Acer sees revenue almost doubling in 3 yrs -chairman

Acer also expects shipments of its low-cost netbook PCs to rise over 50 percent in 2010 from this year, Chairman J.T. Wang said, helped by an improving global economy and as more users migrate to the smaller form for more mobility.

"The idea is to reach $30 billion as soon as possible," Wang told Reuters in an interview, in his first public comments since the company overtook Dell as the world's No. 2 PC maker.

"If the PC market starts to grow from next year and handhelds have the potential to become a $200 billion market, $30 billion is a humble target."

Acer is expected to reach T$573 billion ($17.6 billion) this year, according to a poll of 22 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Microsoft's launch of its Windows 7 operating system on Thursday is also expected to be a positive factor for sales, Wang said, as consumers look to upgrade computers running on the much-maligned Vista or the eight-year-old XP system.

"It's positive," Wang said. "Looking at Microsoft the past 10 years, they've made the operating system more complicated all the way. This time, they've made it simpler. It's a totally opposite direction of their design philosophy."

Wang also said the company would be able to maintain its gross profit margin of about 10 percent even as prices of components such as LCD panels and DRAM memory chips climb on rising demand.

(Editing by Jonathan Hopfner)