Packard Bell is a Dutch computer manufacturer and a subsidiary of Acer. The name was previously used by Packard Bell, an American radio manufacturer founded in 1926. In 1986, Israeli investors bought the name for a newly formed personal computer manufacturer. Originally the company produced discount computers in the US and Canada. When it left the North American computer industry in 2000, it quickly became a leader in the European and African markets. NEC took it over in the late 1990s. The Taiwanese computer manufacturer Acer acquired it in 2008.
In spite of the similarity of their names, there has never been any corporate connection between the original or later Packard Bell and Hewlett Packard, Bell & Howell, Bell Aircraft, or Bell System.
