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Acer sails past Dell in PC shipments

Erica Ogg CNET News

Published: 15 Oct 2009 09:42 BST

Acer has become the number-two producer of PCs in the world for the first time, with 14 percent of PCs shipped, according to IDC's PC tracker report.

The IDC report for the third quarter of 2009, released on Wednesday afternoon, also saw HP remain on top with 20.2 percent of PCs shipped, and Dell drop to 12.7 percent.

While just a few years ago most people would probably not have been able to recognise the Acer brand, that changed when the Taiwanese company scooped up Gateway and launched its attack on retail laptops in the US and Europe. Meanwhile, Dell has fallen from the top vendor of PCs as recently as mid-2006 to number-three as it navigates the changing PC market.

"It's a pretty amazing transition in market leadership by Acer," said Loren Loverde, the program director of IDC's PC Tracker. "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."

CNET News has the full Acer overtakes Dell in PC shipments story.