Acer experience poor first quarter

PC giants, Acer today reported that they expect a 10% reduction in sales, quarter-on-quarter, by the end of Q1.

The Taiwanese company blamed a weak demand for netbooks and PC products in key zones such as Western Europe and the U.S., as interest shifts towards tablet devices.

This news follows hot on the heels of an announcement that Acer will be joining battle in the tablet market with their own devices; the Windows supporting W500 and the Google Android Honeycomb running A500 and A100. UK release dates for the former two have been recently confirmed as April 8th 2011.

Unfortunately, the release of this trio is not expected to be enough to boost Acer’s fortunes with immediate effect; today’s report predicted sales figures would remain flat throughout Q2 of this year.

The balance sheets do not look rosy for Acer, who also experienced an enormous 35% dip in revenue for the first three months of 2011, in comparison with the same period of last year.

The ailing netbook market will have a knock on effect for Microsoft also, whose Windows 7 OS dominates this part of the tech market, but has not yet been able to tap in to the lucrative tablet sector with any sort of effectiveness.

Acer’s lack of confidence makes them reluctant to grant Microsoft exclusivity on their tablets, as they wisely attempt to hedge their bets in their tablet market gamble. This decision could cost Microsoft, who have once again failed to instil confidence into tablet manufacturers that their OS can cut it in the tablet world.

However, a strong showing from Acer’s Windows 7 based W500 Iconia tablet could prove to be a lifesaver for both companies.

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