Acer gains on netbooks, HP keeps global PC lead

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Taiwan's Acer Inc surged past global champion Hewlett-Packard Co in European personal computer sales in the third quarter, in the clearest sign of the move towards cheap, small mini-notebook computers, research firm Gartner Inc said on Tuesday. Worldwide PC shipments rose 15 percent in the quarter, with HP in the lead, followed by Dell Inc. The July-September period was marked by strong growth in the lower-cost mini-notebook category, which Acer has been focussing on, Gartner analyst Mika Kitagawa said. This helped bolster the overall PC market in he face of slumping consumer spending. Acer's market share gains in the quarter... [read full story]