Despite having prototypes ready, the world’s second-largest PC maker Acer Inc (宏碁) yesterday said it would not rush onto the e-reader bandwagon for now, as it was still studying the feasibility of a successful business model and a total product solution.
The size of the e-reader market is not that big and the industry has yet to come up with a proven business model, Acer chairman Wang Jeng-tang (王振堂) told reporters yesterday.
Acer is watching whether the public would embrace e-readers and from a profitability standpoint, the company is not ready to launch e-readers, despite having the hardware ready, Wang said.
Last month, electronics maker BenQ Corp (明基) and publisher Yuan-Liou Publishing Co (遠流出版) debuted e-readers in Taipei.
Meanwhile, Acer is expecting a decrease in notebook shipments this quarter of 5 percent, from the earlier projected 10 percent decrease.
New laptop products in the pipeline include a less than 2cm-thick consumer ultra-low voltage (CULV) model, and another running on Intel Corp’s next generation of Core microprocessors.
Wang said the inferior computing power of CULV models has been holding them back, but that the new Core processors would resolve the issue by offering better computation as well as a long-lasting battery life.
The company projects that the commercial PC segment will see an upturn starting in the second half of the year, especially in emerging markets such as Brazil, Russia, India, China and Indonesia.
Luxury hotel Mandarin Oriental Taipei (文華東方酒店) plans to reopen its guestrooms in December to take advantage of a boom in domestic travel. The reopening would come six months after the five-star facility suspended room operations to cut costs as countries across the region impose border controls to contain the COVID-19 pandemic, diminishing demand for business travel. “We are delighted to share that Mandarin Oriental Taipei will resume room operations on December 1,” the hotel said in a statement yesterday. The hotel in Songshan District (松山) said it would adopt stringent health and safety practices to ensure the well-being of its guests and employees. It
HSBC Bank (Taiwan) Ltd (匯豐台灣商銀) has approved two sustainability-linked loans totaling NT$450 million (US$15.55 million) for Taya Group (大亞集團) and Sinbon Electronics Co (信邦電子), the bank said yesterday, adding that interest rates would fall if the borrowers’ sustainability performance improves. Those marked the first sustainability-linked loans granted by HSBC Taiwan, it said. While HSBC Taiwan has experience providing green loans for the nation’s developers of renewable energy sources to support their projects, the bank began focusing on sustainability-linked loans to meet rising demand from companies in other sectors planning to undertake sustainability programs, it said. “As we reward our clients who reach their
FRONTRUNNER: While the company’s global parent has pledged to lower emissions to 2 tonnes per employee, the local subsidiary has curbed its output to 1.8 tonnes HSBC Bank Taiwan Ltd (?豐台灣商銀) is committed to enhancing corporate social responsibility by cutting carbon emissions, boosting sustainable financing and conducting projects that result in positive social impacts such as wild bird protection, the bank said in an interview in Taipei on Friday. The bank aims to reduce its carbon emissions as its parent company, HSBC Holdings PLC, earlier this month said it targets to reduce emissions in its daily operations and supply chains to net zero by 2030, as well as net zero emissions of its portfolio of customers by 2050, it said. HSBC Taiwan has adopted measures to make its
‘NEW TRAVEL MARKET’: The carrier initially planned to lay off about 8,000 people globally, but after government intervention reduced that to 18 percent of its workforce Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd (國泰航空) would cut 6,000 jobs and close its Cathay Dragon brand, the South China Morning Post reported, as part of a strategic review to combat the unprecedented damage caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Hong Kong-based airline is expected to officially announce the plan after the market close today, the newspaper said. It initially planned about 8,000 layoffs globally, but after government intervention reduced that to 18 percent of its total workforce, including about 5,000 jobs in Hong Kong, it said. The company, which posted a HK$9.9 billion (US$1.3 billion) loss in the first half, has for months
RSS