THT Research - Weekly Newsletter from Taiwan
Nov 14, 2005
The Latest News on Global IT Contract Manufacturing from www.THTresearch.com
BRING ON THE ORDERS
Lenovo shopping in Taiwan
Lenovo Group chairman, Yang Yuanqing, visited Taiwan in early November to discuss orders valued at US$5B. On Yang's list for visiting are Quanta, Compal, AUO, and Wistron. The orders would make Lenovo the third largest foreign buyer of IT products from Taiwan, after HP and Dell.
Sharp orders to QDI?
Quanta Display Inc. may receive orders from Sharp for its LCD panels, which it would in turn sell to TV makers in the US and Europe. Sharp's g oal would be to expand its distribution network so that once its new LCD plant opens in Oct 06, it would have immediate market demand for the panels produced. The orders would be for 26- and 32-inch panels.
Dell orders for Asustek?
Asustek Computer is expected to be come Dell's new NB supplier once it spins off its own-brand NB business, Asustek is a major NB contract manufacturer and the world's #1 MB maker. If Asustek indeed gains Dell orders, it may open the door for contract orders from other major NB brands.
Toshiba licenses ARM processor
Toshiba has licensed the ARM1176JZF-S processor to develop SoCs for digital consumer electronic devices. The processor is made in 90nm process. It uses ARM TrustZone security technology to secure data stored in the built-in memory and is known as a low power consumption processor.
COMPANY NEWS AND INDUSTRY TRENDS
Sotec entering corporate PC business
Sotec Co plans to release two corporate-use PC models this month, entering this market for teh first time. Sotec plans to price the PCs about 20% below major brand-name market price and hopes to sell 20K units in its first year in the line.
PDA Shipments
Taiwan PDA makers shipped 9.15M PDAs in 2004 and THT estimates that they will ship a combined total of 13.970M in 2005. The leader is HTC, whose sales have been boosted by Pal, following contracts signed with Microsoft and Verizon for 3G PDA handsets.
Acer orders to Hon Hai
Acer wants to be the #3 PC brand world-wide by 2007 and towards that goal plans to work more closely with Hon Hai in terms of design, R&D, and marketing. Acer forecasts sales of 7-8M PCs in 2005 (THT expects closer to 7), 10M in 2006, and 15m in 2007. Acer plans to focus more on desktops in the coming yeas to reach its goals.
M & A
Xpedion Design + Jazz Semicon partnership
Xpedion Design Systems Inc. and Jazz Semiconductor have announced a partnership to produce a model and simulation environment for next gen RF IC design.
NTT DoCoMo + Tower Records
NTT DoCoMo and Tower Records Japan plan to form an alliance under which NTT will purchase 42% of Tower Japan from Nikko Principal Investments Japan Ltd. and other investors for 12.8B yen. Tower will install in-store kiosks that work with DoCoMo's Osaifu Keitai cell phone based electronic wallet service.
PC on Wheels
BenQ - BMW - Volkswagon cooperation?
K.Y. Lee from Benq recently met with representatives of BMW on a trip to Germany. BMW currently produces audio-visual systems for Volkswagon, Taiwan.
Epistar Corp.
Epistar Corp. (Taiwan) has won product certifications from 3 major foreign auto makers for its high-brig htness LEDs (the process takes 3-5 years to complete and it is a significant achievement to receive certification). Epister plans to enter the automobile and TFT-LCD panel backlight application markets in 2006. Epistar expects the certifications to allow it to ship OMA LEDs to big LED packagers in Europe and Japan, which supply to the automakers.
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