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Acer Inc.
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Acer Incorporated
宏碁股份有限公司

Public
Type LSE: ACID
TSE: 2353

Founded 1976

Founder(s) Stan Shih et al.

Headquarters Taipei, Taiwan

Area served Worldwide

J.T. Wang, Chairman & CEO of Acer

Key people Group
Gianfranco Lanci, CEO of Acer
 Industry Computer hardware

Desktops
Laptops
Netbooks
Servers
IT Services
Products
Handhelds
Monitors
LCD TVs
Video projectors
Digital cameras

Revenue ▲US$ 16.65 billion (2008) Acer

Net income ▲US$ 358 million (2008)

Employees 5,300 (2006)

Acer Computer Australia

Acer India
Acer America Corporation
Subsidiaries Gateway, Inc.
Packard Bell
eMachines
E-TEN

Website Acer.com

Acer Incorporated (LSE: ACID, TSE: 2353) (Chinese: 宏碁股份有限公司; pinyin: Hóngqí
Gǔfèn Yǒuxiàn Gōngsī) is a Taiwan-based multinational electronics manufacturer. Its
product lineup includes desktops and laptops, as well as personal digital assistants (PDAs),
servers and storage, displays, peripherals, and e-business services for business, government,
education, and home users.
Acer is the second largest computer manufacturer in the world behind HP and ahead of Dell.
[1]
The company also owns the largest franchised computer retail chain in Taipei, Taiwan.[2]

Contents
[hide]
• 1 History
 ○ 1.1 Racing
• 2 Operations
○ 2.1 Australia
○ 2.2 India
○ 2.3 Europe, Middle East and Africa
○ 2.4 North America
• 3 Controversy and criticism
• 4 Acer and Linux
• 5 Products
• 6 Brands
• 7 Sport
• 8 See also
• 9 References
• 10 External links

[edit] History
Acer was founded by Stan Shih (施振榮), his wife Carolyn Yeh, and a group of five others as
Multitech in 1976. The company was renamed Acer in 1987. It began with eleven employees
and US$25,000 in capital. Initially, it was primarily a distributor of electronic parts and a
consultant in the use of microprocessor technologies, but over time it began to develop as a
PC manufacturer. The global headquarters is located in Hsinchu City, Taiwan. Acer began its
foray into laptops with the purchase of Texas Instruments' mobile PC division in 1997.
In 2000, Acer spun off its manufacturing operations as Wistron Corporation, to focus on sales
and marketing of their core brand. Acer grew worldwide while simultaneously minimizing its
labor force by identifying and using marketing strategies that best utilized their existing
distribution channels. By 2005, Acer employed a scant 7,800 people worldwide. Revenues
rose from US$4.9 billion in 2003[3] to US$11.31 billion in 2006. Acer's North American
market share has slipped over the past few years, while in contrast, European market share
has risen.[4]
On 27 August 2007, Acer announced plans to acquire its US-based rival Gateway Inc. for
US$710 million. Acer's chairman, J.T. Wang, stated that the acquisition "completes Acer's
global footprint, by strengthening our US presence."[5] In January 2008, Acer announced that
it had acquired a controlling interest of 75% of Packard Bell.[6]
[edit] Racing
This section may need to be updated. Please update this section to reflect recent
events or newly available information, and remove this template when finished.
Please see the talk page for more information.
In Europe, Acer partnered with the Ferrari Formula 1 Team. Prior to this, they were
associated with Prost Grand Prix in 2001 and the BAR-Honda team in 2002. Their
