Dell has long been a massive player in the computer retailing industry, second only to Hewlett-Packard (or HP to you youngsters), but it appears that they're about to be surpassed by someone quite unexpected. That's right; according to the NY Times (registration required), Acer is set up to become the second biggest PC vendor on the planet.This is surprising for a number of reasons. Firstly, Acer is based in Taiwan; they'll be the first non-US manufacturer to reach that high in US sales, as Dell and HP are both firmly American. PC industry analyst and president of a consultancy named Endpoint Technologies Associates, Roger Kay, stated, "That is a big achievement, and they have beaten the odds. Acer is a real comer." As the NY Times points out, Acer has often worked with retailers, as opposed to competing against them; it certainly shows in their profits. Over the past two quarters, Dell's revenue from PC sales has fallen by about 30%... a pretty huge fall. HP have seen losses, at around 19%, but Acer has only been hit for around about 8% lost.
Acer has the benefits of being able to choose from whichever manufacturer they like, in order to get the lowest prices possible. As you can hopefully figure out for yourself, this is certainly a wondrous thing to have in the excuse for an economy we have today. In fact, the economy was actually apparently benefitting to Acer's rise to glory; during this recession, they have focused on building low cost netbooks. Dell has stuck to trying to sell regular computers, which is why they've sunk down a bit... people aren't looking to spend thousands on their next machine when they can get something cheaper that is usually just as good.
As it stands, Dell was sitting on 13.6% market share in the first quarter, and Acer had 11.6%; the former falling from 15% since last year, and the latter rising from 10.9%, of course. We'll see how this plays out by the end of the year.
PCs might be decent, but I wouldn't call either Acer or Dell better. Both are quite bad. And Acer monitors are quite bad, all cheap TN panels. Not a single Acer display can beat Dells premium displays like the new 22 inch IPS based display.
i use an acer monitor for my desktop, and an acer laptop, both rock
Have you actually *used* (as opposed to reading reviews of) an Acer TN panel? Or a PC by either company?
I've used computers from all of Dell's lines (from Dimension to OptiPle
On TN monitors - I actually own an Acer TN display (specifically, the H233H.bmid) and it's probably the best display for its price, regardless of size. Twenty-three inches, 1920x1080 NI (either 60 or 75 Hz, with 60 Ni being the default) typical resolution, VGA, DVI, and HDMI inputs (DVI-D and HDMI both support HDCP; even better, cables are included) and about $200 (even brick-and-mortar). Comparing low-priced displays with high-priced displays is a mug's game at best (that was true when the only display technology was CRTs); why wouldn't it still be true? Remember when the only *acceptable* display technology was aperture-grille? There was a big problem there - there were two (and only two) sources of aperture-grille CRT tubes: Sony and Mitsubishi. (Only two companies had OEM contracts for aperture-grille displays - Dell and Sun, and both went to Sony.) Not everyone can afford high-end (which is often more like ridiculous-end) when it comes to computer *anything*; also, not everyone is that picky (or needs to be that picky). Display technologies such as TN are for those whose display needs don't require the extra expense that goes into PVA or IPS. You can sneer all you want to; however, there is market a-plenty for non-high-end.
THAT is why Acer is #2.
There you go. My Acer notebook as Nvidia graphic chip which has a construction defect.
They just turned up the fan speed in the Bios, so that it doesn't
break down before the guarantee time is over.
The DVD-Rom has stopped working properly, almost at all, which is
a common problem of the version of the Aspire I got.
Yeah, might just have been at the wrong time at wrong place,
buying the wrong product line, but that doesn't help me now.
But I guess, you can have good luck, you can have bad luck,
with which company soever.
"Not a single Acer display can beat Dells premium displays like the new 22 inch IPS based display."
Right... It seems you have chosen a side. Acer have never let me down with their 'cheap' TN panels.
pfffft
people are cheap, they buy the cheapest stuff.
in canada, acer sells more refurbished computers than brand new ones. it might be due to the fact that its illegal to fix them here in manufacturing and not label them as such.
/rant
But, the good thing is, Windows 7 refuses to install on a FAT32 partition and offers to format it in NTFS. Win!!
Either Xp or Vista will convert your FAT32 partition to NTFS. No problem there.
- I have nothing but good things to say about Acer laptops. I've sold close to 200 Acer laptops in the last year and a half. Only one has come back with a problem during the warranty. Sent it to Acer overnight, came back within a week. Dell sometimes take 2 to 3 months to fix laptops.
