"It turned out to be a miniaturization of a notebook," Wong said.

Netbook sales started slumping just around the time Apple's iPad was introduced. The iPad impacted PC makers as people gravitated toward tablets, slowing down overall PC sales. Innovation in PCs came to a standstill, and Wong said the company recognized that changes were needed to survive and evolve with the changing computing landscape.

"It's not healthy, nobody can survive this way," Wong said.

Acer is now backing ultrabooks and tablets running Microsoft's upcoming Windows 8 operating system. With its touch capabilities Windows 8 and ultrabooks could potentially provide a new way to bring innovation back to the PC era, Wong said.

Acer's tablets have not sold well so far, but the company hopes users are attracted to ultrabooks with the ability to create and consume content. The company has announced ultrabooks with Intel's chips, and hopes to .