Acer Expects 25-30% Notebook Shipments Growth in 2Q09

Acer has recently unveiled a considerable refresh of its portable computer lineup, also announcing two new all-in-one computer systems. The launch of the company's new 11.6-inch Aspire One netbook was one of the most anticipated releases, mainly due to the number of leaked details that had surfaced on the Internet, prior to the official announcement. However, Acer had a few tricks up its sleeve, one of which is now known as the Aspire Timeline, an ultrathin portable PC that is designed on Intel's consumer ULV notebook platform and which comes with an affordable price tag, compared to some of its established competitors. With the launch, Acer also expressed its expectations for the current year, as far as the notebook market is concerned.

According to the company's chairman, JT Wang, Acer is expecting its notebook shipments to grow 25-30% sequentially during the second quarter of this year, mostly thanks to the popularity of its latest netbooks and the new Timeline ultra-thin laptop series. Mr. Wang continued to express the company's opinion on the global PC market, saying that global PC shipments for this year would likely hold level due to the economic downturn. The global desktop shipments will drop 5-10% on year, while notebook shipments will see growth in the 35-40% figures, according to Wang's forecast.

He revealed that the company had managed to ship 20 million notebooks, eight million desktops and 16 million LCD monitors, all within the past year. Acer now expects that, for 2009, its global notebook shipments will grow another 2-3%, beyond its 17.7% share in 2008.

As far as the company's plans for its new products, users can expect about 20-30 models of the new Aspire Timeline series, including 11.6-inch, 13.3-inch, 14-inch and 15.6-inch form factors, all of which should be launched during the second quarter. In addition, by the end of this year, Acer is planning the launch of its third-generation Aspire netbook, which the company's is currently working on. The fourth generation should be launched in 2010.