Acer Inc (宏碁), the world’s No. 2 PC manufacturer, unveiled a range of tablet computers to help it compete with Apple Inc’s iPad, wading into the fast--growing market.
The tablet computer market is becoming crowded as more companies produce the new devices, which fall between traditional PCs and smartphones.
Chief executive Gianfranco Lanci announced at a news -conference in New York on Tuesday that the tablets would have 5, 7 and 10-inch screens, running on Google’s Android software. A second 10-inch tablet will run on Microsoft’s Windows.
PHOTO: REUTERS
The company said the Wi-Fi-only models of the tablets would come out in April next year, while the third-generation (3G)-capable models would arrive about a month later. The 5-inch tablet doubles as a smartphone.
Separately on Tuesday, Acer’s rival Dell Inc announced a new tablet that runs on Microsoft’s Windows software.
Acer, based in Taiwan, said it was in talks with US telephone carriers for 3G connectivity for its tablets.
No prices had been set for the devices, the company said.
“It’s a gold rush right now,” said NPD analyst Ross Rubin. “Everyone wants to get a tablet product out there.”
Apple’s iPad, a touchscreen tablet that began selling in April, still has an overwhelming lead in the fledgling market. It controlled 95 percent of the tablet market in the July-to-September quarter, -according to research firm Strategy Analytics.
“PC vendors and hardware vendors are looking at this market and saying: ‘How will I compete with Apple?’” Gartner analyst Carolina Milanesi said.
Tablet sales are expected to grow to 54 million units next year and to more than 100 million units in 2012, according to a forecast by research firm Gartner.
Acer also unveiled a screen laptop with two 14-inch LCD touch screens called the Iconia, along with a media store and software called Clear.fi that lets customers stream content on different Acer devices.
Three experts in the high technology industry have said that US President Donald Trump’s pledge to impose higher tariffs on Taiwanese semiconductors is part of an effort to force Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) to the negotiating table. In a speech to Republicans on Jan. 27, Trump said he intends to impose tariffs on Taiwan to bring chip production to the US. “The incentive is going to be they’re not going to want to pay a 25, 50 or even a 100 percent tax,” he said. Darson Chiu (邱達生), an economics professor at Taichung-based Tunghai University and director-general of
Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) is reportedly making another pass at Nissan Motor Co, as the Japanese automaker's tie-up with Honda Motor Co falls apart. Nissan shares rose as much as 6 percent after Taiwan’s Central News Agency reported that Hon Hai chairman Young Liu (劉揚偉) instructed former Nissan executive Jun Seki to connect with French carmaker Renault SA, which holds about 36 percent of Nissan’s stock. Hon Hai, the Taiwanese iPhone-maker also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), was exploring an investment or buyout of Nissan last year, but backed off in December after the Japanese carmaker penned a deal
‘LEGACY CHIPS’: Chinese companies have dramatically increased mature chip production capacity, but the West’s drive for secure supply chains offers a lifeline for Taiwan When Powerchip Technology Corp (力晶科技) entered a deal with the eastern Chinese city of Hefei in 2015 to set up a new chip foundry, it hoped the move would help provide better access to the promising Chinese market. However, nine years later, that Chinese foundry, Nexchip Semiconductor Corp (合晶集成), has become one of its biggest rivals in the legacy chip space, leveraging steep discounts after Beijing’s localization call forced Powerchip to give up the once-lucrative business making integrated circuits for Chinese flat panels. Nexchip is among Chinese foundries quickly winning market share in the crucial US$56.3 billion industry of so-called legacy
WASHINGTON POLICY: Tariffs of 10 percent or more and other new costs are tipped to hit shipments of small parcels, cutting export growth by 1.3 percentage points The decision by US President Donald Trump to ban Chinese companies from using a US tariff loophole would hit tens of billions of dollars of trade and reduce China’s economic growth this year, according to new estimates by economists at Nomura Holdings Inc. According to Nomura’s estimates, last year companies such as Shein (希音) and PDD Holdings Inc’s (拼多多控股) Temu shipped US$46 billion of small parcels to the US to take advantage of the rule that allows items with a declared value under US$800 to enter the US tariff-free. Tariffs of 10 percent or more and other new costs would slash such