- Most Acer PC can be fix with part you can buy from any supplier. Dell, most of their PC can only be fix with part that you have to buy from them and they charge an arm and a leg for them. Customer brought in a Dimension PC ( the one with the white panel and the silver front). Warranty just over, mobo not responding. Call Dell, they wanted 500$ for the replacement mobo. Told customer to buy a new PC. Many have been burn like that. That's why Dell sales are going down. Bad service is killing Dell.
- Acer monitors are not very good. Many return, and lots of problem. Not selling them anymore.
- Dell monitors are not better. There are many better value/quality choice. Remember that Dell doesn't build monitor, they buy them and stick their name on it. They buy the cheapest they can find.
thats because you're cheap
I will stick with my beast of a laptop Covert M6400 with all the goodies. Yes it's large and in charge but it works for me. I am ordering a smaller brother for it so I can lug that around more often for smaller visits to clients.
Their displays are FAR from cheesy.
I have an Acer TN display (the H233H.bmid) which I am actually extremely happy with. It's not just the price; there are actually areas where TN seriously smokes other display technologies (including the higher-end PVA or IPS panels), such as text. (Text? As in e-mail or the actual content and hyperlinks on most Web sites; most IPS panels actually blow when it comes to legible text.). Buying a display (any display) is all about trade-offs, and figuring out which are acceptable (and which aren't). Because I spend about half my computer time (when I'm not gaming) surfing the Web or reading e-mail, text display is critical; even more so because my other non-gaming *fun activity* is writing/reading fan-fiction. that means, to me, text-display is even more critical than color reproduction. (After all, I am NOT a color photographer looking to print pre-press proofs for Vogue, SI, or Penthouse.) And when it comes to text-display clarity, TN wins.
Forest and trees, people. Forest and trees.
I have an Acer TN display (the H233H.bmid) which I am actually extremely happy with. It's not just the price; there are actually areas where TN seriously smokes other display technologies (including the higher-end PVA or IPS panels), such as text. (Text? As in e-mail or the actual content and hyperlinks on most Web sites; most IPS panels actually blow when it comes to legible text.). Buying a display (any display) is all about trade-offs, and figuring out which are acceptable (and which aren't). Because I spend about half my computer time (when I'm not gaming) surfing the Web or reading e-mail, text display is critical; even more so because my other non-gaming *fun activity* is writing/reading fan-fiction. that means, to me, text-display is even more critical than color reproduction. (After all, I am NOT a color photographer looking to print pre-press proofs for Vogue, SI, or Penthouse.) And when it comes to text-display clarity, TN wins.
Forest and trees, people. Forest and trees.
thats because they buy the panel from another company or it WOULD be cheesy just like its casing
They fall apart and crash all the time.
10 years ago, you'd be hard pressed to find a computer better than a gateway. Today, their computers are bottom-shelf junk. It was already happening before the acer purchase, that just made them a more attractive buy. They used to have high quality, heavy duty aluminum cases, now they're all plastic. There are other ways that they've really cut back too, but that's the most obvious at first glance. Of the major manufacturers out there today, the only one I think that still makes a decent computer is Dell. Say what you will about their service, but their machines are solid. HPs are junk, I have no clue why people buy them. Same with Sony, except for their high-end notebooks.
agreed
my acer lcd works well
its probably a samsung panel, and the rest of it is complete crap plastic
They already have their brands as you put it.
Inspiron - low end personal
Vostro - low end business
XPS/Studio - middle personal
Latitude - middle business
Adamo - high end thin notebook
XPS Gamers - high end personal - gamers
Precision - High end business
Alien Ware - seperate brand - high end gamers
are you talking about how they bent you over a table?
I prefer my Dell!
My friend works in a pc shop and is constantly complaining about the problems Acer PCs have all the time. He says that at least 70% of PCs with problems are Acer.
ive only ever seen college/school/friends so it's all their cheaper stuff.
though my mates XPS laptop, i have to say really is not impressive concidering the £700 he payed for it.
I have a compaq with pretty much the same specs, but AMD processor @ 2.1ghz instead of intel, and it was half the price. obviously the dell has it's nice little touches and looks a hell of alot better, but for £700 id expect that. Performance is a major factor of it though, and it just doesnt hold up to it's name.
it has some serious over heating problems too.
Me and my friends now all have Acer monitors, and I helped a former client purchase all Acer-based harware (monitor and Desktop system). As far as I know, we're all happy with our hardware.
