An IBM Taiwan executive expressed caution about the personal computer market in the upcoming fourth quarter, citing the possible influences of the stock market and elections.
"Though the fourth quarter is traditionally a high season, the visibility for this year's remains low right now, due to the potential influences caused by the fluctuating stock market and the election at the end of this year," said Laurence Hwang (
The company is not pessimistic but is cautious about the market in the forthcoming quarter, Hwang said at a press conference yesterday.
IBM Taiwan, the nation's third largest personal computer vendor, yesterday launched its latest desktop computer series, Think- Centre S50, which boasts Intel Corp's latest Grantsdale platform and has a footprint smaller than A4 paper; the new machine is priced at NT$28,900.
The company cited the semi-official Institute for Information Industry's statistics, saying that Taiwan's desktop market is expected to grow by 11 percent to 2.55 million units this year.
Big Blue hoped the fourth quarter would further strengthen its position in the nation's enterprise markets that already make up 80 percent of the company's customers.
Its strategies include marketing the space-saving new products to the targeted segments, including the banking and securities sectors, call centers and gasoline stations.
The company cited International Data Corporation (IDC) statistics saying that it outperformed its rivals in the nation's desktop market in the year's first half.
IBM Taiwan shipped 55,100 desktop computers in the first half, up 66 percent from a year ago, while No.1 vendor Acer Inc had 35 percent growth and the No.2, player Hewlett-Packard Taiwan Ltd, saw a 32 percent increase over the same time, IDC said.
Hwang said IBM sought to expand its business but shied away from talking about company's growth targets for the year's last half.
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