Acer is realizing that the iPad isn’t going to topple itself. While the strategy of just making shells for other companies’ OSes and components has worked for Acer for years, that clearly isn’t an approach that had any effect at all on the iPad’s dominance of the tablet sector. People will get tired of the closed iOS, said Acer, and just spontaneously choose a crappy Android 2.x tablet made by people who truly don’t care. Not so much!
Acer’s founder, Stan Shih, speaking recently at an event in Taipei, said that Acer needed to take its sights off of being the world’s biggest PC vendor and (presumably) focus on better and more distinguishable products. As part of this transition, he adjusted their first-quarter sales targets to 10% less than last year’s, rather than the 3% growth originally planned.
Millions of people around the world would be unable to tell the difference between an Acer laptop and any of the other major brands. You tell me, is that a healthy business model, when your product is indistinguishable from your competition and you’re only making money because your volumes are so big?
Hopefully Acer makes a change for the better. The fewer totally anonymous laptop manufacturers out there, the better.
[via Apple Insider]