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While some computer makers were reluctant to offer netbooks in 2008, fearing that low cost computers could eat into the sales of higher priced notebooks, Acer jumped in with both feet. And the strategy appears to have paid off. Not a lot of companies came out ahead in 2008 (There’s a global recession going on, in case you missed it), but Acer saw a 38 percent increase in operating income from 2007.

Acer even did better during Q4 of 2008 than during the same period a year earlier, when the recession was really starting to hammer other tech companies. A large part of Acer’s success is due to the company’s netbook division. The Acer Aspire One was one of the best selling mini-laptops of 2o08.

And that was when Acer only offered a few variations of an 8.9 inch model with Linux, Windows XP, and a choice of solid state disk or hard drive. This year the company’s launching low cost models with 10.1 inch and 11.6 inch displays. Acer expects to sell over 12 million netbooks this year. But the field is also more crowded in 2009, so it should be interesting to see whether Acer can hang onto its market share this year.