Acer to pass Dell, near HP in 2010

Acer president Gianfranco Lanci at a press conference today predicted that his company would "finally pass" Dell for market share within six months. The company lead expects to have more overall share than Dell by the end of winter 2010 and credits it directly to better sales and the resulting financial health. Where Dell has seen falling profits, Acer expects its profit during the summer to have grown 14 percent compared to a year earlier, to about $106.8 million.

The economic slowdown isn't considered a factor by Lanci, who instead views home buyers as engaging in just the opposite behavior and buying replacement systems more often. He also believes Acer will close the gap with current leader HP, though not replace it.

Acer's accelerated growth began in earnest with its buyouts of Gateway and Packard Bell in October 2007 but has been helped by the rise of netbooks, which unlike at Dell or HP form a significant part of its business. Most of its higher-powered systems are still oriented towards budget models and may have fed customers to the company this year as many opted for less expensive systems.

By Electronista Staff