Asus reportedly plans to offer an 11.6-inch version of its Eee PC netbook, as well as two new notebooks, one of which will use Intel's ultra-low-voltage chip. Further, Asus is expecting netbooks to account for only 10 percent of its PC sales, while competitor Acer puts the number at 50 percent, according to a new report from DigiTimes.
Asustek plans to launch an 11.6-inch version of its
Eee
PC netbook later this month,
DigiTimes is
reporting.
The 11.6-inch netbook is expected to account for 30 percent
of Asustek's total shipments. The 10-inch model, the paper reports, will still
be considered the mainstream specification for 2009 and will account for 50
percent of the company's total shipments.
The paper
additionally
reports that Asustek's 2009 sales forecast for ultra-thin notebooks is 10
percent, with the potential to reach 20 percent in 2010, while Acer expects the
ultra-thin notebooks to account for 50 percent of its 2009 notebook sales.
Acer,
which
ranks below only HP and Dell for U.S. and worldwide PC shipments, recently
reported a net profit of $60.3 million for the first quarter of 2009 - a
fall of 31 percent from a year earlier -
which
has been attributed, in part, to its need to move its netbooks to 10-inch
screens.
Asus, which is not among the top-five PC manufacturers,
reported first quarter 2009 revenue of approximately $1.4 billion, which was
26.6 percent below revenues from the same quarter the previous year.
Netbooks, or mini-notebooks, are generally priced below
$600, and this price point has made them the saving grace of the PC market, in
an economy that has otherwise discouraged sales.
Netbook shipment numbers are expected to increase by 68.5
percent in 2009, and 39.6 percent in 2010, with approximately 31 million units
shipping, according to research Firm iSuppli.
iSuppli
has also suggested that as the economy improves, netbook numbers may decline.
According to DigiTimes, Asus president Jerry Shen said his
company additionally plans to launch the XS15, a 15.6-inch mid-range to
high-end notebook based on
Intel's
CULV (consumer ultra low voltage) chip, priced between $1,060 and $1,330,
as well as a 13.3-inch notebook priced between approximately $800-$900.
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