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New screens widen laptop market

A model poses with a Joybook 6000, the latest ultra-portable laptop from BenQ, in Taipei yesterday. The laptop weighs only 1.6 kg and is no larger than the surface area of an A4 sheet of paper. Its usability, ergonomics, design, quality and battery life are aimed at attracting urban female consumers. PHOTO: GEORGE TSORNG, TAIPEI TIMES

Wide-aspect-ratio notebook computers, also known as wide-screen laptops, may become a new moneyspinner after companies such as Hewlett-Packard Co, Dell Inc and Taiwan's BenQ Corp (明基電通) and MicroStar International Corp (微星) launched a series of wide-screen models earlier this year.

With the new products, companies hope to grab a quarter of the global portable computer market by the end of this year, but price could be a concern to consumers, as wide-screen notebooks are on average US$60 more expensive than conventional laptops.

The aspect ratio is a measure of the width of a screen in relation to its height. Traditional notebooks use a 4:3 aspect ratio, while the wide-screen models have a ratio of 16:10.

Since the output of wide-screen panels has not reached levels that would make production more economical, the cost of each wide-screen panel is between US$10 and US$15 higher than that of a conventional one, said Dennis Chen (陳敬宏), general manager of the Personal Systems Group of Hewlett-Packard Taiwan Ltd.

HP, however, expects a 10-percent price cut for wide panels, as producers expand production when manufacturing wide panels without incurring extra costs, Chen said, adding that this would ultimately lead to cheaper wide-screen notebooks.

In an effort to break into the wide-screen notebook market, HP launched two 14-inch wide laptops earlier this month that are equipped with Intel Corp's Dothan central processing units and priced between NT$41,900 and NT$69,000.

The company hoped to market as many as 10,000 units of these laptops by the end of the year, Chen said.

In a bid to impress female consumers, BenQ, the nation's No. 5 laptop vendor, yesterday introduced a 12.1-inch-wide notebook priced at NT$39,900 that boasts a thin and sleek appearance and weighs only 1.6kg.

"We are upbeat about the future performance of wide-screen laptops in the consumer market," Danny Yao (姚鴻州), president of BenQ Asia-Pacific Corp (明基亞太), BenQ's marketing arm for the Taiwanese market, said at a press conference yesterday.

The worldwide market share of wide-screen notebooks is expected to increase to 25 percent in the second half of this year from 20 percent in the first half. This figure is expected to jump to 35 percent next year, he added.

The promotion of wide-screen panels with a 16:10 aspect ratio among panel makers is a key factor, as they can produce two more panels on a single substrate, whereas panels with a 4:3 ratio have to be cut to size, Yao said.

The industry veteran attributed the surging popularity of wide-screen notebooks to the fulfillment of consumers' demands for equipment that is suitable for entertainment software, as well as improved audio and video performance and the ability to display more data onscreen.
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