As Microsoft Corp.’s Windows 8 operating system has so far failed to substantially boost demand towards personal computers, Google Chrome-based laptops are getting more popular, according to a highly-ranking executive from Acer Group, a top PC maker. But while sales of the so-called Chromebooks are strong, they cannot save companies like Acer from posting major declines of shipments.

Laptops with Google Chrome operating system accounted for 5% to 10% of Acer’s U.S. shipments since introduced in November, 2012, according to Jim Wong, the president of the company. Moreover, the executive expects that sales of Chromebooks are sustainable and going forward in the long-term future they will continue to be a success for the company, especially once they are available on developing markets.

Still, the success of Chromebooks alone cannot save Acer and other PC makers from massive losses. While the company has just wrote down $120 million of goodwill on the value of its Gateway, Packard Bell and eMachines brands as a result of dropping sales, Acer blames Microsoft’s Windows, the corner stone of modern PCs, for its failures.

“Windows 8 itself is still not successful. The whole market didn’t come back to growth after the Windows 8 launch, that’s a simple way to judge if it is successful or not,” said Mr. Wong in an interview with Bloomberg news-agency.

Even though Chromebooks are inexpensive (Acer’s model starts at $199) and successful, to actually account for a more significant market share it needs promotions and advertisements. Moreover, it will also have to get features and capabilities to actually compete with Windows platform.

“You saw that all the marketing and promotions were not as broad as Windows 8, so to reach this success is encouraging,” said Mr. Wong.

Tags: Acer, Google, Chrome, Chromebook, Celeron, Intel, Windows 8, Microsoft, Windows