Acer

The Acer Group is a family of three brands -- Acer, Gateway, and Packard Bell. This unique multi-brand strategy allows each brand to offer a unique set of brand characteristics that targets different customer needs in the global PC market. Today, the Acer Group still strives to break the barriers between people and technology. It ranks No. 4 for total PC and No. 3 for notebooks shipments*, and has a global workforce of 8,000 employees. Revenues for 2011 reached US$15.7 billion.

The successful mergers of Gateway Inc. (October 2007) and Packard Bell Inc. (March 2008) by parent company, Acer Inc., completes the group's global footprint by further strengthening its presence in the U.S. and Europe.

Acer designs environmentally friendly products and, with its vendors, has established a green supply chain. The brand’s PC-centric product offering includes notebook and desktop PCs, servers and storage, LCD monitors, projectors, and smartphones and tablets. Sub-brands include the consumer-focused Aspire series, and commercial sector TravelMate and Veriton series. See www.acer.com for more information.

Gateway was founded by Ted Waitt in 1985 in an Iowa farmhouse with a US$10,000 loan guaranteed by his grandmother, a rented computer and a three-page business plan. Today, Gateway has grown into one of America's best-known PC brands.

The brand received national acclaim in 1991 when it introduced its distinctive cow-spotted boxes, a tribute to its farming heritage. In early 2004, Gateway acquired eMachines, and later moved its headquarters to Irvine, California. In October 2007, Gateway was acquired by Taiwan-based Acer. As Gateway pushes into new frontiers, it remains dedicated to its original objective of helping people improve their lives through technology. Seewww.gateway.com for more information.

Very few brands can claim to have witnessed, let alone contributed, to the three major
revolutions -- radio, TV and PC -- in home entertainment of the past 80 years. Packard Bell is one of the rare ones. The brand was born in 1926. In the 1920s and 1930s when radio was all the rage, Packard Bell emerged as a popular brand of console radios with a reputation for elegant design. The first Packard Bell television sets were launched in 1948, just as the TV revolution was sweeping the world.

Fast forward to the end of the 1980s, Packard Bell entered the personal computer market in 1987. It pioneered the use of the PC in the home, taking an office tool and turning it into a friendly, indispensable feature of today's modern home.

Stylish design with cool features accessible to everyone, are the hallmarks of all Packard Bell products. In 2008 Packard Bell was acquired by Taiwan-based Acer, and continues to evolve the design, innovation and ease of use that have been the brand hallmarks for over 80 years.See www.packardbell.com for more information.