Asustek Computer Inc (華碩) yesterday launched its new Transformer Book Chi series as part of an effort to double shipments of its two-in-one detachable devices to 6 million units this year, a company executive said yesterday.
“As of recently, our Transformer Book T100 launched in October 2013 has shipped more than 3 million units and we have confidence that the shipment of the new Transformer Book Chi series will outperform T100’s record,” Asustek chief executive officer Jerry Shen (沈振來) said at the product launch in Taipei.
Shen said the Transformer Book T100 served as a key growth driver for the company last year, adding that not only did the product make impressive sales, it also accounted for 20 percent of the firm’s total revenue.
Photo: CNA
“We hope the revenue of tablet-notebook hybrid devices will increase by 20 percent to 30 percent this year, with the launch of the new Transformer Book Chi series product line,” Shen said.
Asustek also launched two new ZenBook models — Asus ZenBook UX305 and ZenBook Pro UX501.
Shen said the functionality and efficiency of the two models are better than rival Apple Inc’s MacBook Pro.
Shen said he nicknamed the 15.6-inch ZenBook Pro UX501 a “high-performance monster,” as the product is 2.06cm thick, but has an ultra-high-resolution — or 4K — display with an Intel Core i7 processor and gaming-grade graphics.
Asustek is upbeat that its PC segment will put up a strong performance this year, driven by sales of the new two-in-one devices, the ZenBook series, its Chromebook and its low-cost EeeBook, Shen said.
The company is set to launch a new Chromebook in the next quarter, Shen added.
Asustek’s goal is to achieve 15 percent growth in PC-related product shipments every year and to double PC-related product shipments within five years, Shen said.
According to market researcher TrendForce’s latest report, Asustek’s notebook shipments accounted for 11 percent of the market, or 19.3 million units, last year, ranking it fourth in terms of global notebook shipments, beating its rival Acer Inc (宏碁).
Separately, Shen said chipmaker Qualcomm being fined US$975 million by the Chinese government for violating antimonopoly laws is positive news for Asustek.
However, he declined to comment further on the news for the time being, saying that he would talk more about it at an investors’ conference set for Friday.
Asustek’s smartphone brand Pegasus, which launched a smartphone in China last month, uses Qualcomm’s processor.
Sweeping policy changes under US Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr are having a chilling effect on vaccine makers as anti-vaccine rhetoric has turned into concrete changes in inoculation schedules and recommendations, investors and executives said. The administration of US President Donald Trump has in the past year upended vaccine recommendations, with the country last month ending its longstanding guidance that all children receive inoculations against flu, hepatitis A and other diseases. The unprecedented changes have led to diminished vaccine usage, hurt the investment case for some biotechs, and created a drag that would likely dent revenues and
Macronix International Co (旺宏), the world’s biggest NOR flash memory supplier, yesterday said it would spend NT$22 billion (US$699.1 million) on capacity expansion this year to increase its production of mid-to-low-density memory chips as the world’s major memorychip suppliers are phasing out the market. The company said its planned capital expenditures are about 11 times higher than the NT$1.8 billion it spent on new facilities and equipment last year. A majority of this year’s outlay would be allocated to step up capacity of multi-level cell (MLC) NAND flash memory chips, which are used in embedded multimedia cards (eMMC), a managed
CULPRITS: Factors that affected the slip included falling global crude oil prices, wait-and-see consumer attitudes due to US tariffs and a different Lunar New Year holiday schedule Taiwan’s retail sales ended a nine-year growth streak last year, slipping 0.2 percent from a year earlier as uncertainty over US tariff policies affected demand for durable goods, data released on Friday by the Ministry of Economic Affairs showed. Last year’s retail sales totaled NT$4.84 trillion (US$153.27 billion), down about NT$9.5 billion, or 0.2 percent, from 2024. Despite the decline, the figure was still the second-highest annual sales total on record. Ministry statistics department deputy head Chen Yu-fang (陳玉芳) said sales of cars, motorcycles and related products, which accounted for 17.4 percent of total retail rales last year, fell NT$68.1 billion, or
In the wake of strong global demand for AI applications, Taiwan’s export-oriented economy accelerated with the composite index of economic indicators flashing the first “red” light in December for one year, indicating the economy is in booming mode, the National Development Council (NDC) said yesterday. Moreover, the index of leading indicators, which gauges the potential state of the economy over the next six months, also moved higher in December amid growing optimism over the outlook, the NDC said. In December, the index of economic indicators rose one point from a month earlier to 38, at the lower end of the “red” light.
RSS