Taiwanese device vendors Acer and HTC have outlined bullish growth plans this year, bucking downbeat forecasts offered by more high-profile western rivals. Acer – the world’s third-largest PC maker – recently announced an aggressive move into the smartphone space, unveiling devices it hopes will contribute a 10 percent share of company revenue within three years. Reuters reports this week that Acer is in talks with China’s operators to sell such products there by the end of this year, whilst a CNet report claims that the vendor appears to have also struck a deal with US operator Verizon Wireless to sell its new range of netbooks. Meanwhile, Bloomberg notes that Acer expects total product shipments this quarter to rise as much as 30 percent, with the vendor confident it can maintain a “reasonable” operating profit this year.

HTC has also struck a positive note, declaring that the global smartphone market is picking up this quarter after a relatively weak first quarter that saw company net profit fall 30 percent to US$147 million. “The market is picking up again, and we think it should perform well,” chief executive Peter Chou told The Wall Street Journal. Chou said HTC remains optimistic about its full-year forecast for double-digit revenue growth. He added the company is starting to ship new smartphone models again this quarter, and that in 2009 it plans to introduce 15 new models of smartphones. “We think this [smartphone] market will continue delivering growth,” he said.