Asustek Computer Inc (華碩) plans to sell a new version of its co-branded tablet computer along with Google Inc in Taiwan from next month to bolster its presence in the low-priced segment, the company said on Saturday.
The Taiwanese computer vendor said the new Nexus 7, which was unveiled on Oct. 29 and has 3G cellular connectivity and a larger storage capacity of 32 gigabytes, would go on sale at retail and telecoms stores during the IT Month electronics fair to be held in Taipei from next Saturday until Dec. 9.
Asustek has not yet decided the retail price for its new model, but said that the older version with 16 gigabyte storage and Wi-Fi connectivity would continue to be priced at NT$8,990 (US$308).
Far EasTone Telecommunications Co (遠傳電信), the country’s third-largest mobile operator, said it would be selling Asustek’s new Nexus 7 model from the opening of IT Month.
The 32 gigabyte version Nexus 7 would be sold for NT$10,900, Far EasTone said, adding that the tablet would also be available for NT$1,490 for consumers who sign a three-year contract with the carrier.
Asustek told investors on Oct. 30 that it had shipped 2.3 million tablets during the third quarter of this year.
The company expects its tablet shipments to reach 2.6 million units in the fourth quarter, and its full-year shipments to hit 6.3 million units.
The growth of the Taipei-based PC maker’s global market growth has been boosted by strong shipments of the Nexus 7 tablet, research firm International Data Corp (IDC) said.
IDC said Asustek accounted for 8.6 percent of global market share in the third quarter, higher than the 3.4 percent share the company had commanded in the second quarter of this year.
That made Asustek the world’s fourth-largest tablet vendor behind Apple Inc (50.4 percent), Samsung Electronics Co (18.4 percent) and Amazon.com Inc (9 percent), the research company said.
Asustek shares were up 1.27 percent at NT$318 at the close of trading in Taipei on Friday.
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