Asustek Computer Inc (華碩電腦), the world’s fifth-largest PC maker, will unveil a tablet computer with a slide keyboard at the Consumer Electronics Show next week in Las Vegas, industry sources said yesterday.
The tablet device, which will have a 10-inch screen and run on Google Inc’s Android operating system, is expected to feature with other tablet PCs from Asustek’s Eee Pad family, including a Windows-based model that uses a detachable keyboard, the sources said.
The Taiwan-based company hopes the new gadgets will help it penetrate the expanding global tablet computer market and gain a double-digit share of the non-Apple tablet computer market this year.
PHOTO: AFP
A recent research report estimated that 10 million to 15 million non-Apple tablet computers would be shipped this year and it said Asustek was likely to sell no fewer than 1 million units.
Asustek’s tablet PCs will compete with several models promoted by companies such as Samsung Electronics Co, Acer Inc (宏碁), Micro-Star International Co (微星) and HTC Corp (宏達電) to challenge Apple Inc’s iPad in the segment.
On Dec. 26, HTC, which had not announced it was coming out with a tablet device, filed a trademark application with the US Patent and Trademark Office for a product called “HTC Scribe,” describing it as a “handheld wireless device, namely a tablet computer,” according to a Bloomberg report.
HTC may launch the tablet at the Consumer Electronics Show, which runs from Thursday through Saturday, or during the Mobile World Congress next month.
Global shipments of tablet devices are forecast to grow by 183 percent to 34.81 million units this year and by another 45.7 percent next year to 50 million units, the Market Intelligence and Consulting Institute estimated last month.
China’s economic planning agency yesterday outlined details of measures aimed at boosting the economy, but refrained from major spending initiatives. The piecemeal nature of the plans announced yesterday appeared to disappoint investors who were hoping for bolder moves, and the Shanghai Composite Index gave up a 10 percent initial gain as markets reopened after a weeklong holiday to end 4.59 percent higher, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index dived 9.41 percent. Chinese National Development and Reform Commission Chairman Zheng Shanjie (鄭珊潔) said the government would frontload 100 billion yuan (US$14.2 billion) in spending from the government’s budget for next year in addition
Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD) suffered its biggest stock decline in more than a month after the company unveiled new artificial intelligence (AI) chips, but did not provide hoped-for information on customers or financial performance. The stock slid 4 percent to US$164.18 on Thursday, the biggest single-day drop since Sept. 3. Shares of the company remain up 11 percent this year. AMD has emerged as the biggest contender to Nvidia Corp in the lucrative market of AI processors. The company’s latest chips would exceed some capabilities of its rival, AMD chief executive officer Lisa Su (蘇姿丰) said at an event hosted by
TECH JUGGERNAUT: TSMC shares have more than doubled since ChatGPT’s launch in late 2022, as demand for cutting-edge artificial intelligence chips remains high Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday posted a better-than-expected 39 percent rise in quarterly revenue, assuaging concerns that artificial intelligence (AI) hardware spending is beginning to taper off. The main chipmaker for Nvidia Corp and Apple Inc reported third-quarter sales of NT$759.69 billion (US$23.6 billion), compared with the average analyst projection of NT$748 billion. For last month alone, TSMC reported revenue jumped 39.6 percent year-on-year to NT$251.87 billion. Taiwan’s largest company is to disclose its full third-quarter earnings on Thursday next week and update its outlook. Hsinchu-based TSMC produces the cutting-edge chips needed to train AI. The company now makes more
NEXT GENERATION: The new 3-nanometer chip has 28 percent more transistors and offers up to 80 percent faster language model performance than its predecessor MediaTek Inc (聯發科) on Wednesday launched a new flagship smartphone chip, Dimensity 9400, made with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (TSMC, 台積電) enhanced 3-nanometer technology, aiming to bring more artificial intelligence (AI) applications to edge devices like phones. The Dimensity 9400 is the second smartphone chip using TSMC’s second-generation 3-nanometer technology, after Apple Inc’s A18 Pro chip for the new iPhone 16 series. The new mobile chip has 28 percent more transistors, offers up to 80 percent faster large language model performance and is up to 35 percent more power-efficient than its predecessor, Dimensity 9300, MediaTek said. Chinese smartphone makers Xiaomi Corp (小米),
RSS