Among all brand-name notebook-computer makers, Apple Computer Inc is set to take center stage next year, mainly bolstered by its new light-weight models as well as the iPod effect, a recent study found.
Apple is projected to ship 3.27 million notebook computers worldwide next year, an increase of 42 percent compared to 2.29 million units this year, according to study results released by the Topology Research Institute (拓墣產業研究所).
This translates to Apple's market share in the worldwide notebook market rising to 4.7 percent from 3.9 percent this year.
"Compared to other makers which will post only moderate growth, Apple's performance is significant and worth paying attention to," Topology analyst Simon Yang (楊勝帆) said.
According to Yang, Apple notebooks are poised to grab consumers' attention next year as the company will unveil light-weight models with a stylish design aimed at luring female users.
Compared to its current bulky and older models, the upcoming Apple lineup will include 12-inch notebooks weighing in at 1.5kg as well as 14-inch models below 2kg, he said.
In addition, as the iPod digital-music-player series have been selling like hot cakes because of the large storage size they offer and their fashionable exterior, the "fondness effect" will be passed on to Apple notebooks, he said.
On the other hand, he said, NEC Computer Corp's shrinking market share might serve as a warning to Apple.
The research firm estimates that NEC's notebook shipments will rise to 2.64 million units from 2.54 million units, but the company's market share will decline 0.5 percentage points to 3.8 percent next year.
"NEC has been putting too much emphasis on the Japanese market, prompting it to lose market share elsewhere and it lacks a niche market to compete with other aggressive players," Yang said.
Meanwhile, Dell Inc, Hewlett-Packard Co, Toshiba Corp, Acer Inc as well as Lenovo Group Ltd (聯想) are expected to maintain their respective positions as the world's top-five notebook makers next year, according to the Taipei-based research house.
The market shares of HP, Acer and Lenovo will be up marginally, with Dell and Toshiba showing a slight decline, it said.
"Among the top five, Lenovo will still face a setback in other markets even though its products are highly accepted in China. It needs to do more to assure users of the product quality after acquiring IBM Corp's PC business," Yang said.
Overall, global notebook shipments next year will grow by 17.8 percent to reach 69.5 million units, mainly driven by lower pricings and the new Intel dual-core platform, which is due to be launched next month.
This estimate is similar to the figures given by Market Intelligence Center (市場情報中心), another local market researcher.
MIC forecast in October that worldwide notebook shipments next year will hit 71.2 million units, demonstrating a healthy growth of 19.8 percent.
It said that, combined with the volume of desktop computers, which will reach 135 million units, the total shipments of all personal computers will surpass the 200 million mark for the first time.
To many, Tatu City on the outskirts of Nairobi looks like a success. The first city entirely built by a private company to be operational in east Africa, with about 25,000 people living and working there, it accounts for about two-thirds of all foreign investment in Kenya. Its low-tax status has attracted more than 100 businesses including Heineken, coffee brand Dormans, and the biggest call-center and cold-chain transport firms in the region. However, to some local politicians, Tatu City has looked more like a target for extortion. A parade of governors have demanded land worth millions of dollars in exchange
An Indonesian animated movie is smashing regional box office records and could be set for wider success as it prepares to open beyond the Southeast Asian archipelago’s silver screens. Jumbo — a film based on the adventures of main character, Don, a large orphaned Indonesian boy facing bullying at school — last month became the highest-grossing Southeast Asian animated film, raking in more than US$8 million. Released at the end of March to coincide with the Eid holidays after the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan, the movie has hit 8 million ticket sales, the third-highest in Indonesian cinema history, Film
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (TSMC, 台積電) revenue jumped 48 percent last month, underscoring how electronics firms scrambled to acquire essential components before global tariffs took effect. The main chipmaker for Apple Inc and Nvidia Corp reported monthly sales of NT$349.6 billion (US$11.6 billion). That compares with the average analysts’ estimate for a 38 percent rise in second-quarter revenue. US President Donald Trump’s trade war is prompting economists to retool GDP forecasts worldwide, casting doubt over the outlook for everything from iPhone demand to computing and datacenter construction. However, TSMC — a barometer for global tech spending given its central role in the
Alchip Technologies Ltd (世芯), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) designer specializing in server chips, expects revenue to decline this year due to sagging demand for 5-nanometer artificial intelligence (AI) chips from a North America-based major customer, a company executive said yesterday. That would be the first contraction in revenue for Alchip as it has been enjoying strong revenue growth over the past few years, benefiting from cloud-service providers’ moves to reduce dependence on Nvidia Corp’s expensive AI chips by building their own AI accelerator by outsourcing chip design. The 5-nanometer chip was supposed to be a new growth engine as the lifecycle
RSS