May 21, 2013 - 04:00 PM EDT — AAPL: 439.66 (0.00, +0%) | NASDAQ: 3498.965 (+33.722, +0.97%)

Acer founder: US computer brands may be gone in 20 years

Tuesday, January 19, 2010 · 3:00 pm · 38 Comments

“US computer brands may be gone in 20 years’ time due to an inability to produce the low-priced PCs the market demands, the Taiwanese founder of computer maker Acer was quoted as saying Tuesday,” AFP reports.

“‘The trend for low-priced computers will last for the coming years,’ said Stan Shih, high tech entrepreneur and founder of the island’s leading personal computer brand according to the Taipei-based Commercial Times newspaper. ‘But US computer makers just don’t know how to put such products on the market… US computer brands may disappear over the next 20 years, just like what happened to US television brands,’” AFP reports.

Full article here.

MacDailyNews Take: Dell? Sure. HP? Probably. Apple? iCal’ed. See you right here on Saturday, January 19, 2030, where we’ll be serving Stan a heaping helping of crow.

Categories: All Sites, News

Thank You for supporting MacDailyNews!

 Apple 13.3" MacBook Air dual-core Intel Core i7 2.0GHz, 8GB RAM, 512GB Flash Storage, Intel HD Graphics 4000, Mac OS X Lion (Z0ND-20GHZ8GB512) only $2,159.99
 Secret Sale Exclusive for MacMall Valued Customers Only
 Apple 15.4" MacBook Pro (with Retina display) quad-core Intel Core i7 2.3GHz/16GB RAM/256GB FS/IntelHD Graphics4000/OS X Lion (Z0MK-15-2.3-16-256RT) only $2,333.99
 Apple Blowouts: Up to $649 OFF on Last Gen Macs. Prices start at $1,999.99 w/ Free Upgrade to OS X Mountain Lion & Free FedEx Overnight ends 02/08 6:15PM PST.
 Apple 13.3" MacBook Pro dual-core Intel Core i7 2.9GHz, 8GB RAM, 750GB 5400-rpm hard drive, Intel HD Graphics 4000, Ships with Mountain Lion (MD102LL/A) only $1,419.97

Comment Feed

38 Comments

1 2 Next »

macsilvio

Tuesday, January 19, 2010 - 4:05 pm · Reply

Acer may by gone in 2 years…!
MidWest Mac

Tuesday, January 19, 2010 - 4:10 pm · Reply

They won’t be gone if they find ways to add value to the computer experience the way Apple has.

As commodity dealers (what is the difference between a Dell or HP, honestly?) they have been knifing each other to death for years.

Meanwhile, Apple has excelled. There are lessons to be learned.
Hint Hammer

Tuesday, January 19, 2010 - 4:11 pm · Reply

Perhaps Stan meant…

US Windows-based computer brands may be gone in 20 years.
Wings2Sky

Tuesday, January 19, 2010 - 4:13 pm · Reply

I would agree with him if Apple weren’t in the market. There were no innovative TV companies that gave you a better user experience or features that you couldn’t get anywhere else. And nobody was saying that a US TV brand topped the charts in customer satisfaction and support.
Monger

Tuesday, January 19, 2010 - 4:14 pm · Reply

Perhaps no one will even be calling them “computers” in 20 years. That term is so last century.
Zeke

Tuesday, January 19, 2010 - 4:28 pm · Reply

What makes this clown think that anyone will be making PCs in 20 years?
surfcity

Tuesday, January 19, 2010 - 4:28 pm · Reply

Note that even Apple Inc. dropped the word “computer” from their corporate name. With OSX, Apple stands alone on strong foundation. With only Windows, Acer too, could become a casualty of the race to the bottom.
Amazin1

Tuesday, January 19, 2010 - 4:30 pm · Reply

I think Mr. Shih’s dick is going to fall off within the next 20 years. Opps, sorry, already did, along with his balls. Acer is so incapable of doing anything original and are bottom feeders. For that he is proud? Glad to see America business ideas are flowing right to Taipei!
TheConfuzed1

Tuesday, January 19, 2010 - 4:30 pm · Reply

@ MDN–

Who sets the iCal to see if you’re still here in 2030? 
Macintosh

Tuesday, January 19, 2010 - 4:34 pm · Reply

Wow, this guy is amazing. He’s not taking into account how different consumers are regarding technology now vs. the TV era. And he’s practically saying that computers or computing as a whole isn’t going to change that much.

He can start eating his words next week I’m sure.
acid

Tuesday, January 19, 2010 - 4:46 pm · Reply

If I’m still surfing MDN in 20 years, somebody kill me.
Jimbo von Winskinheimer

Tuesday, January 19, 2010 - 4:47 pm · Reply

“Gone” is a relative term. Compaq is “gone”, because HP gobbled them up. Acer may still be around in 2030 in strictly a spiritual sense. As an example, Toshiba gobbles up Acer, Lenovo gobbles up Toshiba, HP gobbles up Lenovo – is Acer still alive?
Why Acer makes cheap PCs ...

Tuesday, January 19, 2010 - 4:48 pm · Reply

Child labor and sweatshops are illegal in the USA.
Shado Control

Tuesday, January 19, 2010 - 4:55 pm · Reply

20 is an unforeseeable future for this type of thing. Most companies are not successful for that period anyway. Compare Apple’s “future” in 1975 to 1985 to 1995 to 2005. Nothing was predictable.
Shado Control

Tuesday, January 19, 2010 - 4:56 pm · Reply

20 YEARS
WriterGuy

Tuesday, January 19, 2010 - 4:58 pm · Reply

It’s not just child labor and sweatshops. It’s that workers there have yet to organize, and so are being paid a relative pittance. When workers there decide they won’t accept the situation where they can’t afford to buy the products they make, when workers there demand what we would call a “middle class” life, then the huge wage difference between us and them will disappear. Of course, by then, manufacturing will simply move deeper and deeper into what we lovingly call “the third world.”

I think China will get too expensive for manufacturing for multinational corporations (as it already has for the US, Japan, S. Korea and much of Europe). By 2030, Acer (and its ilk) will likely be assembled in places like Central Africa and Bolivia.
Raymond in DC

Tuesday, January 19, 2010 - 5:12 pm · Reply

There’s a difference between US brands made or assembled in the US and US brands that are not. Apple is in the latter category. It thrives because of its perceived value and very rich gross margins. Some who lack such margins will try to consolidate just to survive. And some will simply be sold off. Compaq is already gone, as is IBM, which sold their PC operation to Lenovo. For some, there will only be a name to be acquired by others. Think Packard Bell.
Admiral X

Tuesday, January 19, 2010 - 5:19 pm · Reply

Back on it MDN. Great take.
Big Als MBP

Tuesday, January 19, 2010 - 5:20 pm · Reply

Hell, in 20 years North America will be under a mile or so of ice and snow.

Of course there will be no American computer makers.
Admiral X

Tuesday, January 19, 2010 - 5:22 pm · Reply

Writer fails to mention that while most computers are built overseas, they’re built by contractors for U.S. companies and powered by software written in the U.S. Don’t see that changing anytime soon. Linux has been around for how long, and how many times has Apple changed the paradigm? Past performance is not indicative of future results.