Stan Shih, founder of Acer, has reportedly commented that tablet computers such as the iPad or Galaxy are simply a fad. He also went on to say that ultrabooks such as Apple’s MacBook Air or Asus UX21 are nothing more than a consumer craze. Sales of tablet computers have been steadily rising as more and more consumers are drawn in.
That said, Acer are just about to launch their own tablet device. According to Mr Shih this is to take advantage of the current trend for consumer demand in thinner, lightweight computers. However, the company will continue to focus most of its energy of PC and laptop devices.
Countering these comments financial analyst Ben Reitzes of Barclays Capital spoke out saying that he expects tablet computers to weaken the laptop market further within the coming year. Furthermore, he said that he expected “to see more muted demand for notebooks than previously expected in the second half [of 2011] given uncertainty in European markets and pressure from tablets”.
Recently Samsung unveiled the Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet which is expected to be a huge rival to the iPad, which currently has a stronghold on the tablet computer market. It is expected that the Galaxy 10.1 Tab will be the fastest selling tablet device since the hugely popular iPad 2.
Commenting on Ultrabooks, Mr Reitzes said: “While Intel’s Ultrabook concept is generating buzz, we do not expect Ultrabooks to materially drive shipments in our model given the expected $1k+ price points.”
