Acer lowers tablet forecast by 60 percent

Electronics manufacturer Acer has lowered its full-year tablet shipment target by nearly 60 percent and predicts lower than previously expected laptop shipments while it works to clear its channel inventory, according to reports.

Previous tablet shipment forecasts from the beginning of 2011 predicted a total of 5-to-7 million units, whereas the revised forecasts expects to see between 2.5 and 3 million tablets shipped, a Reuters report said on Wednesday..

Despite the revised estimates, Acer chairman JT Wang told shareholders that "the third quarter will be considerably more stable" and that "the fourth quarter will be even better", according to Reuters.

On 25 March, Acer warned its first quarter results would fall short of expectations by around 10 percent as a result of "relatively weaker" PC demand in western Europe.

The previous day, 24 March, former chief executive of Acer, Gianfranco Lanci, announced he was leaving the company immediately as a result of a difference in focus over the company's future. Lanci wanted to place more emphasis on mobile developments.