Personal-computer shipments will increase slightly more than expected this year as Hewlett-Packard Co battles Dell Computer Corp for the title of world's biggest personal computer maker, market researcher IDC said.
The company increased its 2002 shipment growth forecast to 1.6 percent, or 136.2 million units, from 1.1 percent, or 135.5 million units, predicted in September. The 2003 estimate of 8.3 percent, or 147.5 million units, is lower than a previous prediction of 8.4 percent growth.
Hewlett-Packard Co is offering an "incredibly good deal" of US$698 for a PC, 17-inch monitor and a printer through the Web site of Wal-Mart Stores Inc, said Roger Kay, an analyst for IDC.
Hewlett-Packard's pricing will affect the industry's profit and revenue, he said.
"There will be increased unit shipments in the fourth quarter but revenue and profit will be hurt" among PC makers, Kay said.
In the third quarter, Dell edged Hewlett-Packard to become the world's biggest PC maker, a title Hewlett-Packard won when it bought Compaq Computer Corp in May. Including sales for the first nine months of the year, Hewlett-Packard is the biggest PC maker, said IDC.
"There's certainly a chance Hewlett-Packard could go back on top" in the fourth quarter, Kay said.
Smaller rivals like Gateway Inc "are getting blown away," he said.
On Wednesday, Gateway Chief Executive Ted Waitt said his company's consumer business is down "fairly significantly."
PC demand is mired in a slump that caused shipments to fall last year for the first time since 1985, IDC said.
Intel Corp chief executive officer Lip-Bu Tan (陳立武) is expected to meet with Taiwanese suppliers next month in conjunction with the opening of the Computex Taipei trade show, supply chain sources said on Monday. The visit, the first for Tan to Taiwan since assuming his new post last month, would be aimed at enhancing Intel’s ties with suppliers in Taiwan as he attempts to help turn around the struggling US chipmaker, the sources said. Tan is to hold a banquet to celebrate Intel’s 40-year presence in Taiwan before Computex opens on May 20 and invite dozens of Taiwanese suppliers to exchange views
Application-specific integrated circuit designer Faraday Technology Corp (智原) yesterday said that although revenue this quarter would decline 30 percent from last quarter, it retained its full-year forecast of revenue growth of 100 percent. The company attributed the quarterly drop to a slowdown in customers’ production of chips using Faraday’s advanced packaging technology. The company is still confident about its revenue growth this year, given its strong “design-win” — or the projects it won to help customers design their chips, Faraday president Steve Wang (王國雍) told an online earnings conference. “The design-win this year is better than we expected. We believe we will win
Quanta Computer Inc (廣達) chairman Barry Lam (林百里) is expected to share his views about the artificial intelligence (AI) industry’s prospects during his speech at the company’s 37th anniversary ceremony, as AI servers have become a new growth engine for the equipment manufacturing service provider. Lam’s speech is much anticipated, as Quanta has risen as one of the world’s major AI server suppliers. The company reported a 30 percent year-on-year growth in consolidated revenue to NT$1.41 trillion (US$43.35 billion) last year, thanks to fast-growing demand for servers, especially those with AI capabilities. The company told investors in November last year that
Power supply and electronic components maker Delta Electronics Inc (台達電) yesterday said it plans to ship its new 1 megawatt charging systems for electric trucks and buses in the first half of next year at the earliest. The new charging piles, which deliver up to 1 megawatt of charging power, are designed for heavy-duty electric vehicles, and support a maximum current of 1,500 amperes and output of 1,250 volts, Delta said in a news release. “If everything goes smoothly, we could begin shipping those new charging systems as early as in the first half of next year,” a company official said. The new
RSS