History Of Acer
Acer has been around since the 1970s, though I remember the brand most from the 1990s, when I bought my first computer. It was one of the companies that attempted to add color and design to the personal computer, hiring Frog Designs to come up with a sleeker design in a day when most PCs were beige (remember bland beige?). Acer Aspires were available in the then-shocking colors of charcoal gray and emerald green (image below).
But then, Acer disappeared. Even as a tech reporter covering computers, I had almost forgotten what happened to the Taiwanese company.
In 2001, Acer reorganized and split its two main product lines into two companies. Computers continued under Acer. Its monitors and other peripherals became BenQ, which is alive and well and has its U.S. headquarters in Irvine.
And then about two years ago, Acer started coming back. The Ferrari laptop caught my attention. But I haven’t paid close enough attention. Apparently in two years, Acer has gone from the nation’s No. 8 PC seller to No. 5, just behind Gateway. It’s U.S. market share in the second quarter, according to market researcher International Data Corp., grew to 5.2 percent. Not bad, considering Gateway’s was 5.6 percent.
