Japanese consumer electronics maker Sony Corp yesterday introduced its high-priced alternative to the growing demand for netbooks — the VAIO P — at a product launch held simultaneously in Taipei, Tokyo and Las Vegas’ Consumer Electronics Show.
The VAIO P marks the multinational conglomerate’s foray into pocket PCs, as the company struggles to carve out a market niche to counter the netbook PC attack.
Taipei-based research and consulting group Topology Research Institute (拓墣產業), in a report released yesterday, forecast that global netbook PC shipments would reach between 27.25 million and 32 million this year.
PHOTO: AFP
In response to Topology’s report, Hiroyuki Oda, general manager of Sony Corp’s VAIO business group, told reporters yesterday: “We acknowledge the netbook demand, but we will not enter the low-priced netbook market.”
Oda said that since its founding in 1946, Sony has always been at the forefront of the consumer technology revolution, including the introduction of the concept of music-on-the-go with the launch of the Walkman.
“Our focus has always been on creating value through design, innovation and specialization. Without specialization, there would have been no VAIO,” Oda said.
Oda stressed that the 8-inch VAIO P is a pocket PC — and not a netbook.
However, Taipei-based researcher Market Intelligence Center (MIC) defines netbook PCs as products with display sizes ranging from between 7 inches and 10.2 inches, while notebook PCs are equipped with displays 10.4 inches and above. In short, the VAIO P falls into MIC’s netbook category in terms of display size.
Still, some industry watchers classify netbooks as low cost, mini-notebooks that retail between US$300 and US$400 per unit. The VAIO P series are priced between NT$26,800 and NT$36,800 (US$800 and US$1,100).
Sony is not worried that the VAIO P might cannibalize its existing ultra-portable TT and Z notebook series, since these two lines are even more distinctly priced than the P, with 11-inch and 13-inch displays respectively.
In the near term, the company has no plans of following netbook vendors’ popular tactic of collaborating with local telecom operators to promote their product through bundled sales (netbook + telecom subscription plan), Oda said.
Sony’s new pocket PC, which includes all the latest notebook add-ons, runs on Intel’s Atom Z processor and features an “Instant On” technology that allows users to boot up one program (such as the Internet browser) instead of running the entire operating system.
This same “Instant On” technology, developed by Taiwanese software company Device VM Inc (達維飛碼 ), has attracted a lot of interest at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Topology said.
Netbook vendors such as Asustek Computer Inc (華碩), Acer Inc (宏碁) and Hewlett-Packard Co are embracing this time-saving platform, and rolling out quick-start netbook PCs. Even Lenovo Group Ltd (聯想) recently included “Instant On” in its latest netbook line, Topology said yesterday.
As the economic downturn spreads, global demand for consumer PCs is also slowing. Oda yesterday did not talk about sales forecasts for the VAIO P, saying Sony was still observing consumer response to the new product.
“Although the global financial crisis is hurting sales worldwide, Asia Pacific remains a strong area of growth for us, whereas developed countries such as US, Europe, and Japan are showing signs of a slowdown,” Oda said.
The US dollar was trading at NT$29.7 at 10am today on the Taipei Foreign Exchange, as the New Taiwan dollar gained NT$1.364 from the previous close last week. The NT dollar continued to rise today, after surging 3.07 percent on Friday. After opening at NT$30.91, the NT dollar gained more than NT$1 in just 15 minutes, briefly passing the NT$30 mark. Before the US Department of the Treasury's semi-annual currency report came out, expectations that the NT dollar would keep rising were already building. The NT dollar on Friday closed at NT$31.064, up by NT$0.953 — a 3.07 percent single-day gain. Today,
‘SHORT TERM’: The local currency would likely remain strong in the near term, driven by anticipated US trade pressure, capital inflows and expectations of a US Fed rate cut The US dollar is expected to fall below NT$30 in the near term, as traders anticipate increased pressure from Washington for Taiwan to allow the New Taiwan dollar to appreciate, Cathay United Bank (國泰世華銀行) chief economist Lin Chi-chao (林啟超) said. Following a sharp drop in the greenback against the NT dollar on Friday, Lin told the Central News Agency that the local currency is likely to remain strong in the short term, driven in part by market psychology surrounding anticipated US policy pressure. On Friday, the US dollar fell NT$0.953, or 3.07 percent, closing at NT$31.064 — its lowest level since Jan.
The New Taiwan dollar and Taiwanese stocks surged on signs that trade tensions between the world’s top two economies might start easing and as US tech earnings boosted the outlook of the nation’s semiconductor exports. The NT dollar strengthened as much as 3.8 percent versus the US dollar to 30.815, the biggest intraday gain since January 2011, closing at NT$31.064. The benchmark TAIEX jumped 2.73 percent to outperform the region’s equity gauges. Outlook for global trade improved after China said it is assessing possible trade talks with the US, providing a boost for the nation’s currency and shares. As the NT dollar
PRESSURE EXPECTED: The appreciation of the NT dollar reflected expectations that Washington would press Taiwan to boost its currency against the US dollar, dealers said Taiwan’s export-oriented semiconductor and auto part manufacturers are expecting their margins to be affected by large foreign exchange losses as the New Taiwan dollar continued to appreciate sharply against the US dollar yesterday. Among major semiconductor manufacturers, ASE Technology Holding Co (日月光), the world’s largest integrated circuit (IC) packaging and testing services provider, said that whenever the NT dollar rises NT$1 against the greenback, its gross margin is cut by about 1.5 percent. The NT dollar traded as strong as NT$29.59 per US dollar before trimming gains to close NT$0.919, or 2.96 percent, higher at NT$30.145 yesterday in Taipei trading
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