Wondering where to get a new computer at a great price?
The ongoing 2001 Taipei Computer Applications Show is a good place to hunt for bargains, as prices of laptops and PCs have been marked down by up to 20 percent by international brands International Business Machines Corp and Compaq Inc, among others. Price competition in the laptop sector is heating up to be the battleground for this year's computer show.
Computer industry leader IBM is axing prices the most, and claims this is the best chance to buy premium goods at low prices.
PHOTO: GEORGE TSORNG, TAIPEI TIMES
"This time IBM Taiwan has cut prices to the rock bottom. And since the NT dollar exchange rate keeps dropping, prices won't get any lower in the short term," said Hamson Tseng (曾遠航), brand operations manager at IBM Taiwan.
The ThinkPad X and ThinkPad i from IBM have been dramatically marked down for the show.
The ThinkPad X21 (2662-4BT) has slid from NT$57,000 to NT$49,900, and the ThinkPad i (model 1161-93T) is going for NT$49,900 as well.
Not to be outdone, Compaq also cut prices on recent models by NT$4,000 to NT$5,000.
According to Dennis Chen (
With the computer market in a transition period between old and new models, companies use the show to sell older models at discount prices, Chen said. Compaq's best selling PC model -- the Presario 5000 outfitted with a Pentium III 933 chip -- is going for NT$22,000, and the Armada 110 laptop with a Pentium III 800 chip is selling for NT$39,999.
While international players have chosen to slash prices at the event, domestic computer manufactures aren't extending the same generous price breaks.
According to Eva Lai (
The five day consumer computer show at the Taipei World Trade Center is expected to attract some 250,000 visitors according to the Taipei Computer Association, a co-organizer of the show. The exhibition ends Sunday.
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