Thu, Nov 27, 2014 page13

• Asus looks to restore EeeBook brand

  IT MONTH DEBUTS: A Yuanta analyst was less than upbeat about potential contributions from two new, low-cost devices, but Asus remained solidly upbeat

  • By Lauly Li / Staff reporter, with CNA
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  Asustek Computer Inc (華碩) yesterday said it expects to see sales volume growth of more than 30 percent at this year’s IT Month information technology exhibition, driven by its newly launched EeeBook X205.

  Priced at NT$6,680 (US$216), the cloud-based laptop that runs Windows is expected to emerge as a new segment in the notebook computer business, Asustek sales general manager Kevin Lin (林福能) told a press conference ahead of the exhibition, which is set to run from Saturday to Dec. 7.

  The 11.6-inch Windows 8.1 notebook is equipped with 2 gigabytes (GB) of RAM and 32GB of storage that comes with 500GB of cloud storage from Asustek and another 1 terabyte from Microsoft Corp.

  

  A woman displays an Asus EeeBook X205, which costs NT$6,680, in Taipei yesterday ahead of IT Month, an information technology fair scheduled to take place between Saturday and Dec. 7 at the Taipei World Trade Center.

  Photo: Chen Ping-hung, Taipei Times

  Weighing less than 1kg, the EeeBook X205 can be viewed as an extension of the popularity of smart handheld devices, as consumers get accustomed to storing their data in the cloud, Lin said.

  “Most people are more familiar with Windows operating system, which gives EeeBook an advantage in the market,” Lin added.

  Despite Asustek’ optimism, Yuanta Securities Investment Consulting Co (元大投顧) is conservative about the device’s potential revenue contribution, saying that earnings from hardware would be reduced because it is a low-cost product.

  “Consumer behavior and a stable connectivity environment” are potential barriers that the EeeBook X205 must overcome, a Yuanta analyst who declined to be named told the Taipei Times by telephone.

  Not every consumer is open to the idea of putting important data in the cloud, he said.

  Asustek is also set to launch its 13.3-inch Chromebook C300 MA at the exhibition.

  The company has sold 1,000 Chromebox desktop computers in Taiwan since they were launched on Oct. 31 and plans to sell another 1,000 units at the trade show, Lin said.

  Yuanta said the Chromebook looks promising because of demand from the education sector.

  However, both the Chromebook and EeeBook X205 are likely to encounter difficulties in emerging markets due to an unstable connectivity environment, he said.

  “In the short term, Asustek might see losses from its EeeBook segment, but over the medium and long term, we think it is a positive strategy to add a cloud-based notebook to the market,” the Yuanta analyst said.

  He said that based on Asustek’s guidance for this quarter, notebook shipments are expected to grow 7.84 percent, outpacing the industry, which is forecast to be flat or decline by as much as 5 percent.

  Lin said that Asus has sold more than 1 million Zenfone smartphones domestically since the product hit the market in April and more than 1 million units per month worldwide, adding that the company expects the forceful sales momentum to continue.

  For tablets, Lin said sales of the Asus 7-inch PadFone accounts for 60 percent of its tablet segment, while the 8-inch and 10-inch models account for 40 percent.

  He said he expects sales of the 7-inch model to decline slightly, while the 8-inch picks up next year, as users increasingly favor larger-screen smartphones.
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