Asus to close Eee Stick and LCD divisions?

From Digitimes -

Asus is reportedly considering closing down the departments that handle its Eee Stick, LCD TV and monitor product lines due to unsatisfactory shipments and profits. The opto-mechatronics department was formerly the optical drive department when the company was still in partnership with Pioneer. But it has not generated any significant results with the Eee Stick product lines and its staff is now down to 20 from the original 100. And while Asus has landed new orders for LCD monitors, the price war has resulted in losses.

Asus was rumored to be scaling back on Eee PC development but apparently has decided to focus on Pine Trail-based netbooks in order to keep its market share.

The company has denied the rumors.

Ultrathin category fails to grow

From TG Daily -

Per Digitimes Acer chairman JT Wang has blamed Dell and HP for failing to back the ultrathin notebook category. Wang said HP and Dell are in a fierce price war over mainstream notebooks, undermining the demand for ultrathins. He is worried Intel might think demand for them is weak. Per Wang, ultrathins will account for 30% of Acer's total notebook shipments in 2010.

Mobile devices accessing Internet to surpass 1 billion by 2013

From Digitimes -

Per IDC, there are currently 450 million mobile Internet users worldwide. The number is expected to more than double by the end of 2013, driven by the popularity and affordability of mobile phones, smartphones, and other wireless devices. Currently, about over 1/4 of the world's population, or 1.6 billion, use the Internet. By 2013, over 2.2 billion are expected to be online. This year, more than 1.6 billion devices, including phones and game consoles, were used to access the Internet in 2009. By 2013, this number will increase to more than 2.7 billion.

China continues to have more Internet users than any other country, with 359 million in 2009. This number is expected to grow to 566 million by 2013. The US had 261 million Internet users in 2009, a figure that will reach 280 million in 2013. India will have one of the fastest growing Internet populations, growing almost two-fold between 2009 and 2013.

You can read more details here.

Pub 'fined £8k' for Wi-Fi copyright infringement

From ZDNet UK -

The owner of a pub offering free WiFi has been fined £8,000 because a user unlawfully downloaded copyrighted material. The case is believed to be the first of its kind in the UK with the fine being recently levied in a civil case.

Laws in the UK surrounding open WiFi networks and the liability of those running them are actually a grey area. Measures brought in under the Digital Economy Bill does not apply to a business operating an open WiFi spot since it could be classified as a public communications service provider, which would make it exempt. According to the terms of the bill, only subscribers can be targeted with sanctions.

However a public communications service provider must, under the terms of the Data Retention Regulations, retain records for 12 months on communications passing through their network. This data includes user IDs, the times and dates of access, and the online destinations that were being accessed, although the actual content of the communications cannot be retained without the user's permission, due to data-protection laws. But there is a get-out clause in the Data Retention Regulations, in that no provider has to keep such records unless they are notified by the government to do so. Although this clause might itself be non-compliant with the EU data-retention laws.

Taiwan Netbook sales through carriers account for 50%

Per Digitimes carrier netbook 3G bundle sales reached 15,000 units in August, or 50% of total retail sales for the month. Taiwan Mobile sold 5,500, with the Acer Aspire One being its best seller. Chunghwa Telecom sold around 4,500 units about 60% of which were BenQ's U102, followed by Acer netbooks. Far EasTone Telecommunications was third at 3,500 units with HP models its bestseller.

Chunghwa however expects its netbook sales to surpass those of Taiwan Mobile and reach 100,000 units in 2010. However, netbook bundles are expected to decline 20-30% in September due to seasonal factors.

Netbooks salvage PC volumes, but take a toll on shipment value

From Digitimes -

IDC: PC shipments by region and form factor, 2008-2013 (m units)
Region	Form factor	2008	2009(f)	2010(f)	2011(f)	2012(f)	2013(f)
USA	Desktop	31.4	26.6	25.6	25.1	24.8	24.5
	Portable	34.1	39.5	44.5	52	58.7	62.9
	Total PC	65.5	66.1	70.1	77.1	83.4	87.4
International (outside the US)	Desktop	113.5	97.6	98.1	101.2	104.2	106.1
	Portable	108.4	120.4	141.7	172.1	204.3	238.6
	Total PC	221.9	218	239.8	273.3	308.5	344.7
Worldwide	Desktop	144.9	124.2	123.7	126.4	129	130.6
	Portable	142.5	159.9	186.2	224.1	262.9	301.5
	Total PC	287.4	284.1	309.9	350.4	391.9	432.1