sponsorship of Prost was intensive and resulted in buying the naming rights to the engine.
Throughout the 2001 season the team was referred to as Prost-Acer. After Prost folded, Acer
sponsored the BAR team. Acer then began to offer a line of premium laptops and LCD
monitors with Ferrari branding. It has recently broadened the scope of its relationship with
Ferrari by announcing it will sponsor the Formula One team until 2008. Acer has recently
introduced the Ferrari line of products to North America, and rolled out a Ferrari-branded line
of PDA devices.
[edit] Operations
[edit] Australia
The Australian subsidiary of Acer is Acer Computer Australia (ACA). The subsidiary was
established in 1990, and is currently Australia's third largest personal computer vendor,
behind Hewlett-Packard Australia and Dell Australia and New Zealand. Acer Computer
Australia has Australia's highest overall market share in notebook PC and tablet PC sales.
The company is also Australia's leading PC vendor in government and education markets.
Acer Computer Australia has 480 employees as of 2006.
[edit] India
Acer's subsidiary in India is Acer India (Pvt) Limited, and was incorporated as a wholly
owned subsidiary of Acer Computer International, Ltd. in 1999. It is a notable vendor in key
segments such as education, desktop computers and low profile notebooks for education
purposes. Its headquarters are in Bangalore, India.
[edit] Europe, Middle East and Africa
Acer sells laptops in the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region.
[edit] North America
Acer America Corporation, headquartered in San Jose, California, is a member of the Acer
Group. Acer's R&D, engineering, manufacturing and marketing operations in the United
States and Canada are handled by Acer America. In September 1990, Acer acquired Altos
Computer Systems, one of the top manufacturers of multi-user and networked UNIX
computer systems for commercial markets. In February 1997, Acer acquired Texas
Instruments Mobile Computing business, including the award-winning TravelMate and
Extensa notebook lines, making Acer the fourth-leading notebook manufacturer in the United
States. Acer America's Canadian office, in Mississauga, Ontario, handles repair of Acer,
Gateway, and E-Machine Notebooks and Desktop PCs for Eastern Canada. The repair facility
in Temple, Texas handles many service oriented functions for North America. Acer owns
Gateway, eMachines and Packard Bell brands in North America.
[edit] Controversy and criticism
Acer has been the subject of lawsuits, notably from its rival, Hewlett-Packard. According to
HP's lawsuit, Acer was infringing its patents, including power management in notebooks.
Acer filed a lawsuit against HP for the infringement of Acer's patent. Eventually HP settled
out of court with Acer. [1]
[edit] Acer and Linux
Acer has stated that it will be pushing Linux aggressively on its new laptops and notebooks.
They are already heavily promoting Linux for its low cost netbook range put out in late 2008,
but senior staff have said that Acer will also push Linux on its laptops as well. Acer has
already started selling Linux in its Media PC business.[7] Linux support for older Acer laptops
is still variable due to the use of a variety of unsupported chipsets[citation needed].
[edit] Products
Acer Aspire 5600 Notebook

