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.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday said its materials management head, Vanessa Lee (李文如), had tendered her resignation for personal reasons. The personnel adjustment takes effect tomorrow, TSMC said in a statement. The latest development came one month after Lee reportedly took leave from the middle of last month. Cliff Hou (侯永清), senior vice president and deputy cochief operating officer, is to concurrently take on the role of head of the materials management division, which has been under his supervision, TSMC said. Lee, who joined TSMC in 2022, was appointed senior director of materials management and
Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) on Thursday met with US President Donald Trump at the White House, days before a planned trip to China by the head of the world’s most valuable chipmaker, people familiar with the matter said. Details of what the two men discussed were not immediately available, and the people familiar with the meeting declined to elaborate on the agenda. Spokespeople for the White House had no immediate comment. Nvidia declined to comment. Nvidia’s CEO has been vocal about the need for US companies to access the world’s largest semiconductor market and is a frequent visitor to China.
Hypermarket chain Carrefour Taiwan and upscale supermarket chain Mia C’bon on Saturday announced the suspension of their partnership with Jkopay Co (街口支付), one of Taiwan’s largest digital payment providers, amid a lawsuit involving its parent company. Carrefour and Mia C’bon said they would notify customers once Jkopay services are reinstated. The two retailers joined an array of other firms in suspending their partnerships with Jkopay. On Friday night, popular beverage chain TP Tea (茶湯會) also suspended its use of the platform, urging customers to opt for alternative payment methods. Another drinks brand, Guiji (龜記), on Friday said that it is up to individual
READY TO BUY: Shortly after Nvidia announced the approval, Chinese firms scrambled to order the H20 GPUs, which the company must send to the US government for approval Nvidia Corp chief executive officer Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) late on Monday said the technology giant has won approval from US President Donald Trump’s administration to sell its advanced H20 graphics processing units (GPUs) used to develop artificial intelligence (AI) to China. The news came in a company blog post late on Monday and Huang also spoke about the coup on China’s state-run China Global Television Network in remarks shown on X. “The US government has assured Nvidia that licenses will be granted, and Nvidia hopes to start deliveries soon,” the post said. “Today, I’m announcing that the US government has approved for us
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