According to data from research firm iSuppli, Acer has taken the third largest PC maker spot from rival Lenovo, posting a 42.7 percent increase in shipments in the first quarter of 2007 compared to the same quarter last year. The Chinese computer maker Lenovo still leads in desktop PC shipments, but Acer's lead in notebooks helped it reach the number 3 spot overall.

"Acer has momentum, is competing aggressively, and its strong channel presence is clearly paying dividends for both desktop and notebook shipments," iSuppli analyst Matthew Wilkins said in a statement.
The Taiwan-based Acer took third place in worldwide notebook sales from Toshiba in the fourth quarter of 2006, and with its continued growth Acer now holds 6.8 percent of the global PC market just behind HP which continues to lead with 17.2 percent market share, followed by Dell at 14.4 percent. Although Acer is still far from taking second place, Dell was the only one of the top five shipments falling 6.8 percent since the first quarter of 2006.