Acer Aspire 3610 Notebook

Acer Aspire 5520 Notebook

Acer Aspire 4520 Notebook

Acer Aspire One

Desktops
• Acer Aspire series
• Acer Predator series
• Acer Veriton series
Notebooks
• Acer TravelMate series
• Acer Gemstone series
• Tablet PC series
• Acer Aspire series
• Acer Aspire Timeline series[8]
• Acer Extensa series
• Acer Ferrari series (CPUs: Mobile AMD Turion 64)
Netbook
 • Aspire One
Nettop
• AspireRevo
Personal digital assistants
• S Series of Palm OS PDAs
• Acer N Series
Automotive navigation systems
• Acer e300 series Travel Companion,[9] with Destinator and NAVTEQ maps.
Servers and storage
• Acer Altos series
Workstations
• Acer PICA
Computer displays
• DLP Projectors
Other
• Digital cameras
• LCD TVs
• Mobile phones
[edit] Brands
• Acer
• eMachines
• Gateway
• Packard Bell
• E-TEN
[edit] Sport
Acer sponsored the BAR-Honda Formula One racing team in the year 2000.[10] In 2001, Acer
provided sponsorship to the Prost Grand Prix Formula One team, and the team's Ferrari
engines were badged as Acers.
Acer currently sponsors the Ferrari Formula 1 team. In 2003 Acer signed a Gold Partner
sponsorship deal with FC Internazionale - Milano (Inter Milan) Football Club. From January
2007, Acer has become Official Supplier of FC Barcelona.[11] On 19 March 2007, Acer
announced that they will sponsor the Factory Fiat Yamaha Team for the 2007 MotoGP World
Championship season. From 2009, Packard Bell (a subsidiary of Acer) will be the sponsor of
Fiat Yamaha MotoGP.[12]
Acer will be listed among the Worldwide TOP Partners for both the Vancouver 2010
Olympic Winter Games and for the London 2012 Summer Olympics.
[edit] See also
• Microprofessor I - Acer's first product
• BenQ - formerly Acer CM
 • ALi - formerly Acer Laboratories Incorporated
• AOpen - formerly AcerOpen
• ACC (computer company)
• List of computer system manufacturers
• List of companies in Taiwan
• eMachines
• Gateway
• Packard Bell
• E-TEN
• ETEN operation system
• Linpus Linux
[edit] References
1. ^ "Acer, second largest PC manufacturer". Engadget. 14 October 2009.
http://www.engadget.com/2009/10/14/acer-partially-fulfills-prophecy-overtakes-dell-as-
number-two-p/. Retrieved 26 November 2009.
2. ^ "About Acer - Milestones". Acer. http://global.acer.com/about/milestones.htm. Retrieved 7
July 2007.
3. ^ "Gianfranco Lanci is appointed President of Acer Inc., effective January 2005" (PDF).
Acer. 1 September 2004. http://www.acer.co.in/press/New_President.pdf. Retrieved 27 April
2007.
4. ^ "PC market surged in 2005, will settle in 2006". cnet. 18 January 2006.
http://news.com.com/PC+market+surged+in+2005,+will+settle+in+2006/2100-1003_3-
6028454.html. Retrieved 7 July 2007.
5. ^ 6:00 p.m. ET (27 August 2007). "Taiwan's Acer to buy PC maker Gateway - World
business - MSNBC.com". MSNBC. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20458321/. Retrieved 7
April 2009.
6. ^ "Acer Buys 75 Percent of Packard Bell making it the 2nd largest computer maker in the
world". Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-
dyn/content/article/2008/01/31/AR2008013101390.html. Retrieved 7 April 2009.
7. ^ "Acer bets big on Linux". Vnunet. 4 June 2008.
http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2218172/acer-pushes-linux-hard. Retrieved 31 July
2008.
8. ^ http://www.acer.com/timeline/home.html
9. ^ Products & Services - PDA[dead link]
10.^ About Acer - News Release[dead link]
11.^ About Acer - News Release[dead link]
12.^ "02.02.2009 Packard Bell sponsor of Yamaha Factory Racing Team : Changeover of
sponsorship from Acer" (PDF). http://www.packardbell.com/NR/rdonlyres/841AAED9-
A03E-43F4-812F-0B76FE4F387D/1061/pb_yamaha_sponsorship.pdf. Retrieved 7 April
2009.

[edit] External links

 Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Acer computers

Companies portal

• Official website
• Gateway
• Packard Bell
• eMachines
• Glofiish
• E-TEN
• Linpus Linux
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acer_Inc."
Categories: Companies listed on the London Stock Exchange | Companies listed on the
Taiwan Stock Exchange | Acer Incorporated | Companies established in 1976 | Computer
hardware companies | Electronics companies of Taiwan | Portable audio player manufacturers
| Taiwan brands | Display technology companies
Hidden categories: All articles with dead external links | Articles with dead external links
from April 2009 | Articles containing traditional Chinese language text | Articles containing
Chinese language text | Wikipedia articles in need of updating | All articles with unsourced
statements | Articles with unsourced statements from November 2008 |
Portal:Companies/Total | Netbook manufacturers
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Acer Incorporated (LSE: ACID, TSE: 2353) (Chinese: 宏碁股份有限公司; pinyin: Hóngqí
Gǔfèn Yǒuxiàn Gōngsī) is a Taiwan-based multinational electronics manufacturer. Its
product lineup includes desktops and laptops, as well as personal digital assistants (PDAs),
servers and storage, displays, peripherals, and e-business services for business, government,
education, and home users.
Acer is the second largest computer manufacturer in the world behind HP and ahead of Dell.
[1]
The company also owns the largest franchised computer retail chain in Taipei, Taiwan.[2]

Contents
[hide]
• 1 History
 ○ 1.1 Racing
• 2 Operations
○ 2.1 Australia
○ 2.2 India
○ 2.3 Europe, Middle East and Africa
○ 2.4 North America
• 3 Controversy and criticism
• 4 Acer and Linux
• 5 Products
• 6 Brands
• 7 Sport
• 8 See also
• 9 References
• 10 External links

