US computer brands may be gone in 20 years: Acer founder

(AFP PHOTO / Sam YEH)

US computer brands may be gone in 20 years' time due to an inability to produce the low-priced PCs the market demands, the Taiwanese founder of computer maker Acer was quoted as saying Tuesday.

"The trend for low-priced computers will last for the coming years," said Stan Shih, high tech entrepreneur and founder of the island's leading personal computer brand according to the Taipei-based Commercial Times newspaper.

"But US computer makers just don't know how to put such products on the market... US computer brands may disappear over the next 20 years, just like what happened to US television brands."

Acer outperformed US-based Dell as the world's second-largest computer vendor last year and is likely to replace Hewlett-Packard, also of the US, as the No. 1 vendor in 2011, according to Taipei-based industry publication Digitimes.