Asustek Computer Inc (華碩電腦), the world’s largest computer motherboard maker, has been periodically cutting the prices of several models in its Eee PC series in Taiwan this year.
The latest price reduction was announced last Wednesday, when Asustek trimmed NT$1,000 (US$31.21) across the board off the prices of the 901, 904 and 1000 models, the company said.
The Taipei-based firm created a market for low-priced mini-laptops when it launched its first so-called netbook computer late last year. Hewlett-Packard Co, Dell Inc and Acer Inc (宏碁) soon followed with their own low-cost laptops.
Rather than commenting on the competition, Asustek’s notebook business unit product manager Jose Liao (廖逸翔) said over the phone yesterday: “Sales of the Eee netbooks are going strong owing to demand in the back-to-school season. Our company has seen increased sales through partnerships with big discounters and authorized distributors, as well as Far EasTone Telecommunications Co [遠傳電信].”
Although analysts have expressed concerns about the company meeting forecasts, Asustek has reiterated its full-year Eee PC shipment target of 5 million units, as well as its notebook shipment forecast of 6 million to 6.6 million units.
Asked about Amazon’s recent price discounts on the Eee 900 and 1000H series, Liao said he was unfamiliar with sales strategies in North America.
The online retailer recently lowered prices of the Eee 900 with a 8.9-inch display from US$549.99 to US$429.00, representing an 18 percent discount. It also trimmed US$10 to US$20 off the prices of the 901 and 1000H models.
Amazon also cut US$50 off Acer’s 8.9-inch Aspire One series. The model that comes with the Linux operating system now sells for US$329.99, while the Windows XP models costs US$399.95.
Dell’s Inspiron Mini 9 series, which also has a 8.9-inch screen, is for sale on Dell’s corporate Web site for US$399.00 and up.
“It is only natural for us to initiate price discounts to lure additional customers and increase our global netbook market share,” Liao said. “Asus launched many models during the year, so we need to reduce prices on older ones to pave the way for newer series.”
He said the Eee S101 series, a streamlined model with a larger hard disk capacity, is anticipated to reach the market next month.
The S101 was unveiled at the company’s shareholders’ meeting last month.
Asustek stock shed NT$0.5, or 0.83 percent, after much volatility on the Taipei bourse yesterday, to close at NT$60.
WASHINGTON’S INCENTIVES: The CHIPS Act set aside US$39 billion in direct grants to persuade the world’s top semiconductor companies to make chips on US soil The US plans to award more than US$6 billion to Samsung Electronics Co, helping the chipmaker expand beyond a project in Texas it has already announced, people familiar with the matter said. The money from the 2022 CHIPS and Science Act would be one of several major awards that the US Department of Commerce is expected to announce in the coming weeks, including a grant of more than US$5 billion to Samsung’s rival, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), people familiar with the plans said. The people spoke on condition of anonymity in advance of the official announcements. The federal funding for
HIGH DEMAND: The firm has strong capabilities of providing key components including liquid cooling technology needed for AI servers, chairman Young Liu said Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) yesterday revised its revenue outlook for this year to “significant” growth from a “neutral” view forecast five months ago, due to strong demand for artificial intelligence (AI) servers from cloud service providers. Hon Hai, a major assembler of iPhones that is also known as Foxconn, expects AI server revenues to soar more than 40 percent annually this year, chairman Young Liu (劉揚偉) told investors. The robust growth would uplift revenue contribution from AI servers to 40 percent of the company’s overall server revenue this year, from 30 percent last year, Liu said. In the three-year period
LONG HAUL: Largan Energy Materials’ TNO-based lithium-ion batteries are expected to charge in five minutes and last about 20 years, far surpassing conventional technology Largan Precision Co (大立光) has formed a joint venture with the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI, 工研院) to produce fast-charging, long-life lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles, mobile electronics and electric storage units, the camera lens supplier for Apple Inc’s iPhones said yesterday. Largan Energy Materials Co (萬溢能源材料), established in January, is developing high-energy, fast-charging, long-life lithium-ion batteries using titanium niobium oxide (TNO) anodes, it said. TNO-based batteries can be fully charged in five minutes and have a lifespan of 20 years, a major advantage over the two to four hours of charging time needed for conventional graphite-anode-based batteries, Largan said in a
Taiwan is one of the first countries to benefit from the artificial intelligence (AI) boom, but because that is largely down to a single company it also represents a risk, former Google Taiwan managing director Chien Lee-feng (簡立峰) said at an AI forum in Taipei yesterday. Speaking at the forum on how generative AI can generate possibilities for all walks of life, Chien said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) — currently among the world’s 10 most-valuable companies due to continued optimism about AI — ensures Taiwan is one of the economies to benefit most from AI. “This is because AI is