[edit] History
Acer was founded by Stan Shih (施振榮), his wife Carolyn Yeh, and a group of five others as
Multitech in 1976. The company was renamed Acer in 1987. It began with eleven employees
and US$25,000 in capital. Initially, it was primarily a distributor of electronic parts and a
consultant in the use of microprocessor technologies, but over time it began to develop as a
PC manufacturer. The global headquarters is located in Hsinchu City, Taiwan. Acer began its
foray into laptops with the purchase of Texas Instruments' mobile PC division in 1997.
In 2000, Acer spun off its manufacturing operations as Wistron Corporation, to focus on sales
and marketing of their core brand. Acer grew worldwide while simultaneously minimizing its
labor force by identifying and using marketing strategies that best utilized their existing
distribution channels. By 2005, Acer employed a scant 7,800 people worldwide. Revenues
rose from US$4.9 billion in 2003[3] to US$11.31 billion in 2006. Acer's North American
market share has slipped over the past few years, while in contrast, European market share
has risen.[4]
On 27 August 2007, Acer announced plans to acquire its US-based rival Gateway Inc. for
US$710 million. Acer's chairman, J.T. Wang, stated that the acquisition "completes Acer's
global footprint, by strengthening our US presence."[5] In January 2008, Acer announced that
it had acquired a controlling interest of 75% of Packard Bell.[6]
[edit] Racing
This section may need to be updated. Please update this section to reflect recent
events or newly available information, and remove this template when finished.
Please see the talk page for more information.
In Europe, Acer partnered with the Ferrari Formula 1 Team. Prior to this, they were
associated with Prost Grand Prix in 2001 and the BAR-Honda team in 2002. Their
sponsorship of Prost was intensive and resulted in buying the naming rights to the engine.
Throughout the 2001 season the team was referred to as Prost-Acer. After Prost folded, Acer
sponsored the BAR team. Acer then began to offer a line of premium laptops and LCD
monitors with Ferrari branding. It has recently broadened the scope of its relationship with
Ferrari by announcing it will sponsor the Formula One team until 2008. Acer has recently
introduced the Ferrari line of products to North America, and rolled out a Ferrari-branded line
of PDA devices.
[edit] Operations
[edit] Australia
The Australian subsidiary of Acer is Acer Computer Australia (ACA). The subsidiary was
established in 1990, and is currently Australia's third largest personal computer vendor,
behind Hewlett-Packard Australia and Dell Australia and New Zealand. Acer Computer
Australia has Australia's highest overall market share in notebook PC and tablet PC sales.
The company is also Australia's leading PC vendor in government and education markets.
Acer Computer Australia has 480 employees as of 2006.
[edit] India
Acer's subsidiary in India is Acer India (Pvt) Limited, and was incorporated as a wholly
owned subsidiary of Acer Computer International, Ltd. in 1999. It is a notable vendor in key
segments such as education, desktop computers and low profile notebooks for education
purposes. Its headquarters are in Bangalore, India.
[edit] Europe, Middle East and Africa
Acer sells laptops in the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region.
[edit] North America
Acer America Corporation, headquartered in San Jose, California, is a member of the Acer
Group. Acer's R&D, engineering, manufacturing and marketing operations in the United
States and Canada are handled by Acer America. In September 1990, Acer acquired Altos
Computer Systems, one of the top manufacturers of multi-user and networked UNIX
computer systems for commercial markets. In February 1997, Acer acquired Texas
Instruments Mobile Computing business, including the award-winning TravelMate and
Extensa notebook lines, making Acer the fourth-leading notebook manufacturer in the United
States. Acer America's Canadian office, in Mississauga, Ontario, handles repair of Acer,
Gateway, and E-Machine Notebooks and Desktop PCs for Eastern Canada. The repair facility
in Temple, Texas handles many service oriented functions for North America. Acer owns
Gateway, eMachines and Packard Bell brands in North America.
[edit] Controversy and criticism
Acer has been the subject of lawsuits, notably from its rival, Hewlett-Packard. According to
HP's lawsuit, Acer was infringing its patents, including power management in notebooks.
Acer filed a lawsuit against HP for the infringement of Acer's patent. Eventually HP settled
out of court with Acer. [1]
[edit] Acer and Linux
Acer has stated that it will be pushing Linux aggressively on its new laptops and notebooks.
They are already heavily promoting Linux for its low cost netbook range put out in late 2008,
but senior staff have said that Acer will also push Linux on its laptops as well. Acer has
already started selling Linux in its Media PC business.[7] Linux support for older Acer laptops
is still variable due to the use of a variety of unsupported chipsets[citation needed].
[edit] Products
Acer Aspire 5600 Notebook

