ARN

Asus sold 4.9 million Eee PC netbooks last year

But Acer believes it can better that figure with its Aspire One.

Asustek Computer (Asus) said Thursday that it sold 4.9 million Eee PC netbooks last year, a figure that rival Acer believes it can best.

Asus, which pioneered the netbook market with its line of Eee PCs, missed its target of 5 million Eee PCs because of a sharp downturn in consumer spending near the end of last year as the world sank into recession, CEO Jerry Shen said during an investors conference on Thursday in Taipei.

Acer, the world's third-largest PC vendor, was Asustek's biggest rival in netbooks last year but has not yet announced 2008 shipments of its popular Aspire One. Acer executives last October reiterated a 6 million unit target.

Acer was a latecomer to the netbook market, launching its Aspire One in the second half of last year. But sales of the device soared due to its simplicity and the company's ability to launch globally, according to analysts.

Asus set a shipment target for the first quarter of this year of around 1 million Eee PCs, a sharp drop from the estimated 1.6 million the company shipped in the fourth quarter of last year. The company expects to ship around 800,000 laptop PCs.

Netbooks are mini-laptop PCs designed for mobility, typically sporting 7-inch to 10-inch screens and weighing less than 2 kilograms. Most netbook components, including the microprocessor, are less powerful than those of full-fledged laptops so batteries last longer. Netbooks are designed for handling e-mail, browsing the Internet and working on word processor or spreadsheet documents, not for heavy duty gaming, video editing or other multimedia work.

Nominations for the 2012 ARN IT Industry Awards open on Tuesday, June 12.

More about: Acer, ASUS, ASUS, Asustek, Asustek Computer, Sharp

Comments

Post new comment

The content of this field is kept private and will not be shown publicly.
Users posting comments agree to the ARN comments policy.
Login or register to link comments to your user profile, or you may also post a comment without being logged in.
Related Coverage
Related Whitepapers
Latest Stories
Community Comments
Tags: eee pc, netbooks
ARN Directory | Distributors relevant to this article
Australasian PC Distributors (APCD) , Banksia Software , Bluechip Infotech , Dicker Data , Express Online , ICT Distribution , Impact Systems Technology , Leader Computers , Synnex Australia , Topstar Computer International , XiT Distribution , Xpress I.T. , Dynamic Supplies
rhs_login_lockGet exclusive access to ARN's news, research and invitation only events.
ARN Distributor Directory
Find distributors by name | vendor | location
Channel Deals
/deals/aca-pacific/435_fujifilm-lto-10-for-10-promotion-ends-june-30t
ACA Pacific

Fujifilm LTO 10 For 10 Promotion. Ends June 30th, 2012.

More details »
ARN Vendor Directory
Find vendors by name | category

iAsset is a channel management ecosystem that automates all major aspects of the entire sales,marketing and service process, including data tracking, integrated learning, knowledge management and product lifecycle management.