Acer Chairman optimistic about Windows 8 and the future of Ultrabooks

[Shawn Knight]

Acer is optimistic about the second half of 2012 as the launch of Windows 8 slowly approaches. The company is hoping the operating system paired with new Ultrabooks will help the world’s fourth largest PC vendor by shipments (and the industry in general) regain some lost ground.

Trouble started last year when the company was unable to successfully counter the popularity of Apple’s iPad, a product that’s spawned an entirely new market that’s cut into notebook revenue among all manufacturers. Former Acer CEO Gianfranco Lanci ultimately resigned in March 2011 following irreconcilable differences with board members about Acer’s ongoing strategy.

During a recent investor call, Acer Chairman J.T. Wang said that he believed Acer’s competitiveness is coming back and before long, his company should regain the number three spot from Dell.

Ultrabooks as a whole have yet to take the industry by storm as some expected. Wang says that an inadequate marketing effort by the whole PC industry and the high prices of Ultrabooks are to blame. Acer has taken action to make Ultrabooks more affordable, including selling the Aspire S3 base model for $799, a break-even price for the company.

The Taiwanese computer giant is planning to release four new models in the second quarter at which time shipments are expected to double. Acer shipped 200,000 Ultrabooks in the quarter ending March 31, down from 260,000 during the fourth quarter. The Chairman expects global PC shipments to grow by double digits by 2013 following slow growth last year and thus far in 2012.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/48370-acer-chairman-optimistic-about-windows-8-and-the-future-of-ultrabooks.html

 

[amstech]

The world will switch to Ultrabooks at thier own pace.
As in, when they need a new laptop.

Most people aren't going to switch just because they are thinner and lighter.
As far as Acer, I like them. They make good products, but they don't have the track record and quality associated with thier name like DELL does.

DELL's XPS laptop's are very popular and helping them gain ground with users again.
DELL is also going where the real core of the industry is, which is business/enterprise networking.
They aren't so concerned with the basic user anymore.

No service tag? No help.

 

[psycros]

So their selling an Aspire S3 at cost. How exactly will that help move ultrabooks? A handful of people who might otherwise not have upgraded their laptops will buy them at $799...and that's what they'll expect ultras to cost form that point on. Why can't the industry see what the customer so clearly can? The mass market will support three types of mobile computers: Dirt-cheap netbooks, high-end laptops with GPUs good enough for last year's games and - wait for it - <b>tablets with hideaway keyboards/cursor controls</b>. YES, I mean attached, always-available keyboards, not stupid docks and other expensive s#*t that nobody except iSheep will pay for. That's the only way you get real interest in a non-Apple tablet. Whoever has the guts to produce something like a big HTC Tilt 2 with a trackpad and decent specs, and the smarts to price it at under $450, will see terrific volume.

 

[oldikes]

am i the only person that likes a thicker, more durable laptop (not as in shockproof, but as in a standard laptop)?

 

[captaincranky]

am i the only person that likes a thicker, more durable laptop (not as in shockproof, but as in a standard laptop)?

You're asking the wrong person here, as I don't even like laptops.......Surely you gotta admit, them thar skinny, made outta tinfoil lappys, makes ya look swavey an' dee-boy-ner, so's ya stands a better chance o' pickin' up gurlz..........

 

[Marnomancer]

That's so colony-esque....