U.S. computer industry dead in 20 years

http://www.thetechherald.com/article.php/201003/5115/Acer-founder-U-S-computer-industry-dead-in-20-years

Acer founder: U.S. computer industry dead in 20 years
by Stevie Smith
Jan 20 2010

We here at The Tech Herald dearly love the U.S. computer sector and are loathed to be the harbingers of doom regarding its possible demise at the hands of other, more market-savvy regions of the industry… but that’s exactly what this news story suggests.

Moreover, the Taiwanese founder of computer manufacturing heavyweight Acer Inc., has prophesised that U.S. computer makers could be an extinct breed by 2030 due to their apparent lack of understanding in the hardware marketplace.

“The trend for low-priced computers will last for the coming years,” said Stan Shih, founder of Taipei-based Acer, in a Commercial Times newspaper report covered by AFP.

“But US computer makers just don’t know how to put such products on the market,” he added. “US computer brands may disappear over the next 20 years, just like what happened to US television brands.”

While 20 years is certainly a long time, giving the likes of Dell Inc., Hewlett-Packard Company (HP), and perhaps even Apple Inc., a sizeable window of opportunity with which to avoid this impending doom, Acer’s own momentum is certainly not to be sniffed at.

Specifically, market figures for 2009 saw Acer topple Texas-based Dell to become the world’s second largest computer vendor behind current frontrunner California-based Hewlett-Packard – a position technology magazine DigiTimes believes will belong to Acer by 2011.