TAIPEI, Taiwan -- When Microsoft Corp. Chairman Bill Gates introduced the first prototypes of the Tablet PC in 2001, he predicted
that the devices would become the most popular form of PCs within five years. But that prediction hasn't yet translated into
high volumes for Acer Inc., which continues to lose money on its Tablet PC line, according to a company executive.
"Nobody is able to actually be profitable making the Tablet PC," said Campell Kan, the chief officer of Acer's notebook products
division, in an interview on the sidelines of the Computex exhibition here last week.
Acer is a high-profile supporter of Microsoft's Tablet PC initiative and was the first company to unveil a convertible Tablet
PC design, which can be switched from a conventional notebook into a tablet-like form factor.
Despite its early enthusiasm for the Tablet PC, the Taiwanese PC vendor is losing money on the devices because shipment volumes
have remained low, preventing the company from achieving the economies of scale in production that would allow it to recoup
its investments -- $10 million and rising -- on development and marketing of the devices, Kan said.
"Our current run rate is around 8,000 to 10,000 (units) per month," Kan said. "We are not satisfied with that."
Acer had hoped to ship 20,000 to 30,000 units per month for each of its three existing Tablet PC models, according to Kan.
"That's where we're able to reach economies of scale," he said.
There are several reasons for why Tablet PC sales have been slow, Kan said, citing high prices and a lack of applications
that take advantage of the Tablet PC's functions. In addition, Microsoft has not been aggressively marketing the Tablet PC
to end-users, he said.
"I don't see that Microsoft has been continuously doing much to help grow the market," Kan said. "They are working on that
right now. Supposedly, for Q4 this year, they are working on some marketing campaign."
That timing may be crucial. Fourth-quarter sales are typically higher than in other quarters and an aggressive marketing push
by Microsoft could help lift sales, Kan said.
Currently, Tablet PC sales in Asia account for around 1 percent of notebook sales, said Kitty Fok, director of personal systems
research at IDC Asia-Pacific. And the prognosis is not good. "Sales have been slowing down," she said.
Fok sees the high price of Tablet PCs relative to other laptops and a lack of applications tailored to take advantage of Tablet
PC's functions as factors that have held back sales of the devices.
"It's pretty much a niche market at this moment," Fok said. "It will be easier for Tablet PC to pick if there are some special
applications for the Tablet PC or prices drop."
Nevertheless, Acer is hoping for the best. The company expects to see shipments pick up to around 20,000 units in the fourth
quarter, Kan said. Whether this increase in shipments can be maintained is another matter.
"The question will be how long will this momentum last," Kan said.
Hoping to tap into a broader range of users and boost sales, Acer will add a fourth Tablet PC to its product line during the
fourth quarter, Kan said. The Travel Mate C300 is a convertible design and boasts a 14.1-inch screen and an internal DVD-ROM
or CD-ROM drive, two options not available with Acer's other convertible Tablet PCs. While pricing has not yet been finalized,
the C300 should be available for around $2,000, he said.
Looking ahead, Acer hopes to one day turn a profit on its Tablet PCs, perhaps by the time Microsoft ships the next version
of its Windows operating system, called Longhorn, in 2005 or 2006, Kan said. In the meantime, Acer's notebook business remains
profitable overall and the company sees the money it is losing on Tablet PCs as an investment in the product and the company's
future, he said.
"You are not able to make money on every product," Kan said. "You have to invest for the future."
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