Acer: High Hopes For Notebook, Netbook Shipments

JT Wang, chairman of Acer, believes that global PC shipments will stay level this year, DigiTimes reported. Wang said he expects the desktop market segment to dip 15 percent to 20 percent this year, but forecasts that notebook sales will climb.

Wang's remarks come as Acer introduced the Timeline series of notebooks at a New York event, saying it is betting on 8- to 10-hour battery life, thin profile and innovative cooling technology to woo customers.

According to Wang, Acer shipped 20 million notebooks and 8 million desktops in 2008, citing DigiTimes. The company said it plans to grow its notebook shipments an additional 2 percent to 3 percent for the year, adding to its 17.7 percent share of the market.

Acer's goal is to ship 26 million notebooks and 10 million netbooks in 2009, according to Wang. The new rollout of notebooks and netbooks across all of its brands—Acer, Gateway, Packard Bell and eMachines—is part of the computer manufacturer's multibrand strategy that targets customers based on research Acer compiled over the past year.

Wang believes that the emerging ultrathin notebook segment will comprise 50 percent of the notebook market by 2011, according to DigiTimes.

In the U.S., customers can expect to see the Acer-branded Timeline series of notebooks and Gateway-branded ID and ES series of notebooks, available in 13.3-, 14- and 15.6-inch sizes. To achieve the goal of shipping 10 million netbooks this year, Acer updated its offerings with the 10.1-inch and 11.6-inch Aspire One netbooks.