They're doing something right.
Me and my friends now all have Acer monitors, and I helped a former client purchase all Acer-based harware (monitor and Desktop system). As far as I know, we're all happy with our hardware.
They're doing something right.
you used the word client, you are definately a marketing shill
you even highlighted brands, did you get an extra few cents you evil scum?
There are only so many companies that really manufacturer these LCD's anyways.
I have nothing against ACER. I have used them but for what my needs are they don't have what I am looking for.
They are not designed for the graphics people. No 100% color gamut. No Display ports (yet), NO USB downstream connections, No Dual DVI.
They go for price point and for that you have to give a little in order to meet that price point. It comes down to features.
There are only so many companies that really manufacturer these LCD's anyways.
I have nothing against ACER. I have used them but for what my needs are they don't have what I am looking for.
They are not designed for the graphics people. No 100% color gamut. No Display ports (yet), NO USB downstream connections, No Dual DVI.
They go for price point and for that you have to give a little in order to meet that price point. It comes down to features.
Features aren't where they give any ground (not really). Compare Acer monitors to other TN panels of the same size (notice I did NOT say the same price). Acer's TN panels have the same (if not more) features as other TN panels of their size. A prime case in point is the Acer H233H.bmid - how many 23" TN panels (in fact, how many 23" LCD displays period) not only support VGA, DVI-D, and HDMI, but include all the cables to connect to your devices *without* forcing you to use adapter cables? Dell forces you to pay extra for cables; Hanns-G not only failes to support all thre (no HDMI without an HDMI-DVI-D adapter cable), but has worse PQ (especially text) than Acer, and costs more besides (insult to injury). Unless you're into aesthetics, the piano-black glossy frame sported by the H233H is not bad at all (in fact, it matches the finish on my mid-tower ATX case, which is op top of, not under, the desk). What some people (aside from panel choice) find most objectionable about Acer's displays is either that the frame is that glossy piano black or a control-lighting issue that affects some Acer displays (but does not affect the H233H). While matte-black is the trendy flava when it comes to display frames (not just computer displays, but TV displays as well; the trend USED to be, in fact, glossy-black), I'm not trendy in that area. And considering that the economy is in the crapper right now, I don't have the excuse of overspending and nitpicking. I need products that work with a minimum of fuss, doing what I need them to do, without breaking my wallet. Like HP's printers (especially their inkjets), my Acer display does what I need for it to do without breaking my wallet.
Also I have one other "Beef" with Acer as they were publicly bashing Vista not because it was a bad OS but they still wanted XP so they could get away with selling desktops and laptops with XP and 512 MB of ram and the Intel 915 chipset which meant more profit for them (That alone shows that their bottom line is more valuable than their customers)
I used various kinds of laptops over the years and i must admit that Dell, HP and Toshiba laptops are darn silent compared to Acer laptops. Other than that they're just more expensive.
On LCD monitors, the picture is what it's all about (I mean that's what you use a monitor for), and since LCDs aren't by nature very good at displaying the colors we've taken for granted from our old CRT monitors & TVs, electronics engineering is behind it more so than specs... brightness, hardware (not enhanced) contrast, & response figures are almost standard by now, while a full grayscale &/or color gamut doesn't mean you won't get bad color cast. Whether you're looking at rows of PC monitors or HDTVs, there's no denying that some have a much better picture than others -- at the end of the day comparing that picture is the only way to really judge one monitor against another. Since you can't *lay eyes* on every single monitor sold, you're dependent on reviews & other published data -- & a liberal return policy. ;-)
That said, Acer has been successful with LCD monitors, competing especially well against higher priced brands that *Have* to cut quality on their lower end products, those priced to compete with Acer, in order for customers to have any reason to buy their top of the line. Some people have to have a brand name, & Acer, Dell, & HP all have brand recognition. Acer has done particularly well, consistently earning many top ratings & very good reviews for their LCDs for years. Dell has been inconsistent, with uneven performance even with the same model number -- a couple years back it was common, according to on-line reports, to order 2 Dell monitors to increase your odds of getting a good one, then sending 1 or both back. There are loads of de-branded (they remove the nameplates) HP LCDs always on sale -- why? Does HP get that many returns?
Their products are cheap and flimsy. I'm surprised people buy their products. I've seen people call us and had a product for 3 months and they already had mobo issues.
Love and Peace
Prakash
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