*Note: PCs include desktop, notebook, ultra portable, and netbook, and do not include handhelds
Source: IDC, compiled by Digitimes, September 2009

IDC: PC shipment growth by region and form factor, 2008-2013
Region	Form Factor	2008	2009(f)	2010(f)	2011(f)	2012(f)	2013(f)
USA	Desktop	(8.3%)	(15.2%)	(3.7%)	(2%)	(1.4%)	(1.1%)
	Portable	13.6%	15.8%	12.6%	16.9%	12.8%	7.3%
	Total PC	1.9%	0.9%	6.1%	10%	8.2%	4.8%
International (outside the US)	Desktop	(4.9%)	(14%)	0.5%	3.2%	2.9%	1.8%
	Portable	39.2%	11.0%	17.8%	21.4%	18.7%	16.8%
	Total PC	12.5%	(1.8%)	10.0%	14.0%	12.9%	11.7%
Worldwide	Desktop	(5.6%)	(14.3%)	(0.4%)	2.1%	2.1%	1.3%
	Portable	32.1%	12.2%	16.5%	20.3%	17.3%	14.7%
	Total PC	9.9%	(1.2%)	9.1%	13.1%	11.8%	10.3%

Source: IDC, compiled by Digitimes, September 2009

Per IDC, worldwide PC shipments fell 2.4% on year in Q2 2009, while shipment value was down 19.1% over the same period.

Consumer portables were the only area of growth, with shipments increasing 44% from a year ago – from a low of 28% growth and approaching the 44-55% range of 2007 and 2008. However, commercial portable growth remained at negative 16%, and desktops declined 17% as businesses limited spending and the market continued its shift to portables.

Within consumer portables, traditional notebooks recovered to 13% on-year growth from almost no growth in Q1, but shipment value was down 6%. The netbook share of consumer portables was up to almost 26% from just 5% a year ago. With netbooks averaging just over US$400 each, compared to more than US$900 for traditional notebooks, the shift has a significant impact on shipment value.

Samsung to become second largest netbook vendor in Europe in 3Q09

From Digitimes -

Samsung is expected to surpass Asus and HP to become the second largest netbook player in Europe for Q3 2009, trailing only Acer. Samsung's success comes primarily from mobile telco bundles, which it is now pursuing both in the Americas and Asia.

Per IDC, Samsung shipped 2.15M notebooks worldwide in H1 2009, for a 3% maket share and 8th place ranking. European shipments accounted for 1M units, giving Samsung a 5% market share and a 6th ranking for the continent. The company is on track to hit 6M units for 2009 and 10M for 2010 as it pushes ultra-thin notebooks via bundling with 3G services.

Netbook Sales Growth Double that of Notebooks in Q2 09

From PR Web -

Per DisplaySearch Q3'09 Quarterly Notebook PC Shipment and Forecast Report, the netbook market grew 40% quarter on quarter (Q/Q) for Q2 09 as compared to the 22% rate for notebooks, driving their share of the total notebook market to 22.2% of the 38 million units shipped.

Asus, the netbook pioneer, has been steadily losing share because Tier 1 brands like Acer, HP, Dell, Lenovo and Toshiba have become increasingly aggressive in this segment.

Motherboard makers pessimistic about desktop PC market future

From Digitimes -

Motherboard manufacturers believe the desktop PC market is unlikely to see any dramatic comeback despite Intel's recent summit in China to discuss strategies to improve the market. Most makers had already expected the market to drop and so have been focusing on diversification into different markets for some time. However, some believe Intel's effort may still slow down the decline of the desktop PC market.

Netbook Sales Booming as Notebooks Decline

From I4U News -

Per DisplaySearch's latest report about 33 million netbooks are expected to ship in 2009. And while the segment is expected to grow to 20% of the notebook market globally, the latter is expected to have flat growth year over year for the first time ever.

The study also points out that larger screen netbooks at 10.1 to 12-inches are becoming the most popular options.

Ultra-thin notebooks could take off in 2010

From Digitimes -

According to according to OEM Compal Electronics chair Rock Hsu, Intel-based ultra-thin notebooks will account for 10% of global notebook shipments in 2009. Compal's own notebook shipment for H1 2009 has reached 14 million and is on target for its 32 million unit projections, or 22% of global notebook shipments.

