International Business Machines (IBM) Corp managed to sell 56 percent more desktop and 29 percent more notebook computers last year in Taiwan compared to 2002, a company executive said yesterday.
Last year, IBM Taiwan sold around 82,000 desktop computers, up from 52,495 in 2002, and more than 70,000 units of its ThinkPad notebooks, up from around 54,000 units the previous year, said Hank Horng (洪漢青), head of IBM Tai-wan's personal computing division.
Horng attributed the success to a series of roadshows he organized in the center and south of the country that allowed potential cus-tomers outside Taipei the chance to see the computers before making a purchase.
"We gave users the chance to touch and handle the machines before buying," he said. "This way we encouraged more mid- to high-end users to buy our machines, which are in the upper ranges of the market with a higher price tag of around NT$80,000."
Taiwan leads the world in notebook production for global brands such as IBM.
Last year, the nation shipped 16.8 million notebook computers, a 21 percent increase on the previous year, according to figures released yesterday by the semi-official Market Intelligence Center.
Taiwan produced only half as many desktops, or 8.2 million, last year, an increase of 19 percent from 2002.
Looking ahead, Horng said IBM plans to rank in the top three laser-printer sellers with market leaders Hewlett-Packard Co and Epson Corp by the end of this year.
HP dominates the printer market with around 70 percent of sales locally, followed by Epson with 20 percent.
IBM's subsidiary Lexmark International Inc holds between 3 percent and 4 percent, Horng said.
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