14 DAY TRIAL // As portable computer systems are believed to account for the majority of PC shipments in the upcoming year, leading PC vendors are expected to change their product policy and focus on delivering better and lower priced notebooks to fight off competition.
However, due to the current grim predictions for the economy, notebook vendors expect the average selling price (ASP) of notebooks to drop by more than 10% in 2009. This doesn't seem to be the case with Taiwanese netbook and notebook maker, ASUSTek, which plans to bring more style to its portable PC lineup, in what can be deemed an attempt to prevent the ASP from going over 10% down.
According to ASUSTek's CEO, Mr. Jerry Shen, ASUS will try to deliver more notebooks that are tailored to the requirements of consumers, in both design and product features. This strategy will see ASUS shift focus from a pricing strategy to one that will provide users with ASUS laptops that are more stylish, thinner and slimmer than those coming from the competition. Such products are expected to be showcased as soon as the next CeBIT show, in 2009.
Mr. Shen also explained that ASUSTek was seeing increased sales on the US market, a segment that, until recently, had not proved to be too profitable for the company. The US market will turn out to be a lucrative segment for the Taiwanese manufacturer, helping it maintain a steady market growth, despite the low economy estimations.
In related news, ASUSTek has announced that it will be pushing back its notebook outsourcing plans to the second quarter of 2009, despite previous statements. The company plans to outsource the production of 30% of notebooks to independent OEMs, while the other 70% is to be handled by the company's subsidiary, Pegatron Technology. ASUS also plans to outsource its Eee PC production line to Foxconn Electronics, which currently produces ASUS' X-series notebooks, with monthly shipments of 40,000-50,000 units estimated to start in January or February 2009.