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HP Taiwan foresees 20 percent jump in Q2 notebook sales

A model yesterday presents the latest desktop PC from Hewlett Packard. The computer features a platinum facade and is part of the company's promotional campaign during the computer software and applications show, which will run from tomorrow through Sunday at the Taipei World Trade Center, Exhibition Hall I. PHOTO: GEORGE TSORNG, TAIPEI TIMES

The nation's notebook computer market is expected to see robust growth of nearly 20 percent in the second quarter, driven by rebounding market demand, a recovery in conditions for product retailers and possible price wars, Hewlett-Packard (HP) Taiwan Ltd said yesterday.

"We had a tough time in the first quarter," HP Taiwan's general manager for its personal systems group, Dennis Chen (陳敬宏), said yesterday.

Chen made the comments on the sidelines of a press conference to unveil the products the firm will display at the Softex trade show which runs from tomorrow through Monday at the Taipei World Trade Center, Exhibition Hall I.

Chen attributed the slow first quarter to fewer working days in February because of the Lunar New Year holiday, which led to a decline in IT spending, and reduced promotion activities as some IT product retailers encountered financial difficulties.

Total first-quarter notebook shipments in Taiwan's market are estimated at around 120,000-130,000 units, down significantly from some 170,000 units in the fourth quarter of last year, according to HP Taiwan, the nation's third-largest notebook vendor with around a 15 percent market share.

However, since the bearish factors have faded, "We are optimistic about the market outlook in the second quarter ? which is expected to grow by almost 20 percent from the previous quarter," Chen said.

Meanwhile, price competition among notebook vendors may grow fiercer after market leaders Asustek Computer Inc (華碩電腦) and Acer Inc rolled out lower-end products with price tags of just over NT$30,000, the industry veteran said.

To attract consumers at the trade show, HP will offer price cuts of up to NT$8,000 for some of its laptop models and will reduce the price of a new model equipped with Intel Corp's latest Sonoma-platform central processing unit and a 15.4-inch wide screen to NT$40,000.

HP Taiwan gained market share at the expense of rival IBM Taiwan Corp in the first quarter. IBM Taiwan's market share fell below 10 percent for the first time in the first quarter after Big Blue sold its personal computer unit to China's Lenovo Group (聯想) last December.

HP Taiwan said it expects to maintain the leading position.

"HP has a deep understanding of merger deals [based on its experience from a merger with Compaq in 2001] ... it will take time for the two sides to integrate well with one another," Chen said.
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