Demand for HTC Corp’s (宏達電) new Nexus 9 tablet cobranded with Google Inc is so strong that the company is expanding its production capacity to meet orders, HTC North Asia president Jack Tong (董俊良) said yesterday.
“Consumers from major destination markets are really excited about the launch of the Nexus 9,” Tong told reporters on the sidelines of a product launch ceremony in Taipei, which also showcased the HTC Desire Eye, a selfie-focused smartphone, and the Desire 820, which features dual SIM cards.
Google’s Nexus 7 tablet was a success, and the impressive pre-orders for the Nexus 9 can be seen as a continuation of the Nexus 7’s success, Tong said.
Photo: CNA
He added that HTC is considering promoting its own tablet products, but as the global tablet market is shrinking, the company will first observe market reaction to the Nexus 9 and carefully consider how to carve out a niche for itself.
As sales of 7-inch tablets have been affected by the emergence of 5.5-inch and even larger smartphones, HTC may seek to promote higher-end tablet models, he said.
“Product differentiation is a key issue, and we are still thinking about [our strategy],” Tong said.
On Monday, Taipei-based Digitimes Research said in a report that global tablet shipments would post their first-ever annual decline this quarter.
The report said that tablet shipments would reach 74.53 million units this quarter, down 10.1 percent from a year earlier, citing a gradually saturated global market.
Taiwanese manufacturers, including both brandname vendors and contract makers, would account for 64.1 percent of tablet shipments this quarter, or a total of 30.64 million units, as peak-season demand drives up sales of devices from Apple Inc, Amazon.com Inc and Asustek Computer Inc (華碩), the report said.
Commenting on the company’s target for mid-tier smartphone sales, Tong said that the HTC Desire 816, which was launched in May, has topped sales in Taiwan for months.
He said the company expects the HTC Desire Eye and Desire 820 to solidify the company’s position in the mid-tier smartphone market and continue the strong sales momentum this quarter.
Aggregate shipments of the HTC One (M8), Desire 816 and Butterfly 2 have reached more than 1 million over the past six months, Tong said.
Overall, the company’s performance this quarter should be better than last quarter, based on the shipment figures, he added.
In a conference call last week, HTC said that revenue for this quarter could reach NT$43 billion to NT$47 billion (US$1.4 billion to US$1.53 billion), an increase of 2.71 percent to 12.27 percent from NT$41.86 billion last quarter.
BIG BUCKS: Chairman Wei is expected to receive NT$34.12 million on a proposed NT$5 cash dividend plan, while the National Development Fund would get NT$8.27 billion Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday announced that its board of directors approved US$15.25 billion in capital appropriations for long-term expansion to meet growing demand. The funds are to be used for installing advanced technology and packaging capacity, expanding mature and specialty technology, and constructing fabs with facility systems, TSMC said in a statement. The board also approved a proposal to distribute a NT$5 cash dividend per share, based on first-quarter earnings per share of NT$13.94, it said. That surpasses the NT$4.50 dividend for the fourth quarter of last year. TSMC has said that while it is eager
‘IMMENSE SWAY’: The top 50 companies, based on market cap, shape everything from technology to consumer trends, advisory firm Visual Capitalist said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) was ranked the 10th-most valuable company globally this year, market information advisory firm Visual Capitalist said. TSMC sat on a market cap of about US$915 billion as of Monday last week, making it the 10th-most valuable company in the world and No. 1 in Asia, the publisher said in its “50 Most Valuable Companies in the World” list. Visual Capitalist described TSMC as the world’s largest dedicated semiconductor foundry operator that rolls out chips for major tech names such as US consumer electronics brand Apple Inc, and artificial intelligence (AI) chip designers Nvidia Corp and Advanced
Saudi Arabian Oil Co (Aramco), the Saudi state-owned oil giant, yesterday posted first-quarter profits of US$26 billion, down 4.6 percent from the prior year as falling global oil prices undermine the kingdom’s multitrillion-dollar development plans. Aramco had revenues of US$108.1 billion over the quarter, the company reported in a filing on Riyadh’s Tadawul stock exchange. The company saw US$107.2 billion in revenues and profits of US$27.2 billion for the same period last year. Saudi Arabia has promised to invest US$600 billion in the US over the course of US President Donald Trump’s second term. Trump, who is set to touch
The Eurovision Song Contest has seen a surge in punter interest at the bookmakers, becoming a major betting event, experts said ahead of last night’s giant glamfest in Basel. “Eurovision has quietly become one of the biggest betting events of the year,” said Tomi Huttunen, senior manager of the Online Computer Finland (OCS) betting and casino platform. Betting sites have long been used to gauge which way voters might be leaning ahead of the world’s biggest televised live music event. However, bookmakers highlight a huge increase in engagement in recent years — and this year in particular. “We’ve already passed 2023’s total activity and
RSS