Acer Aspire 3610 Notebook

Acer Aspire 5520 Notebook

Acer Aspire 4520 Notebook

Acer Aspire One

Desktops
• Acer Aspire series
• Acer Predator series
• Acer Veriton series
Notebooks
• Acer TravelMate series
• Acer Gemstone series
• Tablet PC series
• Acer Aspire series
• Acer Aspire Timeline series[8]
• Acer Extensa series
• Acer Ferrari series (CPUs: Mobile AMD Turion 64)
Netbook
 • Aspire One
Nettop
• AspireRevo
Personal digital assistants
• S Series of Palm OS PDAs
• Acer N Series
Automotive navigation systems
• Acer e300 series Travel Companion,[9] with Destinator and NAVTEQ maps.
Servers and storage
• Acer Altos series
Workstations
• Acer PICA
Computer displays
• DLP Projectors
Other
• Digital cameras
• LCD TVs
• Mobile phones
[edit] Brands
• Acer
• eMachines
• Gateway
• Packard Bell
• E-TEN
[edit] Sport
Acer sponsored the BAR-Honda Formula One racing team in the year 2000.[10] In 2001, Acer
provided sponsorship to the Prost Grand Prix Formula One team, and the team's Ferrari
engines were badged as Acers.
Acer currently sponsors the Ferrari Formula 1 team. In 2003 Acer signed a Gold Partner
sponsorship deal with FC Internazionale - Milano (Inter Milan) Football Club. From January
2007, Acer has become Official Supplier of FC Barcelona.[11] On 19 March 2007, Acer
announced that they will sponsor the Factory Fiat Yamaha Team for the 2007 MotoGP World
Championship season. From 2009, Packard Bell (a subsidiary of Acer) will be the sponsor of
Fiat Yamaha MotoGP.[12]
Acer will be listed among the Worldwide TOP Partners for both the Vancouver 2010
Olympic Winter Games and for the London 2012 Summer Olympics.
[edit] See also
• Microprofessor I - Acer's first product
• BenQ - formerly Acer CM
 • ALi - formerly Acer Laboratories Incorporated
• AOpen - formerly AcerOpen
• ACC (computer company)
• List of computer system manufacturers
• List of companies in Taiwan
• eMachines
• Gateway
• Packard Bell
• E-TEN
• ETEN operation system
• Linpus Linux
[edit] References
1. ^ "Acer, second largest PC manufacturer". Engadget. 14 October 2009.
http://www.engadget.com/2009/10/14/acer-partially-fulfills-prophecy-overtakes-dell-as-
number-two-p/. Retrieved 26 November 2009.
2. ^ "About Acer - Milestones". Acer. http://global.acer.com/about/milestones.htm. Retrieved 7
July 2007.
3. ^ "Gianfranco Lanci is appointed President of Acer Inc., effective January 2005" (PDF).
Acer. 1 September 2004. http://www.acer.co.in/press/New_President.pdf. Retrieved 27 April
2007.
4. ^ "PC market surged in 2005, will settle in 2006". cnet. 18 January 2006.
http://news.com.com/PC+market+surged+in+2005,+will+settle+in+2006/2100-1003_3-
6028454.html. Retrieved 7 July 2007.
5. ^ 6:00 p.m. ET (27 August 2007). "Taiwan's Acer to buy PC maker Gateway - World
business - MSNBC.com". MSNBC. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20458321/. Retrieved 7
April 2009.
6. ^ "Acer Buys 75 Percent of Packard Bell making it the 2nd largest computer maker in the
world". Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-
dyn/content/article/2008/01/31/AR2008013101390.html. Retrieved 7 April 2009.
7. ^ "Acer bets big on Linux". Vnunet. 4 June 2008.
http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2218172/acer-pushes-linux-hard. Retrieved 31 July
2008.
8. ^ http://www.acer.com/timeline/home.html
9. ^ Products & Services - PDA[dead link]
10.^ About Acer - News Release[dead link]
11.^ About Acer - News Release[dead link]
12.^ "02.02.2009 Packard Bell sponsor of Yamaha Factory Racing Team : Changeover of
sponsorship from Acer" (PDF). http://www.packardbell.com/NR/rdonlyres/841AAED9-
A03E-43F4-812F-0B76FE4F387D/1061/pb_yamaha_sponsorship.pdf. Retrieved 7 April
2009.