The market share of Linux-based netbooks is expected to rapidly drop to about 10 percent of this year’s total netbook shipments because of consumers’ reliance on Microsoft Corp’s Windows and the lack of peripheral devices supporting the free operating system, Taipei-based research house Market Intelligence & Consulting Institute (MIC, 資策會產業情報研究所) said yesterday.
Last year, Linux-based netbooks made up about 70 percent of the overall shipments of 11.21 million units, as netbook pioneer Asustek Computer Inc (華碩電腦) launched mostly Linux-based models initially, followed up by Windows-based models, MIC said in a new report.
GROWTH
“The netbook market will enjoy vigorous growth this year,” MIC said in the report. “But, the share of Linux operating systems used in netbooks may drop fast.”
MIC said netbook shipments could more than double to 23.2 million units, but only a 10th would be outfitted with Linux’s operating system as almost all PC makers — including Hewlett Packard Co, Dell Inc and Acer Inc (宏碁) — were set to launch more netbooks equipped with the Windows system.
“Consumers tend to opt for netbooks with a familiar working environment to their existing desktops, or laptops, which most run Windows,” MIC said. “Insufficient peripheral devices for the Linux system is also an important factor shutting consumers out.”
FAMILIAR
Asustek is scheduled to launch a new member of its Eee PC family next week, which will run on Windows and will be equipped with a 8.9-inch touch panel with LED backlight and Intel Corp’s latest Atom chip. The netbook made its debut at last month CES show in Los Vegas, Nevada.
Asustek plans to ship 1 million Eee PCs in the first quarter of this year, it said last month. Last year, it shipped 4.9 million Eee PC series units.
MIC said Linux-based netbooks would not disappear because PC makers would face changing consumer demand in the future.
Shares of Asustek and Acer jumped 1.41 percent and 5.2 percent respectively yesterday to NT$35.9 and NT$48.05.
Taiwanese suppliers to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC, 台積電) are expected to follow the contract chipmaker’s step to invest in the US, but their relocation may be seven to eight years away, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) said yesterday. When asked by opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Niu Hsu-ting (牛煦庭) in the legislature about growing concerns that TSMC’s huge investments in the US will prompt its suppliers to follow suit, Kuo said based on the chipmaker’s current limited production volume, it is unlikely to lead its supply chain to go there for now. “Unless TSMC completes its planned six
Power supply and electronic components maker Delta Electronics Inc (台達電) yesterday said second-quarter revenue is expected to surpass the first quarter, which rose 30 percent year-on-year to NT$118.92 billion (US$3.71 billion). Revenue this quarter is likely to grow, as US clients have front-loaded orders ahead of US President Donald Trump’s planned tariffs on Taiwanese goods, Delta chairman Ping Cheng (鄭平) said at an earnings conference in Taipei, referring to the 90-day pause in tariff implementation Trump announced on April 9. While situations in the third and fourth quarters remain unclear, “We will not halt our long-term deployments and do not plan to
‘SHORT TERM’: The local currency would likely remain strong in the near term, driven by anticipated US trade pressure, capital inflows and expectations of a US Fed rate cut The US dollar is expected to fall below NT$30 in the near term, as traders anticipate increased pressure from Washington for Taiwan to allow the New Taiwan dollar to appreciate, Cathay United Bank (國泰世華銀行) chief economist Lin Chi-chao (林啟超) said. Following a sharp drop in the greenback against the NT dollar on Friday, Lin told the Central News Agency that the local currency is likely to remain strong in the short term, driven in part by market psychology surrounding anticipated US policy pressure. On Friday, the US dollar fell NT$0.953, or 3.07 percent, closing at NT$31.064 — its lowest level since Jan.
The New Taiwan dollar and Taiwanese stocks surged on signs that trade tensions between the world’s top two economies might start easing and as US tech earnings boosted the outlook of the nation’s semiconductor exports. The NT dollar strengthened as much as 3.8 percent versus the US dollar to 30.815, the biggest intraday gain since January 2011, closing at NT$31.064. The benchmark TAIEX jumped 2.73 percent to outperform the region’s equity gauges. Outlook for global trade improved after China said it is assessing possible trade talks with the US, providing a boost for the nation’s currency and shares. As the NT dollar
RSS