Gateway returns to UK as business brand

Gateway

Gateway, the PC manufacturer that was well known on the UK high street in the 90s, is returning to the UK and Europe as an exclusively business focused brand.

Acer, who purchased the brand last year for $710 million, is repurposing the brand to target medium to large businesses. However, in the US, Gateway will continue to sell to consumers.

At a press conference today, Antonio Papele, the divisional director for the new Gateway brand, said that Business First' would be the tagline for the new company.

He said that the company would be independent of its parent and would have the "agility of a startup but with the funding of a $20 billion company."

Kevin O'Donoghue, product business manager for the Gateway division, said that while the company was hoping to gain market share, it was looking for quality rather than quantity. As such it would keep its product focus simple and at launch it will offer just desktops and notebooks. Servers and displays will follow in Q2 2009.

There will be three notebooks at launch, one with a 12.1in display and two 15.4in models, while the PCs will encompass tower, small form factor and ultra-small form factor.

The Gateway branded servers will be 1U and 2U rack formats while the screens would be offered in 19in and 22in wide formats.

The company also announced that it would be offering managed services, via its reseller partners to enhance its offerings. O'Donoghue said that the managed services would be "turnkey solutions", and that all that customers would require would be an internet connection.

Benny Har-Even

Benny Har-Even is a twenty-year stalwart of technology journalism who is passionate about all areas of the industry, but telecoms and mobile and home entertainment are among his chief interests. He has written for many of the leading tech publications in the UK, such as PC Pro and Wired, and previously held the position of technology editor at ITPro before regularly contributing as a freelancer.

Known affectionately as a ‘geek’ to his friends, his passion has seen him land opportunities to speak about technology on BBC television broadcasts, as well as a number of speaking engagements at industry events.