Acer has moved into second place in terms of global share of the PC market.  For the quarter ending September 30, according to Gardner Group here is the ranking:

1. HP (19.9%)
2. Acer (15.4%)
3. Dell (12.8%)
4. Lenovo (8.5%)
5. Toshiba (5.0%)

So while Michael Dell is bashing netbooks and wishing that customers would return to purchasing higher margin full-size laptops, Acer is embracing change and driving innovative products into the marketplace.

I also believe that Dell suffers from its senseless dedication to its direct sales model.  While Acer products are available from many merchants, Dell products are hard to find at merchant sites.  Dell still expects customers to order custom versions online and wait weeks for delivery.  Most of today’s customers won’t wait weeks for delivery.

Acer Liquid Smartphone

For example, Acer is preparing to introduce its Liquid smartphone which is based on Google’s Android operating system and a Snapdragon processor.  The Liquid smartphone has a WVGA touchscreen, HSPA connectivity and a 5-megapixel camera with autofocus, geo-tagging, ISO and a self-timer.

The exciting thing about the Liquid is the Snapdragon processor which is expected to provide smooth HD video and 3D graphics.

In addition, Acer is also introducing a new version of their Aspire One netbook which will sport both Android and Microsoft Windows in a dual boot arrangement.  The advantage of offering Android on the netbook, is fast boot access to do web browsing and email.

So, hats off to Acer!