Asustek Computer Inc (華碩), the world’s fifth-largest PC vendor, plans to put its next-generation tablet computer “Eee Pad Transformer Prime” on sale next month as a part of its premium line, the company said yesterday.
The thinner and lighter Transformer Prime is the world’s first tablet powered by a quad-core processor from Nvidia Corp, which enables it to play full HD 1080p movies, Asustek said during a conference call.
The 10.1-inch model, which is compatible with the latest Android 4.0 operating system, will go on sale worldwide next month at a price of NT$18,000 (US$599), or NT$21,000 with a detachable keyboard.
At the same time, Asustek also cut the price of its first Eee Pad Transformer to between NT$13,500 and NT$16,500, hoping to transform it into a mass-market product.
The company hopes the new Transformer Prime will boost its fourth-quarter tablet shipments, which it forecast at between 600,000 and 800,000 units on Oct. 12.
The forecast was considered conservative after Asustek shipped 800,000 tablets in the third quarter, but it reflects concerns that rival Amazon’s introduction of its lower-priced Kindle Fire tablet, launched in September at a price of US$199, would cut into sales of higher-priced models.
For the whole of this year, Asustek expects to sell 2 million units of the Eee Pad Transformer line, still far behind Apple Inc’s iPad.
Sales of the iPad are forecast to hit 46.7 million units for the year, up from 14.7 million units last year when the device took an 83 percent share of the tablet computer market, according to market researcher Gartner Inc.
The iPad shipment forecast represents 73.4 percent of the worldwide tablet market this year, as competitors in the Android camp, including Asustek, Acer Inc (宏碁) and Samsung Electronics Co, continue to lag behind, taking only 17.3 percent of global tablet sales, Gartner said.
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