Acer Takes Dell's Spot as Number 2 PC Manufacturer Worldwide

We’ve all grown so accustomed to hearing hyperbole from CEOs that we dismiss most of what they say as wild, promotional claims. Of course, that makes it all the more surprising when Acer’s president claimed yesterday the company would be shipping more PCs than Dell “very soon,” and it turned out to be true. The next day!

He obviously should have appended that statement with a “No seriously, like tomorrow. I’m not kidding guys, stop snickering.”

Acer President Gianfranco Lanci made the claim turned truth at a news conference in London. PC sales research from two separate firms, Gartner and IDC, have confirmed Lanci’s prediction today, with Acer displacing Dell in the number 2 spot for worldwide shipments.

Let’s be very clear here; this is worldwide shipments, not worldwide sales. Acer has shipped the second highest number of PCs worldwide in the third quarter of this year. If we look at US shipments, Dell is still at number one, Hewlett-Packard is in second place, and Acer comes in third. But that’s still more market share than Apple or Toshiba in the US.

IDC disagrees with Gartners US rankings (the ones I quoted above), but both research groups agree on the worldwide shipment rankings and Acer’s second place spot. Acer owns Gateway, eMachines and Packard Bell, and all those shipments combined to give the company 15.4 percent market share in the third quarter, according to Gartner.

Acer’s success is mostly attributed to consumer preference for low-cost mobile PCs, like netbooks, in recent months. Acer, obviously, has a slew of netbook offerings which have appealed to consumers. Loren Loverde, program director for IDC's PC Tracker, said. “It's a pretty amazing transition in market leadership by Acer. It's reflective of the changes in form factors and channels and pricing--the way we've shifted to lower cost portables, particularly in consumer and retail, which is where Dell was not as strong.”

The third quarter sales results aren’t just good for Acer. For the first time in a year, PC shipments grew, meaning every manufacturer probably saw increased sales. The increase wasn’t fantastic, only 2 percent growth over a year ago, but these companies struggling to make do with ever thinner profit margins will be excited to see any amount of growth. Hopefully the boost can sustain them because IDC is expecting a 3 percent drop for this quarter.

It was good while it lasted, right guys?

For more tech news, see the blog home page or these related posts:

The Acer Android Netbook Goes Up for Sale

HP Mini 311 to Get Upgrades with Windows 7 Launch, Full NVIDIA ION Included

Toshiba Announces Windows 7 Laptops with Touchscreen Capability

Pics of B&N eBook Reader Leaked, Show Dual E-Ink/LCD Screen

Walmart to Offer $45 Unlimited Cellphone Plan, Worthless Phones