Acer Becomes the New Netbook Top Dog

You know what they say about not being able to play with the big dogs, and not only does Acer have what it takes to hang out on the porch, it now sits on the top step. The PC maker now sells more netbooks than Asus, whose Eee PC has been synonymous with the big selling little genre.

What's most interesting about Acer selling more netbooks than Asus is that Acer only sells one model - the Acer Aspire One. Despite having just a single offering, Acer has shipped 2.16 million units of its Aspire One in Q3 2008, giving the company a 38.3 percent share of the market. Asus' entire line of Eee PCs trails in second place with a combined 1.7 million units shipped in the same quarter for a 30.3 percent market share. From there, the drop off becomes significant, with HP's Mini 1000 netbook in a distant third with .33 million units shipped for just 5.8 percent of the market.

The fight for the top spot could be an important one, as netbooks continue to defy a struggling economy. According to DisplaySearch, the netbook category grew a staggering 160 percent from Q3 to Q4, with 14 million units expected to ship by the end of 2008.

Image Credit: Acer