Asustek Computer Inc (華碩) is reportedly to introduce six new ZenFone 4 series smartphones next month, in a bid to boost operations in the second half, after the firm’s disappointing showing in the first half.
A Google Play Store support sheet detailing the Taiwanese company’s six new smartphones — two ZenFone 4 models, a ZenFone 4 Max, a ZenFone 4 Pro, a ZenFone 4 Selfie and a ZenFone 4V — was leaked yesterday.
Asustek chairman Jonney Shih (施崇棠) on June 8 told reporters that the company planned to introduce the next-generation ZenFone series at the end of next month.
LEAK
The leaked document suggests that Asustek’s new smartphones are in the final stages of preparation before being officially unveiled next month.
Asustek has high hopes for the series, as its smartphone business, which contributes about 20 percent of the company’s total revenues, has been lingering in the red since the first quarter, due to the declining product life of its previous generation handsets and a lack of new models.
Asustek planned to launch the ZenFone 4 in March in a bid to extend the sales momentum of the ZenFone 3, but it was later pushed back to the beginning of the second half for undisclosed reasons.
Asustek chief executive officer Jerry Shen (沈振來) last month told reporters that the launch of the ZenFone 4 series is expected to be a growth driver for the company’s operations in the second half.
However, market analysts have said that the sales of Asustek’s ZenFone 4 series will meet challenges this year, as Apple Inc’s new iPhone series and Samsung’s new Note series are both expected to arrive on the market between the third and fourth quarters.
Apple’s and Samsung’s new products are also expected to weigh on the sales performance of other smartphone brands, the market analysts said.
Telecoms are expected to offer more attractive deals for Apple and Samsung’s new products, with less subsidies on offer for other brands, such as Asustek, which would affect consumers’ choices when buying new handsets with a telecom contract, analysts said.
REVENUE
Asustek’s combined revenue dropped 7.51 percent to NT$166.67 billion (US$5.49 billion) in the first five months of the year, its filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange showed.
Taiwan Transport and Storage Corp (TTS, 台灣通運倉儲) yesterday unveiled its first electric tractor unit — manufactured by Volvo Trucks — in a ceremony in Taipei, and said the unit would soon be used to transport cement produced by Taiwan Cement Corp (TCC, 台灣水泥). Both TTS and TCC belong to TCC International Holdings Ltd (台泥國際集團). With the electric tractor unit, the Taipei-based cement firm would become the first in Taiwan to use electric vehicles to transport construction materials. TTS chairman Koo Kung-yi (辜公怡), Volvo Trucks vice president of sales and marketing Johan Selven, TCC president Roman Cheng (程耀輝) and Taikoo Motors Group
Among the rows of vibrators, rubber torsos and leather harnesses at a Chinese sex toys exhibition in Shanghai this weekend, the beginnings of an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven shift in the industry quietly pulsed. China manufactures about 70 percent of the world’s sex toys, most of it the “hardware” on display at the fair — whether that be technicolor tentacled dildos or hyper-realistic personalized silicone dolls. Yet smart toys have been rising in popularity for some time. Many major European and US brands already offer tech-enhanced products that can enable long-distance love, monitor well-being and even bring people one step closer to
RECORD-BREAKING: TSMC’s net profit last quarter beat market expectations by expanding 8.9% and it was the best first-quarter profit in the chipmaker’s history Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), which counts Nvidia Corp as a key customer, yesterday said that artificial intelligence (AI) server chip revenue is set to more than double this year from last year amid rising demand. The chipmaker expects the growth momentum to continue in the next five years with an annual compound growth rate of 50 percent, TSMC chief executive officer C.C. Wei (魏哲家) told investors yesterday. By 2028, AI chips’ contribution to revenue would climb to about 20 percent from a percentage in the low teens, Wei said. “Almost all the AI innovators are working with TSMC to address the
Malaysia’s leader yesterday announced plans to build a massive semiconductor design park, aiming to boost the Southeast Asian nation’s role in the global chip industry. A prominent player in the semiconductor industry for decades, Malaysia accounts for an estimated 13 percent of global back-end manufacturing, according to German tech giant Bosch. Now it wants to go beyond production and emerge as a chip design powerhouse too, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said. “I am pleased to announce the largest IC (integrated circuit) Design Park in Southeast Asia, that will house world-class anchor tenants and collaborate with global companies such as Arm [Holdings PLC],”