Intel Atom-based Eee PCs in June, 10-inch displays later in the year, says Asustek president
Asustek Computer president Jerry Shen has revealed the company plans to launch Eee PCs based on Intel's Atom processor platform in June, and will introduce models with a 10-inch display later in 2008.Asustek is believed to have ordered 2.5-3 million Atom processors from Intel, while Acer has ordered around one million and may place another one million unit order depending on market demand for corresponding low-cost PCs in the later half of the year, according to industry sources. Meanwhile, Dell has been more conservative in only ordering around 300,000-500,000 Atom CPUs, while previous reports indicate Hewlett-Packard (HP) has placed an initial order for 100,000 VIA Technologies C7-M ULV CPUs to be used in its Mini-Note products, which will increase to 500,000 units by year's end. Other players including Micro-Star International (MSI) and Gigabyte Technology are even more conservative, ordering far lower volumes than their competitors, according market watchers.
Asustek is still the largest client for low-cost PC processors and small-size panels, giving the company excellent bargaining ability and helping it to control costs and gross margins better than its competitors, Shen commented.
The company's current PC products are still mainly outsourced to Pegatron Technology, but in the fourth quarter, it will outsource some non-major product lines to other OEMs in order to achieve its goal of saving costs, noted Shen.
Asustek expects its recently launched 8.9-inch Eee PC 900 to sell around 1.3 million units in the second quarter of 2008.
Eee PC demand is highest in Europe accounting for 50% of worldwide demand, However, due to the current battery shortages the company is only able to satisfy 40% of demand in Europe and around 30% in total worldwide, revealed Shen, adding that a complete recovery is expected by the third quarter. Shen also noted that Japan and Hong Kong are both seeing good sales performance; and while sales are currently not performing well in China, the company still lists it as an important market for the future.
Asustek expects around 80% of the Eee PC shipments in 2008 to go into the channel, while the other 20% will be destined to contract orders from the telecommunications and government sectors.
Asustek and HP: Low-cost PC specifications
Model
Eee PC 900 (XP)
Eee PC 900 (Linux)
HP 2133 Mini-Note (Linux)
HP 2133 Mini-note (Vista)
Processor
Intel Celeron M processor
VIA C7-M (1.0GHz)
VIA C7-M (1.2GHz)
Memory
1GB
512MB
1GB
Panel
8.9-inch
8.9-inch
Hard drive
12GB SSD
20GB SSD
4GB SSD
120-160GB
Battery
4-cell
3-cell
Webcam
1.3-megapixel
300,000-pixel
Weight
0.99kg
1.27kg
Touch pad
Multi-touch pad
Left-right arrangement
Price
NT$15,988 (US$528.49)
US$499
US$599
Source: Companies, compiled by Digitimes, April 2008