U.S. PC Companies Dead in 20 Years, says Acer

Acer to survive while HP and Dell to vanish?

The computer selling landscape has changed considerably over the last 20 years. Some of the moves were impossible to predict, but Taiwanese founder of computer maker Acer thinks he has a pretty good idea of what will happen to his U.S. competitors within two decades' time – disappear.

Acer has surged its way up to being the second biggest seller of computers worldwide, something which is attributable to the company's low-priced offerings and netbooks. The price sensitivity of the consumer is what has Stan Shih, founder of Acer, confident in the Taiwanese company's survival over American rivals.

"The trend for low-priced computers will last for the coming years," said Shih, according to the AFP's quote of a Commercial Times newspaper interview. "But U.S. 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 U.S. television brands."

What Shih is saying that Dell and HP, both leaders in the North American computer market, could be gone by 2030.

Does your crystal ball read the same as his? Maybe someone in Detroit can help answer.