Signs that the desktop market is getting even more challenging: Acer is getting Gateway for US$710 million, which isn't that major when you consider the US$18 billion size of the HP and Compaq merger. Of course, the latter two firms had a much more comprehensive product line, whereas both Acer and Gateway are pretty much PC-only peddlers. Maybe it will put the squeeze on Lenovo and Toshiba, but for Gateway, it might mean a second chance in Canada.
Back in the late 1990s, I broke the story about Gateway entering Canada through a deal with Keating Technologies. They then opened a slew of retail stores (they started with a "country store" model when the company was formed) and then pulled out a few years later when no one came buying. I can't say the product line really stood out, but you could say the same about Acer. These companies make decent, standard desktops that might look a lot like the machines cranked out by the country's white box makers. Which means, as in all commodity markets, that the success of the combined entity may come down to a price war with whoever else is left.