The nation's notebook makers have no choice but to comply with China's new standard for encrypting wireless communications, industry watchers said yesterday.
The standard is set to be adopted in June.
"China is expected to become the largest [personal computer] market in the next 10 years thanks to increases in the nation's GNP," said Joseph Lee (李強), a researcher at the Taipei-based Topology Research Institute (拓墣產業研究所).
Taiwan's notebook makers cannot afford to lose their position in the emerging Chinese market, he said.
"The nation's laptop manufacturers have no choice but to conform to the new wireless communication standard that China is determined to establish," Lee said.
China is developing its own wireless communications standard, called WAPI, or wireless authentication and privacy infrastructure, as the government encourages domestic manufacturers to expand.
Incompatible
Intel Corp's Centrino notebook chip, which allows mobile wireless computing, is not compatible with WAPI. The company is discussing the issue with Chinese officials.
Laptops integrated with wireless LAN are expected to account for 40 percent to 50 percent of China's portable personal computers this year. The ratio may rise to 70 percent to 80 percent next year, according to an estimate by Topology.
"China's government agencies and school users will remain the driving force for the nation's wireless computing this year," Lee said.
Acer Inc said it had formulated solutions for its laptops to comply with the new standard in the face of the June deadline, Kitty Fok (
The company's move would create great opportunities for its business expansion in China, Fok said.
Lee agreed, saying Taiwan's notebook makers could turn to Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) for chipsets enabling mobile computing in compliance with WAPI before Intel launches a next-generation Centrino that conforms with China's new standard.
BenQ Corp (
BenQ senior product manager Su Chia-hung (
Ties with Intel
Asustek Computer Inc (
"We are still waiting and seeing how things go," said Sunny Han (
The company has no plan to develop WAPI-compatible products so far, as Intel was still engaged in talks with the government on the possibility of postponing the June implementation, Han said.
SEEKING CLARITY: Washington should not adopt measures that create uncertainties for ‘existing semiconductor investments,’ TSMC said referring to its US$165 billion in the US Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) told the US that any future tariffs on Taiwanese semiconductors could reduce demand for chips and derail its pledge to increase its investment in Arizona. “New import restrictions could jeopardize current US leadership in the competitive technology industry and create uncertainties for many committed semiconductor capital projects in the US, including TSMC Arizona’s significant investment plan in Phoenix,” the chipmaker wrote in a letter to the US Department of Commerce. TSMC issued the warning in response to a solicitation for comments by the department on a possible tariff on semiconductor imports by US President Donald Trump’s
The government has launched a three-pronged strategy to attract local and international talent, aiming to position Taiwan as a new global hub following Nvidia Corp’s announcement that it has chosen Taipei as the site of its Taiwan headquarters. Nvidia cofounder and CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) on Monday last week announced during his keynote speech at the Computex trade show in Taipei that the Nvidia Constellation, the company’s planned Taiwan headquarters, would be located in the Beitou-Shilin Technology Park (北投士林科技園區) in Taipei. Huang’s decision to establish a base in Taiwan is “primarily due to Taiwan’s talent pool and its strength in the semiconductor
Industrial production expanded 22.31 percent annually last month to 107.51, as increases in demand for high-performance computing (HPC) and artificial intelligence (AI) applications drove demand for locally-made chips and components. The manufacturing production index climbed 23.68 percent year-on-year to 108.37, marking the 14th consecutive month of increase, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said. In the first four months of this year, industrial and manufacturing production indices expanded 14.31 percent and 15.22 percent year-on-year, ministry data showed. The growth momentum is to extend into this month, with the manufacturing production index expected to rise between 11 percent and 15.1 percent annually, Department of Statistics
An earnings report from semiconductor giant and artificial intelligence (AI) bellwether Nvidia Corp takes center stage for Wall Street this week, as stocks hit a speed bump of worries over US federal deficits driving up Treasury yields. US equities pulled back last week after a torrid rally, as investors turned their attention to tax and spending legislation poised to swell the US government’s US$36 trillion in debt. Long-dated US Treasury yields rose amid the fiscal worries, with the 30-year yield topping 5 percent and hitting its highest level since late 2023. Stocks were dealt another blow on Friday when US President Donald
RSS