Taiwan personal computer makers such as Acer Inc. and Asustek Computer led global industry growth in shipments during the third quarter this year on the strength of mini-notebook computers that provide users greater mobility and simpler connection to the internet, based on preliminary findings of market research firm Gartner, Inc.
Worldwide PC shipments during the third quarter rose by 15 percent to 80.6 million units from the same period last year, Gartner said in an October 14 report. Of the world’s top-five PC makers, Acer, the world’s third largest PC company by revenue, led shipment growth at 47.3 percent.
“The mini-notebook segment experienced strong growth,” said Mika Kitagawa, principal analyst for Gartner's Client Computing Markets group.
Two vendors that had a strong focus and acted quickly in the mini-notebook segment are Asustek and Acer, Kitagawa said, adding that both companies experienced robust growth. Although most major vendors now have their own mini-notebook offerings, it will be a challenge for these vendors to match or beat the market expansion that Asustek and Acer have attained so far, Kitagawa said.
In October last year, Asustek launched the world’s first Eee PC, a miniature notebook computer with wireless internet connectivity and other consumer-oriented features. The Eee PC has since become one of the hit products this year in the PC business. The world’s leading vendors have rushed to offer similar products.
Mini-notebook shipments accounted for approximately 5 percent of U.S. mobile PC shipments and added approximately 1-2 percentage points of year-over-year growth, according to the Gartner report.
Acer also overtook Hewlett-Packard Co. to capture the leading position in the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region, the report said. Hewlett-Packard is the world’s largest PC company by revenue.
The EMEA PC market performance was largely dictated by vendors that shipped mini-notebooks and those that did not, resulting in significant movements in the EMEA top-five vendor positions, the Gartner report said. For the first time since HP merged with Compaq, it lost its No. 1 position in the EMEA PC market to Acer, the report added. Acer bolstered its shipment numbers with a significant number of shipments into the telecommunications retail channel across Western Europe and accounted for 20.6 percent of shipments in the region, while HP had 18.7 percent of shipments, according to the report.
PC shipments in the EMEA totaled 28.8 million units in the third quarter of 2008, a 25.9 percent increase from the third quarter last year, Gartner said.
Acer and Asustek are among the first companies in Taiwan’s PC industry to focus on building their brands in the global market. Acer created its brand name more than a decade ago, while Asustek has more recently adopted Asus as its brand name.
To promote the island’s industry, the Taiwan government has made the development of branding the key task for raising the competitiveness of Taiwan’s economy. There are two ultimate goals of the Branding Taiwan program. The first is integrating resources to assist the establishment of brands and create a favorable environment for development; the second is to aid Taiwan enterprises in brand development and increase the value of Taiwan’s international brands.
Asustek won an iF design award china 2008 in October for the company’s U2 Bamboo notebook computer.
“This notebook combines the high-tech esthetics of polished steel with the warmth of bamboo. It communicates a unique new experience in the area of computers,” the awards judges said in a statement on the iF website.
The iF awards are among the most coveted in the design community. Market observation, close contact with experts, early recognition of new trends and their reception are the essential strengths of the iF product design awards, according to the iF website.
Asustek has also won many design awards from red dot, another famous organization that awards the world’s leading companies for their design competence.
Taiwan companies account for about 90 percent of the world’s notebook PC production, and most of these companies manufacture their products under contact for the world’s largest brand name companies in the business.
Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA), www.taiwantrade.org.tw
