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Asustek pours cold water on market for Windows Vista

Demand for Microsoft Corp's new Windows Vista computer operating system missed expectations as customers still seek the older XP version, the world's largest maker of computer boards said.

"Some commercial users do not want to jump to Vista, they may still want to have the XP option," Asustek Computer Inc (華碩電腦) chairman Jonney Shih (施崇棠) said in an interview on Thursday last week.

Vista sales have trailed Asustek's estimates, he said, without providing numbers.

"Computer demand has improved in the past quarter, but it's not related to Vista demand because there's still concerns over software compatibility with older versions of Windows," said Tony Tseng (曾省吾), who analyzes Taiwanese computer firms for Merrill Lynch & Co. "Maybe it will get better in the second half of the year when Microsoft solves the technical problems."

Acer Inc president Gianfranco Lanci said he doesn't expect customers to buy computers because of the new operating system.

Customers only buy a computer "when they need it. Specs are becoming less important than in the past," he said in an interview last Friday.

Asustek is adjusting its business to cater for customers who do not wish to switch to the new operating system yet, Shih said, declining to provide any details.

We have to "follow customers," Shih said.

Asustek's April sales rose 75 percent to NT$41.05 billion (US$1.23 billion) from NT$23.47 billion a year earlier.

Sales in the first four months of this year more than doubled to NT$223.99 billion, the company said in a statement to the Taiwan Stock Exchange yesterday.
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