Smaller, cheaper laptops take trade fair by storm
When 17-year-old Yuna Hua bought a new notebook computer for school, she chose a smaller, lighter and cheaper one to replace her bulky and expensive laptop. Like many consumers, Ms Hua reckons she doesn't need a €962,000-laptop for her everyday...
When 17-year-old Yuna Hua bought a new notebook computer for school, she chose a smaller, lighter and cheaper one to replace her bulky and expensive laptop.
Like many consumers, Ms Hua reckons she doesn't need a €962,000-laptop for her everyday needs.
"It's a lot less expensive and much easier to use and carry," said Hua, a high school senior, who uses her notebook mostly for homework, surfing the internet and games.
For around a quarter of the price of a regular notebook, PC makers such as Acer Inc) and Asustek Computer displayed simpler laptops - called Netbooks, or low-cost PCs - at this year's Computex trade fair in Taiwan, hoping to open up a new market and bolster the fortunes of PC makers as an economic slowdown curbs spending. Market leaders Hewlett-Packard and Dell are expected to follow suit with similar ultra-portable models in the second half of the year, analysts said.
"You can easily double the market size of notebooks with this device," Acer president Gianfranco Lanci told Reuters.
Some analysts say these low-cost computers, which range from 7to10 inches and weigh about one kilo, could end up replacing regular notebook PCs, but they agree these new PCs have also opened up the computer market to more first-time buyers.
"There is now a huge population out there in emerging markets that can afford these laptops. They may be cannibalising some of the current notebook market, but it's also expanding the market very, very quickly," said JP Morgan analyst Alvin Kwock.
Mr Kwock added that global shipments for low-cost models should hit 10-15 million units this year, and selling prices would range between €192 - €320.
But other analysts were not as optimistic.
Like many consumers, Ms Hua reckons she doesn't need a €962,000-laptop for her everyday needs.
"It's a lot less expensive and much easier to use and carry," said Hua, a high school senior, who uses her notebook mostly for homework, surfing the internet and games.
For around a quarter of the price of a regular notebook, PC makers such as Acer Inc) and Asustek Computer displayed simpler laptops - called Netbooks, or low-cost PCs - at this year's Computex trade fair in Taiwan, hoping to open up a new market and bolster the fortunes of PC makers as an economic slowdown curbs spending. Market leaders Hewlett-Packard and Dell are expected to follow suit with similar ultra-portable models in the second half of the year, analysts said.
"You can easily double the market size of notebooks with this device," Acer president Gianfranco Lanci told Reuters.
Some analysts say these low-cost computers, which range from 7to10 inches and weigh about one kilo, could end up replacing regular notebook PCs, but they agree these new PCs have also opened up the computer market to more first-time buyers.
"There is now a huge population out there in emerging markets that can afford these laptops. They may be cannibalising some of the current notebook market, but it's also expanding the market very, very quickly," said JP Morgan analyst Alvin Kwock.
Mr Kwock added that global shipments for low-cost models should hit 10-15 million units this year, and selling prices would range between €192 - €320.
But other analysts were not as optimistic.