Taiwanese notebook computer makers Microstar International Co (MSI, 微星科技) and Asustek Computer Inc (華碩電腦) expected unit sales to grow between 20 percent and 40 percent during this year’s Taipei Computer Application Show from last year because of strong demand for Ultrabooks and gaming-friendly laptops.
MSI expected notebook sales to grow between 30 percent and 40 percent in this year’s show compared with last year, a company salesman surnamed Kao (高) said.
“We sold out every notebook in the first two days,” Kao added.
The gaming notebooks GE60 and GE70, with 15.6-inch and 17.3-inch screen sizes respectively, were the hottest items, he added.
An Asustek public relation manager said they were very optimistic about achieving the company’s sales target of growing 20 percent annually during this year’s show.
Judging from the show’s crowd in the first two days, “we are extremely optimistic about this year’s sales,” said Cynthia Chen (陳守玉), a spokesperson of the event’s co-organizer Taipei Computer Association.
“The gloomy global economy may be impacting local industry, but back-to-school demand is strong this year as it has been pent up since late in the second quarter when an assortment of new products were launched,” Chen added.
The show attracted up to 180,000 visitors yesterday and 250,000 people in its first two days, he said.
A public relations manager from Japanese brand Fujitsu Ltd said the company forecast sales would see an annual 20 percent increase. The manager said Lifebook LH 532 and Lifebook LH 572 Ultrabooks topped notebook sales.
Hewlett-Packard Taiwan Ltd also expected sales to increase at an unspecified rate this year, HP official Frances Wu (吳芳倩) said.
However, Toshiba Corp said notebook sales would be flat this year compared to last year, said Chien Chun-hao (錢俊豪), marketing manager of Toshiba’s local notebook vendor, Grainnex Corp (新禾科技).
The show, which opened on Friday, will close today.
‘DECENT RESULTS’: The company said it is confident thanks to an improving world economy and uptakes in new wireless and AI technologies, despite US uncertainty Pegatron Corp (和碩) yesterday said it plans to build a new server manufacturing factory in the US this year to address US President Donald Trump’s new tariff policy. That would be the second server production base for Pegatron in addition to the existing facilities in Taoyuan, the iPhone assembler said. Servers are one of the new businesses Pegatron has explored in recent years to develop a more balanced product lineup. “We aim to provide our services from a location in the vicinity of our customers,” Pegatron president and chief executive officer Gary Cheng (鄭光治) told an online earnings conference yesterday. “We
LEAK SOURCE? There would be concern over the possibility of tech leaks if TSMC were to form a joint venture to operate Intel’s factories, an analyst said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday stayed mum after a report said that the chipmaker has pitched chip designers Nvidia Corp, Advanced Micro Devices Inc and Broadcom Inc about taking a stake in a joint venture to operate Intel Corp’s factories. Industry sources told the Central News Agency (CNA) that the possibility of TSMC proposing to operate Intel’s wafer fabs is low, as the Taiwanese chipmaker has always focused on its core business. There is also concern over possible technology leaks if TSMC were to form a joint venture to operate Intel’s factories, Concord Securities Co (康和證券) analyst Kerry Huang (黃志祺)
It was late morning and steam was rising from water tanks atop the colorful, but opaque-windowed, “soapland” sex parlors in a historic Tokyo red-light district. Walking through the narrow streets, camera in hand, was Beniko — a former sex worker who is trying to capture the spirit of the area once known as Yoshiwara through photography. “People often talk about this neighborhood having a ‘bad history,’” said Beniko, who goes by her nickname. “But the truth is that through the years people have lived here, made a life here, sometimes struggled to survive. I want to share that reality.” In its mid-17th to
‘MAKE OR BREAK’: Nvidia shares remain down more than 9 percent, but investors are hoping CEO Jensen Huang’s speech can stave off fears that the sales boom is peaking Shares in Nvidia Corp’s Taiwanese suppliers mostly closed higher yesterday on hopes that the US artificial intelligence (AI) chip designer would showcase next-generation technologies at its annual AI conference slated to open later in the day. The GPU Technology Conference (GTC) in California is to feature developers, engineers, researchers, inventors and information technology professionals, and would focus on AI, computer graphics, data science, machine learning and autonomous machines. The event comes at a make-or-break moment for the firm, as it heads into the next few quarters, with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s (黃仁勳) keynote speech today seen as having the ability to
RSS