As COVID-19 restrictions slowly ease, Acer Pan Asia Pacific (PAP) forecasts a growth in several territories as restriction related to the COVID-19 pandemic slowly relaxed.
"Due to the pandemic, PAP performance in Q1 declined 10% year-on-year but as our factory has resumed manufacturing, we see a two-digit growth for Q2 in Japan, Vietnam and the Philippines and a positive growth in other territories like Hong Kong," said Acer Pan Asia Pacific president Andrew Hou during an exclusive online media panel briefing.
The growth is attributed to the reopening of Acer's manufacturing facility in China and new work- and learn-from-home directions.
The whole world either quarantined or on full lockdown for the past three months has resulted in the increase in demand for PCs capable of fulfilling consumers’ needs for use in their own homes.
To meet the demand for laptops and desktops during the quarantine, Acer Philippines launched its first online store in May. The online store carries Acer Philippines’ bestselling products such as Acer Nitro, Acer Swift, Predator Helios and Predator Triton. Also available at the online store are monitors, projectors and accessories. The PAP Acer eStore profile grew in the first quarter by 90% growth against 2019 and is forecasted to grow even more by at least 259% in Q2.
Acer Chairman and CEO Jason Chen
As the new normal protocols fall into place, Hou said Acer has found a new market in consumers that were required to work or study from home.
Acer’s ode to Philippine education
"In terms of education, we have a good portfolio for different needs. We are also open to provide support for governments for online education," Andrew Hou said.
Acer champions online and blended learning programs in the country's educational systems. The ICTC giant recently launched its back-to-school promo through the Learn From Home program
The program entitles students discounts of up to Php4,000 on selected Acer laptops until July 15 at select Acer-authorized Resellers and on the Acer Online Store.
“We are very happy to offer to everyone our most popular and efficient products, including the Aspire 3 and Swift 3 series, for the Learn From Home Program. These gadgets are every student’s perfect companions for the coming school year’s study sessions at home. We hope that through this program, we can help make students increase their knowledge and productivity even if they are at home,” said Acer Philippines general manager Sue Ong-Lim.
Postponement of the much awaited APAC Predator League 2020
Acer continues to be strong in the gaming category with its Predator brand, but they had to postpone the Asia Pacific Predator League 2020 to Spring 2021 for the benefit of competitors and ticket-holders alike as there is still no cure nor vaccine for COVID-19.
“The postponement of the Asia Pacific Predator League, instead of a cancellation, demonstrates Acer’s commitment to the gaming community,” said Hou.
Hou said Acer sold 20,000 tickets to the event, which would have been held at the SM Mall of Asia Arena, Pasay City in Manila with some of the best teams in the region competing for top honors and cash prizes. The same qualifying teams from the local preliminary competitions will compete in Spring 2021 with the event has been renamed Predator League 2020/2021 with a prize pool of USD400,000.
Predator continues its support for Esports with smaller events to maintain the hype. One of these events is the PUBG Continental Series APAC Charity Showdown with the cash prize for the winner donated to charity.
"It's difficult to host bigger competitions right now so Predator will be focusing on smaller events for the meantime," said Hou.
Acer Day was introduced in 2017 as a dedicated day to celebrate the Acer's achievements with customers with special offers, rewards and gifts across all ranges of Acer products.
From 14 countries in 2017, Acer Day 2020 will now be marked in 20 countries with online and offline activities.
As the world moves on from lockdowns and quarantines, Acer continues to do business with optimism and caution and has instituted safety guidelines.
"We have increased the rates of cleaning and sanitation across all parts of our business (i.e. our contact centers, our service centers, production facilities and our corporate offices) in the effort to minimize the rate of infection within the community. We have further implemented strict screening measures of all staff and contractors working across all our sites, as we continue to monitor the heath advice and information from relevant local and global health authorities," Acer mentioned in one of its statements.
