14 DAY TRIAL // Acer Taiwan-based company considered following Dell's footsteps and included in its offer an Ubuntu-based machine. Despite the fact that the sales for the Ubuntu system went quite well in Asia, Acer said it would not release Linux-based machines for UK, Europe.
According to a statement an Acer official made for ZDNet.co.uk, Acer changed its mind in releasing a Linux-laptop for the UK, because of the lack of demand:
"Acer models with Ubuntu pre-loaded are available at the factory level. However, there is no demand for it in the UK. Therefore, those configurations are not an option [for UK customers] at the moment. If the demand was there, then Acer would sell it and such demand would have to be reported to Acer by its UK resellers "
Acer was the second, after Dell, to launch a Linux based system. Acer Aspire 5710Z, powered by an Ubuntu operating system is now on sale in Singapore. It seems that the idea of releasing Linux systems came to Acer as an alternative to the Vista-based ones, which weren't able to keep a good sales trend as it has been expected. Gianfranco Lanci, Acer president, stated for Financial Times Deutschland that "the whole PC industry is disappointed with Windows Vista". Lanci thinks the main reason why Microsoft's new operating system wasn't able to boost PC sales was the customers' concerns over its stability and overall maturity.
Acer company owns the largest franchised computer retail chain in Taiwan, Acerland. Acer's product lineup includes desktop and mobile PCs (laptops), servers and storage, displays, peripherals, and e-business solutions for business, government, education, and home users. Acer has also an Australian subsidiary, called Acer Computer Australia (ACA). This subsidiary has been set up in 1990, and is currently Australia's third largest personal computer vendor, behind Hewlett-Packard Australia and Dell Australia and New Zealand.