Dell, Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) recently fell as the world's second-largest PC maker, and if Taiwan's Acer has any fire left, it will be directed at the numero uno in global PC sales, Hewlett-Packard Corp. (NYSE: HPQ). Is it really out of the realm of possibilities to have Acer unseat a $100 billion global technology giant?Acer intends to increase its global revenue 70% over the course of the next three years to do just that. Can the cheapest PC category -- netbook computers -- contribute a 50% sales gain to help Acer in its quest to overtake HP in PC sales? Maybe -- if netbooks don't turn out to be a passing fad.
Even though the category is nearing two years in the mainstream now, the growth engine that powers sales of $300 netbooks could slow. That category has been very kind to Acer in the last twelve months. Acer CEO J.T. Wang said his company's goal is getting to $30 billion as fast as possible.
Is Acer relying on just netbook growth to fuel its strategy? It is just about to release its first smartphone powered by Google, Inc.'s (NASDAQ: GOOG) Android open-source operating system and it has plans to release more smartphones into the fray along with slimmer notebooks and netbooks. Combine that with its multi-brand and global PC presence in the U.S. and Europe and Acer is not joking when it says HP is in its crosshairs.
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