Acer and Asus both benefitted from netbooks, with netbooks helping Acer ship 47.3% more computers globally than this time last year, according to the Austin-American Statesman. That helps Acer get within distance of Dell as far as market share / shipments (Dell is #2 at 13.6%, Acer is #3 at 12.5%). Acer’s netbook success rests primarily on just one netbook line, the 8.9″ Acer Aspire One, while Asus has a range of netbooks in their Eee PC line, from 7″ to 10.2″. Analysts are acknowledging the impact of netbooks:
The introduction of smaller, cheaper netbooks has added a new dynamic in the market-share chase. Acer and Asus, another Taiwanese computer maker, jumped into the new market earlier than their rivals and have established an edge there, Gartner analyst Mika Kitagawa said.
Asus, for example, jumped to No. 6 in worldwide market share in the quarter, she said, a meteoric rise from the same period last year.
Apple has also done well, without the aid of netbooks, at least in the US markets. Their shipments in the US went up nearly 30%, which game them 9.5% of the US market (#3 in the US overall with Dell and HP in the #1 and #2 spots).