Asustek Computer Inc (華碩) is to launch the second generation of its ZenWatch and six smart home devices this quarter in a bid to expand the company’s reach in the Internet of Things (IoT) area, the company said yesterday.
“The global IoT market in still in its early stages, but Asustek sees great business potential in this area,” company spokesman Nick Wu (吳長榮) said by telephone.
Wu said the company had sold “a few hundred thousand” units of its first generation of ZenWatch since it was launched in December last year, while another production line, the VivoWatch, also shipped “a few hundred thousands” units since it hit the shelves in May.
ZenWatch targets business clients, while VivoWatch offer more health-monitoring functions, Asustek said.
Wu said the second-generation ZenWatch will have two versions of different display sizes, and the two models have been certified by the National Communications Commission (NCC).
After launching an IP camera and an event data recorder last quarter, Asus Cloud Corp (華碩雲端), Asustek’s subsidiary, also plans to introduce six smart home devices this quarter, a company executive said.
“The company plans to launch a series of IoT products to boost the number of registered users using Asus’ cloud-computing storage,” Asus Cloud chief executive officer Peter Wu (吳漢章) told the Taipei-Shanghai forum in Shanghai on Tuesday.
There are nearly 10,000 registered users of Asus’ Internet-connected surveillance products, he said, adding that by increasing the number of registered users, the company could gradually expand the ecosystem of its IoT products.
He said that apart from the six smart home devices, such as a smart door lock and smart temperature sensor, Asus Cloud plans to introduce IoT devices that focus on audio and video entertainment later this year.
Asus Cloud also tapped into remote heathcare services, Wu said, adding that the company secured a bid from the Ministry of Health and Welfare at the end of last quarter to offer remote healthcare services to 12 cities and counties in Taiwan.
Wu said the ministry allocated an annual budget of NT$10 million (US$306,109) to the firm, adding that it is jointly working with Taipei Show Chwan Hospital (秀傳醫院) and Taiwan Secom Co (中興保全) on the project.
Asustek shares yesterday dropped 0.55 percent to NT$273.5 in Taipei trading, outperforming the TAIEX, which lost 1.9 percent.
In Italy’s storied gold-making hubs, jewelers are reworking their designs to trim gold content as they race to blunt the effect of record prices and appeal to shoppers watching their budgets. Gold prices hit a record high on Thursday, surging near US$5,600 an ounce, more than double a year ago as geopolitical concerns and jitters over trade pushed investors toward the safe-haven asset. The rally is putting undue pressure on small artisans as they face mounting demands from customers, including international brands, to produce cheaper items, from signature pieces to wedding rings, according to interviews with four independent jewelers in Italy’s main
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has talked up the benefits of a weaker yen in a campaign speech, adopting a tone at odds with her finance ministry, which has refused to rule out any options to counter excessive foreign exchange volatility. Takaichi later softened her stance, saying she did not have a preference for the yen’s direction. “People say the weak yen is bad right now, but for export industries, it’s a major opportunity,” Takaichi said on Saturday at a rally for Liberal Democratic Party candidate Daishiro Yamagiwa in Kanagawa Prefecture ahead of a snap election on Sunday. “Whether it’s selling food or
CONCERNS: Tech companies investing in AI businesses that purchase their products have raised questions among investors that they are artificially propping up demand Nvidia Corp chief executive officer Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) on Saturday said that the company would be participating in OpenAI’s latest funding round, describing it as potentially “the largest investment we’ve ever made.” “We will invest a great deal of money,” Huang told reporters while visiting Taipei. “I believe in OpenAI. The work that they do is incredible. They’re one of the most consequential companies of our time.” Huang did not say exactly how much Nvidia might contribute, but described the investment as “huge.” “Let Sam announce how much he’s going to raise — it’s for him to decide,” Huang said, referring to OpenAI
The global server market is expected to grow 12.8 percent annually this year, with artificial intelligence (AI) servers projected to account for 16.5 percent, driven by continued investment in AI infrastructure by major cloud service providers (CSPs), market researcher TrendForce Corp (集邦科技) said yesterday. Global AI server shipments this year are expected to increase 28 percent year-on-year to more than 2.7 million units, driven by sustained demand from CSPs and government sovereign cloud projects, TrendForce analyst Frank Kung (龔明德) told the Taipei Times. Demand for GPU-based AI servers, including Nvidia Corp’s GB and Vera Rubin rack systems, is expected to remain high,
RSS