ASUS promises to deliver Eee PC for $200 USD
by Stevie Smith - Nov 3 2008, 14:41
ASUS to phase out its 7-inch and 8.9-inch Eee PC models as 10-inch becomes the new favourite. Image: yoppy/Flickr.
Seldom out of the Netbook news for more than a few days, prominent Eee PC manufacturer ASUSTeK has moved to once again hog the hardware spotlight by revealing it intends to phase out its original small-form entrants and also release a new $200 USD model.
Speaking during a recent financial report, ASUSTeK Computer president Jerry Shen said the company expects to be launching a fresh Eee PC system alongside a $200 USD price tag at some point during 2009, reports DigiTimes.
He also noted that, while the pricing of mid-range and entry-level Eee PC models has been adjusted to address market shifts, the iconic 7-inch and 8.9-inch Eee PCs responsible for catapulting ASUS to the forefront of the Netbook arena will be gradually squeezed from the product portfolio in favour of larger 10-inch offerings.
In terms of business contribution, the Eee PC line delivers some 22 percent of the company’s total revenue, while its notebooks provide around 47 percent, motherboard and graphics card solutions account for 19 percent, and handheld devices and other products are responsible for 2.0 percent and 10 percent respectively.
Regionally speaking, Europe is Taipei-based ASUSTeK’s most attractive market, contributing approximately 53 percent of its third-quarter revenue for 2008, while the Asia Pacific territory accounted for roughly 36 percent.
According to ASUSTeK, it shipped some 1.7 million notebook units in the third quarter and is expecting to ship a further 1.9 million units in the fourth quarter. Those figures, when added to the 2.5 million units already shipping through the first two quarters, put the company on track to have shipped around 6.0 million units by the close of the year.
Shen said he expects annual notebook shipments growth in 2009 to be higher than the industry’s projected 10-20 percent margin, and also sees ASUS securing some 30 percent of the Netbook market share in 2009 with an estimated 6.0-7.5 million units.
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