Posts Tagged ‘Acer’

Acer Inc.’s revenues shriveled by almost a fifth in 2013′s opening quarter but the embattled Taiwanese PC maker did manage to post a small post-tax profit after two years of losses.

This year’s first quarter saw the steepest decline in PC shipments since records began, according to IDC, which partly blames Microsoft’s Windows 8 for slowing the market.

Warnings of the post-PC era shone a little brighter this week with new figures showing traditional computing devices floundering, while tablet sales are set to overtake desktop shipments this year and laptops by 2014.

Speaking outside an Acer-sponsored corporate social responsibility conference in Taipei last week, Wang told reporters he sees “a turning point” in the coming year with lower retail prices and rapidly growing popularity pushing global tablet sales toward a “magic number” of 200 million units, and perhaps even improving the fortunes of the beleaguered Windows 8 operating system.

Microsoft released its Surface tablets nearly six months ago. In that time, not one unit has been sold through the B2B channel, and Microsoft remains reticent to reveal its plans for expanding tablet sales to the channel. The Surface go-to-market strategy and other awkward moves have solution providers questioning Microsoft’s commitment to the channel.

Microsoft positioned Windows 8 as the cornerstone of a major refresh of its entire product portfolio, intended to propel the company into the mobile market and recapture lost momentum among consumer and business customers. Critics say the exact opposite is happening, and they’re calling for change.

Days after analysts pinned at least part of a global slump in PC shipments on weak adoption of Windows 8,Microsoft is reportedly taking steps to jumpstart uptake of its flagship operating system on some systems.

Google is challenging Microsoft and Apple with its latest Chromebook, Pixel, a premium PC with touch-screen interface and high definition display. No, it won’t be sold in the channel, and that may be a signal of things to come in the PC market.

The 1,725 resellers that took part in Context’s ChannelWatch research were asked which of the major IT brands they are planning to add to their portfolios over the next three months, and which they are thinking of dropping.

HP is reportedly planning a high-end Android tablet to sell alongside premium Windows tablets and ultrabooks — on the heels of HP announcing it would develop a Chromebook. Are these signs Microsoft is losing its grip on the OS and mobility markets?