People who read this blog are probably familiar with Acer, which seemed to spring out of nowhere in the past two years.

We all “oohhed and ahhed” at its hot Ferrari laptops (on right), inspired by the Formula One race car. Or perhaps you saw the crazy Acer AS9810, selling at Costco?

This notebook has a 20-inch screen, a 320 GB hard drive, TV tuner and HD DVD player (pictured below).

Acer has been around since the 1970s, though I remember the brand most from the 1990s, when I bought my first computer. It was one of the companies that attempted to add color and design to the personal computer, hiring Frog Designs to come up with a sleeker design in a day when most PCs were beige (remember bland beige?). Acer Aspires were available in the then-shocking colors of charcoal gray and emerald green (image below).

But then, Acer disappeared. Even as a tech reporter covering computers, I had almost forgotten what happened to the Taiwanese company.

In 2001, Acer reorganized and split its two main product lines into two companies. Computers continued under Acer. Its monitors and other peripherals became BenQ, which is alive and well and has its U.S. headquarters in Irvine.

And then about two years ago, Acer started coming back. The Ferrari laptop caught my attention. But I haven’t paid close enough attention. Apparently in two years, Acer has gone from the nation’s No. 8 PC seller to No. 5, just behind Gateway. It’s U.S. market share in the second quarter, according to market researcher International Data Corp., grew to 5.2 percent. Not bad, considering Gateway’s was 5.6 percent.

Unknown is whether the Acer brand will continue to become popular in the U.S. In today’s conference call about the Gateway acquisition, Acer President Gianfranco Lanci said he plans to keep all three brands (that’s Acer, Gateway and eMachines).

But it hasn’t been determined how the brands will be presented to consumers. Gateway could be the premium brand in the U.S., but not overseas. Emachines, however, will probably still be the low-end brand since its computers start in the sub-$400 range.

However they decide and whether or not the acquisition is completed, expect to hear more about Acer. The company is determined to dominate the computer industry. Today’s news will make the combined company the world’s third largest PC maker, ahead of Lenovo.

And another Gateway tidbit from today, the Irvine company is buying the Packard Bell brand as part of an agreement with Lap Shun “John” Hui, the former owner of eMachines who still owns a 4.9 percent stake in Gateway. He gave Gateway the first right to Packard Bell and Gateway said early Monday that it will take Hui up on his offer.

That means, said David Daoud, an IDC analyst, Acer will be just a tad larger than Dell in Europe at 16.8 percent vs. Dell’s 16 percent.

Good for consumers? That, too, is not known. Lanci with Acer says this gives consumers and retailers more choice at the store. Daoud’s take is that this is definitely good for Gateway. For consumers? That remains to be determined.

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