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Why Acer Leads (For Now) In Global Chromebook Sales

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Acer began building the Chromebook nearly six years ago before anyone thought the fast Google -designed laptops would fly. The two formed a relationship: Google provided the software, particularly the Chrome operating system. Acer found the hardware, its lifetime specialty, including fast Intel processors. The future of netbooks -- tiny laptops that had made it big in 2008 -- was uncertain, so a lot of the Taiwanese developer’s rivals worried about the market size for the light Chromebooks. Samsung was late to PCs despite an eventual rally.

“Not every company knew there would be a Chromebook market,” says Tracy Tsai, research director with high-tech market analysis firm Gartner in Taipei. “Therefore not every developer went to try it.”

Acer, the world No. 4-ranked PC maker, parlayed its first-mover advantage to take the No. 1 spot this past quarter in global Chromebook sales as schools from India to the United States ordered them in bulk for educational use. About 1.8 million Chromebooks shipped in the second quarter of 2014, fellow tech market research firm WitsView says in a July 21 news release, and Acer led with 30% of that. It beat Samsung for the first time, overtaking it by 6 percentage points, WitsView says. Hewlett-Packard ranked third with a 21% share. Acer says price and speed put its models in the lead. “Our latest model, the C720, has the advantage of using the faster processor (Intel’s Haswell Celeron) at an affordable price,” an Acer publicist told this blog.

Chromebooks Rollout - Shenkus (Photo credit: kjarrett)

Acer says shipments of its Chromebooks so far this year have doubled, exceeding the industry as a whole. But other companies, particularly in Taiwan, are quickly catching up as demand is obvious. Quanta Computer has been contracted, analysts say, and Asustek Computer is building the Chrome box, a $179 brick with a fast processor. Dell and Hewlett-Packard re expected to see market shares grow this year and next.

Acer may hold its lead through the end of the year, analysts expect, but not much longer. And so what if it did?

The Google-engineered tools known for their start-up speed, cloud storage and piles of apps made up just a single percent of Acer’s PC total 2013 shipments, notes Helen Chiang, associate director with the IDC market research firm office in Taipei. Overall cross-brand Chromebook penetration this year will hit just 3-5%, WitsView says. Their broader product category PCs will sell flat this year versus 2013, Gartner says.  Shipments fell four about four years under pressure from tablets and smartphones.

Acer looks to PCs for 77% of business and will need more than Google’s software to break free of elusive profits after an $380 million operating loss last year. “If you ask whether they can fuel Acer’s growth, then I’d say so-so. Chromebooks are just a portion,” Chiang says.