Next@Acer Global Press Conference 2020
Acer announced several additions and upgrades to its wide range of tech products. One of which is its new Swift 5 notebook that offers a new take on productivity, powerful yet light enough to be carried around throughout the day. The ultraportable device is a beacon of both design and performance, sporting a professional aesthetic that is backed up by impressive functionality. This year’s model features ultra-narrow bezels that allow for a 90% screen-to-body ratio, a touchscreen with Antimicrobial Corning Gorilla Glass and new colors, such as mist green.
Swift 5
“The new Swift 5 pushes the envelope on what thin-and-light notebooks can be,” said James Lin, General Manager, Notebooks, IT Products Business, Acer Inc. “A productivity powerhouse housed in a sleek and ultraportable chassis, the Swift 5 is an excellent option for professionals who are always on the move and seeking a device capable of keeping up with them.”
Acer also expanded its offering of Chromebooks for consumers and businesses with the new stylish Acer Chromebook Spin 713 (CP713-2W) and Acer Chromebook Enterprise Spin 713, featuring 10th Gen Intel® Core™ commercial processors that deliver the latest in connectivity, productivity, performance and platform stability, designed to enable the superior productivity and performance that businesses need when working in the cloud. It brings together cutting-edge hardware, specs and design with the speed, security and simplicity that Chrome OS is known for.
Part of Intel’s Project Athena innovation program, the new Acer Chromebook Spin 713 is powered by the latest 10th Gen Intel Core processors that offer first-rate performance and battery life. In addition, its 2K 13.5-inch VertiView display features a productivity-boosting 3:2 aspect ratio, creating extra vertical space and reducing scrolling.
Additionally, Acer launched the Chromebook Spin 311 (CP311-3H), a consumer-friendly 11.6-inch convertible Chromebook designed to handle schoolwork and everyday projects. Powered by a Mediatek MT8183 processor, it provides the performance necessary to simultaneously run multiple apps, web pages and documents. Plus, a long battery life of up to 15-hours1 ensures it will keep up with students and families during long days of study, work and play.
A new suite of premium notebooks, desktops, and monitors to expand its ConceptD line was announced during the Next@Acer Global Press Conference on June 23.
ConceptD 100
Included in the lineup is the ConceptD 3 notebook range featuring the ConceptD 3 Ezel convertible notebook for creators on the move, the powerful ConceptD 100 desktop for content creators who work in small businesses and creative studios, and a trio of ConceptD monitors such as the ConceptD CP5, the ConceptD CP3 and the ConceptD CM3 for computer graphics professionals. The ConceptD Series includes a variety of devices to suit the creative needs of professionals across the board from design students and YouTube enthusiasts to CAD designers, video editors, illustrators and animators.
One of most talked-about segment of the night is the Enduro series, the new line of rugged notebooks and tablets specially designed to provide the durability, portability and performance needed by professionals working in the field. First responders and industrial manufacturing workers will find the Acer Enduro N7 to be a reliable companion, while event producers and outdoor hobbyists will appreciate the thin-and-light yet durable Enduro N3. A series of Enduro tablets are also available for retail, warehouse and manufacturing usage scenarios.
“With an increasingly modern workforce, more and more mobile devices are being deployed in the field where they are subject to harsher handling. Enduro, our new line of rugged notebooks and tablets, was created to provide our customers with the durability and performance that gets the job done,” said Andrew Chuang, General Manager, Rugged Computing, Acer Inc.
Predator Helios 700 Defender
The company also addressed significant new updates to four of its popular gaming notebooks: the Predator Helios 700, Predator Helios 300, Predator Triton 300 and Nitro 7. These new refreshed models bring exciting updates across the board, giving gamers of all levels and types something to look forward to.
The notebook lines now include the latest 10th Gen Intel Core H-series processors for desktop-caliber performance that can be taken anywhere. NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER or RTX 2070 SUPER GPUs deliver the performance needed to drive fast displays with high refresh rates for blur-free seamless visuals in even the most demanding of AAA games. To keep the notebooks operating at peak performance and optimal temperatures, Acer has equipped the notebooks with enhanced thermal designs, new cooling technologies and additional heat pipes.