14 DAY TRIAL // Currently, Hewlett-Packard holds the top position as a PC supplier, followed closely by Acer, the latter having managed to secure the second place after outpacing Dell. Acer is already putting efforts into outmatching HP and, more recently, the company has even been reported to be working on an ultrathin laptop that will supposedly be instrumental in the reaching of this goal. Still, while these two are competing against each other, Quanta and Compal are making strides of their own.
Digitimes reports that Quanta Computer and Compal Electronics have been seeing their notebook shipments growing and are expected to sell 50 million units and 46-48 million units, respectively, in 2010. This means that, at least on the notebook front, these two might even take the crown of leadership away from Acer and HP. If realized, this will be the first time when Compal and Quanta outsell the current two top players, whose notebook shipments are forecast to revolve around 45 million for Hewlett-Packard and 40 million for Acer.
The report also suggests that Compal and Quanta are aggressively fueling their efforts towards vertical integration of LEDs and other components, in order to increase the competitiveness of their products. If they actually manage to reach the intended sales figures, both will be more easily able to reduce upstream material costs. As a consequence of this, brand vendors may decide that it is more profitable for them to transfer purchasing control to the makers. This would, according to Digitimes' sources, improve the makers' profits.
Digitimes also mentions that Compal plans to continue working during the Lunar New Year, due to a strong demand, which might bring it a step closer to realizing its goal. On the other hand, Quanta will halt its production lines because it has already advanced some production to January and postponed the rest for March.