Acer is expected to outsource over 30% of its tablet manufacturing to China-based makers in 2014 since China makers already have mature technologies, but are more competitive in terms of price compared to Taiwan-based makers, according to sources from the upstream supply chain.

　　Acer recently outsourced its 7-inch 3G tablet to China-based Shanghai Huaqin with shipments to start in March, the sources noted.

　　Compal Electronics was originally the main manufacturer of Acer's 7-inch tablets, but has started losing orders. Shanghai Huaqin is one of China's first-tier handheld device suppliers and manufactures smartphones for Lenovo, the sources said.

　　The sources pointed out that Compal's recent merger with Compal Communications is another key factor pushing Acer to find new ODM partners. Since the merger has brought Compal orders from Nokia, Sony, Lenovo and even Apple, and greatly increased Compal's workload. Acer is concerned that it may be treated less importantly in the future, the sources added.