Aspire sales help put Acer America on course for an anticipated 70% gain in revenues for Q4; Aspire buyers cite best price/performance value in home PCs as leading factor in purchase decision.

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 14, 1995--Acer America Corp.'s San Jose manufacturing facility has ramped up to full capacity and is producing over 80,000 emerald green and charcoal gray Aspire desktops and minitowers every month to meet demand for holiday retail sales.

Introduced in early September, the Aspire has captured the imagination of the American public with its distinctive styling, unique home decor colors, state of the art multimedia technology, easy set-up and user interface, and affordable prices.

Acer America revenues for October and November exceeded $400 million much of which comes from sales of Aspires through national retailers such as Best Buy, Computer City, Incredible Universe, Office Depot, Good Guys and Montgomery Ward, as well as numerous regional chains.

The Aspire continues to receive awards and accolades. The Aspire was a finalist in the PC Magazine 1995 Awards for Technical Excellence in the category of Design and won Best Desktop from Computer Retail Week.

Andy Pargh, Gadget Guru syndicated columnist and NBC TV/Today Show computer expert, gave the Aspire one of his Gadget Guru Product Awards as the best PC for first time users and the hot computer for Christmas. Gadget Guru Awards are based on products that "stand out in terms of technological achievement, function, features, value and overall operating quality."

Computer industry luminary John C. Dvorak hailed the Aspire as the best product at Comdex, the leading computer trade show, and International Data Corp. analyst Richard Zwetchkenbaum said the Aspire is the hottest story of the season.

"Americans are looking for powerful multimedia computers that are value-priced between $1,700 and $2,500 this holiday season," said Ronald Chwang, president and chief executive officer of Acer America Corp., the eighth largest PC manufacturer in the U.S.

"Customers are impressed by the Aspire's technology line-up, distinctive consumer electronics design, great colors and 3 year warranty -- all offered at affordable prices. It's easy to see why America is responding to this surefire combination."

Half of the Aspire owners are first time buyers, the other half are upgraders. The best selling Aspires for first time buyers are the Pentium 75 MHz desktops. Among users looking to upgrade, the Aspire Pentium 100 MHz desktops and minitowers and the Pentium 120 MHz and 133 MHz minitowers are most in demand.

All share the latest technology including: Microsoft Windows 95 pre-loaded; 14.4 or 28.8 modems for fast Internet connections; quad-speed CD ROMs, built-in, high quality speakers and microphone; full duplex speakerphone and answering machine, and voice activation to launch any of the 50 pre-loaded applications or retrieve phone messages.

What Aspire Owners Have to Say About the Aspire, its Design and Competitors

Acer America contracted with outside research groups to survey its installed based of Aspire buyers and determine specifically what about the Aspire appealed to American consumers and what in general they were considering in making a home computer purchase.

When asked in telephone surveys by Merrin Information Services of Menlo Park, Calif., what they liked most about the Aspire, the majority of Aspire owners replied its state of the art technology. The second most frequent response was its styling and design.

When asked how the Aspire compared with competitors, Aspire owners said they found the Acer computer offered the best combination of speed and performance for the lowest price.

A survey of 400 Aspire buyers conducted by Inquiry Handling Service in San Fernando, Calif., found customer satisfaction high among customers. Two-thirds of respondents reported being "very happy" with the Aspire and 94% as saying they would recommend the Aspire to a friend contemplating a similar purchase decision.

Nine out of 10 buyers reported that the set up of the Aspire was easy and the Acer Computer Explorer (ACE) interface useful and helpful. This survey found 45% of Aspire purchasers citing price as the "single most important" feature in their purchase decision, followed by capacity and performance.

The typical Aspire buyer is between 25 and 44 years of age, has an annual income of between $35,000 and $75,000, and is the head of a household in a family with children. Education and children's use of the Aspire was a factor in the purchase decision in two out of three cases in households where children are present.

The Aspire's unique design and color has, in fact, allowed it to move out of the home office environment. Although 41% of respondents had the Aspire in their home offices, 21% reported Aspires in the bedroom, 17% had them in the den and 13% included them in their living room decors.

"We're pleased with the Aspire's effect on redefining the ideal specs and design for America's home computers. Acer's mission for '96 is to continue delivering optimized function and performance in consumer PCs to a broader audience, at even lower prices," noted Chwang, "Next year, we expect to ship over 1 million Aspires worldwide."

Acer America Corp.

Acer America Corp. (http://www.acer.com/aac/), headquartered in San Jose, designs and manufactures a broad range of computer systems and peripherals. Award-winning product offerings include AcerNote notebooks, AcerPower and AcerEntra desktop computers, the AcerAltos line of open servers, AcerView monitors, and the recently introduced Acer Aspire for the home.

The Acer Computer Explorer and Out-of-Box Experience demonstrate Acer's commitment to make PCs as easy to use as other consumer products. Acer America, a member of the Acer Group, posted revenues of $932 million for the first three quarters of 1995. -0-

NOTE TO EDITORS: Acer is a registered trademark and AcerNote, AcerPower, AcerView, AcerAltos, Acer Aspire and AcerEntra are trademarks of the Acer Group. All other products, brand names or companies are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies.

CONTACT: Acer America Corp., San Jose

Jessica Kersey or Robyn Jenkins, 408/432-6200