Acer said already swapping netbooks for tablets

Acer's shift to mobile may have taken an immediate effect on its production, part supplier insiders said Monday. Orders for its Aspire One netbooks are supposedly being gradually replaced with its Iconia Tab models this month, with the A500 now on sale at Best Buy. As many as 400,000 to 500,000 of the 10-inch touchscreens for the Android-based A500 and Windows-based W500 had been ordered for April, Digitimes said.

Apple had unintentionally been creating problems for Acer by snapping up most of the supply for the iPad 2, but the Taiwan company had reportedly found alternate suppliers. TPL Holding and others were still helping Acer make at least 60 to 70 percent of its shipping target.

Acer is currently facing a minor crisis as it saw its profits tumble 64 percent and is expecting its PC shipments to keep dropping. The company under its former management structure often denied that tablets like the iPad were having any effect on netbooks and cast them as just a temporary fad, even after multiple quarters of sales drops. Its new structure was already expected to shift to phones and tablets, but not so quickly.

The company's spring quarter may be better than expected, since its regular notebook and tablet shipments are still on track and should help mitigate any shortfall in netbooks.

By Electronista Staff

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computers, industry, gadgets, Acer, Android, Aspire, Windows 7, Apple, iPad, Iconia, iPad 2, TPL Holding