Acer: US builders dead in 20 years

[r_manic]

Acer's creator and former chief Stan Shih told Taiwan's Commercial Times on Tuesday that he doesn't expect US PC makers to survive the next 20 years. He believes the tendency towards budget PCs will continue on for "coming years" and that US companies don't have a fundamental grasp of how the market works. Lower-cost southeast Asian brands like Acer have an inherent edge as a result.

"US computer makers just don't know how to put such products on the market," Shih said, comparing American PC builders to their gutted TV brands like Zenith, which was bought out by LG in 1999.

What do you think guys? The full article is here.

 

[Hellboy]

Not with their customer service, its not.. Trust me, i have had a ride from hell.

 

[Guest]

As per the previous poster Acer are getting a ghastly rep -- I was struck by a friend's Acer laptop just a few months old and showing bald patches where the metallic finish had worn away to black plastic underneath. Apparently a common experience.

However, there little doubt that Western brands will be submerged by Oriental ones -- IBM's laptops were made in the far east and are now called Lenovo (Chinese). The rise of Asus, Acer, MSI -- previously makers of laptops for other brands.

There's a logic to it -- why pay for an American brand with overpaid executives and Silicon Valley offices when all you're getting is the product of a sweatshop in China.

We've been here before with US and British hifi brands: Fisher and Marantz shifted production to Japan and soon were no longer US companies -- just labels on Sanyo (or in the case of Marantz, Philips) products. Wharfedale now just a brand name on Chinese stuff.

 

[lotri]

Not with their customer service, its not.. Trust me, i have had a ride from hell.

Although this may be true in the general case, I've had good experiences with Dell's Customer Service online. I talked to someone within the United States, and got a technician out to service my laptop within a few days.

 

[Hellboy]

Although this may be true in the general case, I've had good experiences with Dell's Customer Service online. I talked to someone within the United States, and got a technician out to service my laptop within a few days.

er... this topic is about Acer...

 

[lotri]

er... this topic is about Acer...

I was responding to the article, but sorry for misinterpreting your comment =P

 

[Turbofail]

Hey, I won a free acer aspire 3680.
It's good.
I mean, sure the battery died within 9 months.
and sure the wire doesn't work properly so i have to pull it around the base of the laptop.
sure teh lkop keys are poking out.
sure the wireless card failed.
and sure it can only go up to two gigs of ram.
But hey...... sorry i lost my point.

 

[Turbofail]

when i say LKOP keys i mean ALL of the keys in that area.
do i hate this laptop no, would i buy this laptop. NO

 

[aford10]

Hey, I won a free acer aspire 3680.
It's good.
I mean, sure the battery died within 9 months.
and sure the wire doesn't work properly so i have to pull it around the base of the laptop.
sure teh lkop keys are poking out.
sure the wireless card failed.
and sure it can only go up to two gigs of ram.
But hey...... sorry i lost my point.

:lol: Priceless

The truth is, technology changes too fast to know who will sink and who will swim. All it takes is one notable innovation to rocket your sales to the top. It sounds like Mr. Shih is putting too much faith in the 'lower cost' of asian rivals. Acer isn't really that much cheaper anyway.