Acer to Overtake Dell “Very Soon,” All Right

There was more truth than braggadocio to Acer President Gianfranco Lanci’s claim earlier today that his company would soon overtake Dell as the second-largest PC maker in the world. Because according to new reports from both Gartner and IDC, Acer is indeed the No. 2 producer of PCs in the world.

Gartner (IT) figures Acer sold 12.5 million PCs in the quarter, a year-over-year increase of 23.6 percent from last-year’s third quarter and 15.4 percent of the global market. By contrast, it says Dell (DELL) sold 10.3 million PCs–6.7 percent fewer than it sold a year ago–for a 12.8 percent market share. Meanwhile, IDC pegs Acer at 14 percent global market share and Dell at 12.7 percent.

Both research houses put Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) on top, with Gartner showing the company at 19.9 percent of PCs shipped and IDC at 20.2 percent.