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AOpen expects 50% rise in mini-PC shipments

AOpen Inc, a computer and component manufacturer, expects shipments of its small-form-factor PCs to rise by 50 percent this year, company executives said yesterday.

Shipments of these mini PCs will cross the 300,000 mark this year, up from around 200,000 units last year. Volumes will soar to 450,000 units next year, said senior director Kevin Chen (陳國慶) on the sidelines of a product launch.

"As Microsoft and Intel are now gearing up to push solutions aimed at the digital home platform, this will serve as the largest driver to boost our shipments," he said.

Eyeing growth in the digital home concept, software giant Microsoft Corp unveiled the Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition operating system late last month in Taiwan, while chip giant Intel Corp is set to market its Viiv platform for digital home electronics in the first half of next year.

Measuring about a quarter of the size of a traditional desktop, small-form-factor computers can handle everything from high-end gaming to home-theater viewing.

While they may lack some of the highest-end components and expandability of traditional PCs, they offer stylish, space-saving designs and portability.

Taipei-based AOpen, an affiliate of Wistron Corp (緯創), competes with Shuttle Inc (浩鑫), Biostar Microtech International Corp (映泰) and Apple Computer Inc in the mini PC market.

"Compared with traditional PCs which offer makers low margins of around 5 percent, mini PCs enable us to reap double-digit margins," said Vincent Cho (卓竹順), vice president and general manager of the business unit at AOpen.

The firm yesterday launched two mini PCs, with retail prices starting at NT$20,000 (US$595).

The computer offers storage of up to 80 gigabytes and can hook up to liquid crystal display TVs.

Next month, the company will launch an entertainment PC, which can store movies and music, and has television-like features, for users to enjoy multimedia content in the living room, Chen said, adding that the price tag should be below NT$50,000.

AOpen posted after-tax net losses of NT$972 million for the first three quarters, with per-share losses of NT$3.86. The company cited excess inventory and large royalty payments for optical storage products for the losses in a filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange last Thursday.

As the company has been gradually switching its focus to mini PC products over the past two years, it expects to see a turnaround next year, Chen said.
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