Asustek Computer Inc (
The Taipei-based electronics company said it will initially sell the laptop, which industry watchers expect to go on to become a hit in emerging markets, through Best Buy and Newegg in the US.
The computer has been in the spotlight since Asustek showcased it at the Computex trade show in the summer.
PHOTO: DIANA LI, AP
"We are bullish about the low-priced PC. We think it is a very good concept," Kirk Yang (
Low-priced PCs may become a big seller, duplicating the strong sales of cheap mobile phones in developing countries, Yang said.
Yang retained Asustek in his investment portfolio while scrapping other computer companies as a result of unusually weak demand in the fourth quarter.
"We expect explosive growth [in Eee PC sales] next year," Yang said, adding that he would personally consider buying one to surf the Internet, or to access his e-mail accounts on the go.
Jonathan Tsang (
Yang said he was impressed with Asustek's ability to get its product to market, compared with repeated delays in the similar One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) project.
Yang said he expected Quanta Computer Inc (
"We feel that the [Eee PC] could be very popular in developing markets, rather than just in emerging markets. [It has far more appeal] than the very low-end OLPC," CLSA Ltd (
Chen said the lightweight Eee PC would be capable of booting in 15 seconds and would run a customized version of the Linux operating system. He added that the notebook would be capable of running Windows XP, office software and Internet applications.
Tsang also reaffirmed that Asustek was on track to ship 4.2 million of its own-brand laptops this year.
Chen raised his investment rating on Asustek in August from "under-perform" to "buy," partly as a result of the pending introduction of the low-priced laptop. He set a target price for Asustek of NT$118.1 for the next 12 months, an upside of around 26 percent from Friday's closing price of NT$93.8.
DECOUPLING? In a sign of deeper US-China technology decoupling, Apple has held initial talks about using Baidu’s generative AI technology in its iPhones, the Wall Street Journal said China has introduced guidelines to phase out US microprocessors from Intel Corp and Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD) from government PCs and servers, the Financial Times reported yesterday. The procurement guidance also seeks to sideline Microsoft Corp’s Windows operating system and foreign-made database software in favor of domestic options, the report said. Chinese officials have begun following the guidelines, which were unveiled in December last year, the report said. They order government agencies above the township level to include criteria requiring “safe and reliable” processors and operating systems when making purchases, the newspaper said. The US has been aiming to boost domestic semiconductor
Nvidia Corp earned its US$2.2 trillion market cap by producing artificial intelligence (AI) chips that have become the lifeblood powering the new era of generative AI developers from start-ups to Microsoft Corp, OpenAI and Google parent Alphabet Inc. Almost as important to its hardware is the company’s nearly 20 years’ worth of computer code, which helps make competition with the company nearly impossible. More than 4 million global developers rely on Nvidia’s CUDA software platform to build AI and other apps. Now a coalition of tech companies that includes Qualcomm Inc, Google and Intel Corp plans to loosen Nvidia’s chokehold by going
ENERGY IMPACT: The electricity rate hike is expected to add about NT$4 billion to TSMC’s electricity bill a year and cut its annual earnings per share by about NT$0.154 Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) has left its long-term gross margin target unchanged despite the government deciding on Friday to raise electricity rates. One of the heaviest power consuming manufacturers in Taiwan, TSMC said it always respects the government’s energy policy and would continue to operate its fabs by making efforts in energy conservation. The chipmaker said it has left a long-term goal of more than 53 percent in gross margin unchanged. The Ministry of Economic Affairs concluded a power rate evaluation meeting on Friday, announcing electricity tariffs would go up by 11 percent on average to about NT$3.4518 per kilowatt-hour (kWh)
OPENING ADDRESS: The CEO is to give a speech on the future of high-performance computing and artificial intelligence at the trade show’s opening on June 3, TAITRA said Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD) chairperson and chief executive officer Lisa Su (蘇姿丰) is to deliver the opening keynote speech at Computex Taipei this year, the event’s organizer said in a statement yesterday. Su is to give a speech on the future of high-performance computing (HPC) in the artificial intelligence (AI) era to open Computex, one of the world’s largest computer and technology trade events, at 9:30am on June 3, the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) said. Su is to explore how AMD and the company’s strategic technology partners are pushing the limits of AI and HPC, from data centers to