Amid fierce competition in the notebook sector, vendors are aggressively promoting products with unique features, such as fingerprint authentication and built-in digital TV modules.
Hewlett-Packard (HP) Taiwan Ltd yesterday joined the trend, launching its first dual-core Napa notebook utilizing fingerprint authentication aimed at commercial users.
"Business users nowadays are very concerned about data security. Fingerprint authentication offers a customizable solution and saves users the hassle of keying in a password to log on to their computer," said Benjamin Ou (
The 14-inch Compaq nx6320, which weighs 2.5kg, comes in two models -- one runs on a 1.66GHz processor and has a 60GB hard drive, whereas the other has a 1.86GHz processor and 80GB hard drive.
Prices start from NT$44,900 (US$1,377), which HP described as affordable compared with rival products.
Strong momentum
According to Dennis Chen (陳敬宏), general manager of the company's personal systems group, second-quarter momentum in the business segment is strong, with new projects from the Central Trust of China (中信局) set to start in May.
Taipei-based Central Trust, whose operations include banking, insurance, trade and warehousing, is in charge of purchasing computers and other goods for government agencies and schools.
Central Trust's orders will easily account for more than 40 percent of the commercial demand in the local market, Chen said.
HP Taiwan prepared for accelerated growth in the notebook market this year by launching more mid-level and high-end computers targeted at enterprises, Chen said in January.
Meanwhile, BenQ Corp (
These notebooks offer access to digital TV broadcasts from channels such as Chinese Television System (
The laptops can also be used in certain parts of China and Europe that support the Digital Video Broadcasting Terrestrial (DVB-T) standard.
TV tuners
"We are considering built-in digital TV tuners and Web cameras as standard specifications for future notebooks," Hank Horng (
Retailing at NT$54,900, the 12-inch Joybook S61 uses a 1.66GHz processor and has an 80GB hard drive. The S73, which sells for NT$52,900, has a 14-inch screen, 80GB hard drive and 1.66GHz processor.
BenQ, which is marking its fourth year in the notebook industry this year, aims to boost its global shipping volume to more than 700,000 units this year from 220,000 units last year, Horng said.
The company will continue to strengthen its foothold in China, hoping to boost shipments to 300,000 units by the end of the year, which would make it one of the top six players there, he said.
"After establishing a foundation in China, we will be more aggressive in the Taiwanese market in the second half of the year," he said.
Last year, BenQ managed to sell only 23,000 notebooks locally as a result of losing out on cost control compared with its rivals, Horng said.
‘DECENT RESULTS’: The company said it is confident thanks to an improving world economy and uptakes in new wireless and AI technologies, despite US uncertainty Pegatron Corp (和碩) yesterday said it plans to build a new server manufacturing factory in the US this year to address US President Donald Trump’s new tariff policy. That would be the second server production base for Pegatron in addition to the existing facilities in Taoyuan, the iPhone assembler said. Servers are one of the new businesses Pegatron has explored in recent years to develop a more balanced product lineup. “We aim to provide our services from a location in the vicinity of our customers,” Pegatron president and chief executive officer Gary Cheng (鄭光治) told an online earnings conference yesterday. “We
It was late morning and steam was rising from water tanks atop the colorful, but opaque-windowed, “soapland” sex parlors in a historic Tokyo red-light district. Walking through the narrow streets, camera in hand, was Beniko — a former sex worker who is trying to capture the spirit of the area once known as Yoshiwara through photography. “People often talk about this neighborhood having a ‘bad history,’” said Beniko, who goes by her nickname. “But the truth is that through the years people have lived here, made a life here, sometimes struggled to survive. I want to share that reality.” In its mid-17th to
‘MAKE OR BREAK’: Nvidia shares remain down more than 9 percent, but investors are hoping CEO Jensen Huang’s speech can stave off fears that the sales boom is peaking Shares in Nvidia Corp’s Taiwanese suppliers mostly closed higher yesterday on hopes that the US artificial intelligence (AI) chip designer would showcase next-generation technologies at its annual AI conference slated to open later in the day. The GPU Technology Conference (GTC) in California is to feature developers, engineers, researchers, inventors and information technology professionals, and would focus on AI, computer graphics, data science, machine learning and autonomous machines. The event comes at a make-or-break moment for the firm, as it heads into the next few quarters, with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s (黃仁勳) keynote speech today seen as having the ability to
The battle for artificial intelligence supremacy hinges on microchips, but the semiconductor sector that produces them has a dirty secret: It is a major source of chemicals linked to cancer and other health problems. Global chip sales surged more than 19 percent to about US$628 billion last year, according to the Semiconductor Industry Association, which forecasts double-digit growth again this year. That is adding urgency to reducing the effects of “forever chemicals” — which are also used to make firefighting foam, nonstick pans, raincoats and other everyday items — as are regulators in the US and Europe who are beginning to
RSS