Acer is undoubtedly the fastest rising laptop manufacturer in the world. In 2007, it overtook Toshiba. The following year, 2008, it zoomed past Dell. And with the way things are looking, they're on track to even beat their bold 2011 goal - overtaking the world leader in laptops, HP.
The big boost in sales came from impressive innovations like their ultra-stylish Acer Ferrari line and aggressive investments in the hottest segment in computers - mini-notebooks, better known as netbooks. While other notebook manufacturers were initially hesitant in entering the market that Asus opened through its highly successful Eee PCs, Acer didn't think twice.
In 2007, the year that Asus launched their first Eee PCs, Acer laptop sale watched intently as 300,000 Eee PCs were sold in just less than a quarter as that year was drawing to a close. What others saw as a fad, they viewed as a big opportunity and immediately introduced their Aspire One line.
In fact, immediately the following year, out of the total 5.61 million units sold, Acer accounted for 38.3% while Asus had to settle for 30.3%. Today, Acer's Aspire Ones far outsell the wide selection of Asus netbooks. Their bestselling models are the 8.9-inch AOA150 and the 10.1-inch AOD150. They've recently introduced their 11.6-inch AO751h.
8.9, 10.1, and 11.6 all refer to the screen sizes of the netbooks, measured diagonally and expressed in inches. These small, ultra-portable devices with extra long battery lives are ideal for web-based programs and can also run office applications like MS Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
These devices take the term "portable" to the next level. You see, when powered by a 6-cell battery, an AO751h can run continuously with normal usage for 8 hours. Even with just a 3-cell battery, the same device can run for 4 hours. These are way above the time virtually any laptop can last.
As netbooks approach 20% of worldwide laptop market, doing business in this special niche can generate substantial profits. You can find wholesale laptop deals online, purchase a few, and sell them on retail. You can choose from Windows XP or Linux-powered models. Those running on Linux are generally cheaper.