Netbooks slow decline of PC market, but bring new headaches

From TG Daily -

IDC estimates that global PC shipments are down by about 6.8%, the most decrease since Q3 2001. Only the netbook segment, with 5.7 million shipped in Q1 has significant growth and is widely considered to be what is keeping PC makers alive these days. But the problem is those sales apparently come at the expense of traditional notebooks.

While those 5.7 million units produced $2.2 billion in sales (average price of $386 per unit), the sales volume of the more profitable notebooks fell by $8.4 billion from one year ago. So notebook makers are trying to come out with higher priced, higher margin netbook models. The problem is AMD is preparing low-cost mobile platforms due out later this year, which will drive down the cost of mainstream notebooks, so the situation isn't likely to change.

Moreover, IDC believes that netbook prices will increase over time, and the segment will grow to a share of 9.5% of all PC shipments and 17.3% of portables, causing 2009 shipment value to drop by almost 18% while volumes decline by just 3.2%.

MID sales a lot lower than Intel estimates

From Digitimes -

According to the manufacturers themselves, worldwide sales of Intel-based mobile Internet devices (MIDs) since their launch have been less than 30,000 units, a lot lower than Intel's own estimate of 150,000-200,000 units. High prices and the lack of popular 3G apps were the main reasons for the disappointing numbers.

Intel refused comment on the issue but did make it known the successor to the Menlow platform, the Moorestown, will be launched either end of 2009 or beginning of 2010, while the 32nm SoC Medfield platform will be launched in 2011.

Non-PC makers entering China netbook market

From Digitimes -

With the unabated increase in netbook sales in the local China market, several non-PC makers such as Malata, LCD monitor maker AOC, and motherboard manufacturer Colorful have all released their own respective netbook models.

Netbooks missing sales targets

From TG Daily -

Following Intel’s announcement that Atom processor shipments declined during Q1 2009, Digitimes has reported the top three leading netbook manufacturers' Q1 netbook sales fell short of expectations as well. Acer shipped less than its projected 2 million units of Aspire Ones, while Asus sold only 900,000 Eee PCs and MSI, only 200,000 Wind netbooks.

Netbook Demand Remains Strong

From I4U News -

According to DisplaySearch, netbook shipments are expected to grow by 65% this year. About 10 million netbooks were shipped last year according to analysts. This year 27 million netbooks are expected to ship. With the exception of Apple, all major manufacturers have netbook models. However Apple is rumored to be introducing its netbook model this June.

China market: ARM-based MIDs capping sales of Atom models

From Digitimes -

Sales of Atom-based MIDs in the China market are projected to decrease in China now that ARM-based models are being introduced at prices about a quarter that of the former.

For instance, the SmartQ 5, which uses an ARM CPU and includes a 800x480 4.3" touchscreen, 802.11b/g, Bluetooth 2.0 and runs on Linux, is priced at USD130. At that price, it severely undercuts the USD531 Gigabyte M528, which is Atom-based. {The USD442 Nokia N810 was mentioned in the original article as being also Atom-based but as reader mustafamaluka pointed out, it is actually ARM-based.)

Due to the competitive pricing, more manufacturers are expected to use the ARM platform.

Acer, Asus expand US market shares in Q4 08

From Digitimes -

Per IDC, for Q4 2008, Acer shipped 1.4-1.5 million notebooks/netbooks in the US market, good for 3rd place with a 16% share. Asus shipped about 300,000 units, good for 8th with a 3% share.

Acer's shipments represented a 57% increase over Q4 07 while top-ranked Dell experienced an 8% year decline over the same period. For the year 2008, Acer shipped over 4 million units, behind Dell's 8.8 million and HP's 8.77 million.

Windows losing market share to Mac and Linux

From TG Daily -

A Net Application's Market Share report shows that Windows is losing ground to Mac OS X and Linux at an accelerating rate. Declining from a 90.73% market share to just 88.26%, Windows has given ground to Mac OS X which has moved from 8.03% to 9.93%, and Linux (all flavors) has moved from 0.76% to 0.83%.

The study is based on information gathered from 160 million monthly visitors to its hosted websites. The data set is not conclusive, but is a very high representative sampling due to the large number of unique users.

Net Application's full "Operating System Market Share" breakout:

Year	Windows	Mac	Linux
2004	96.36%	3.25%	0.29%
2005	95.97%	3.64%	0.31%
2006	94.85%	4.68%	0.38%
2007	92.91%	6.40%	0.46%
2008	90.73%	8.03%	0.76%
January 2009	88.26%	9.93%	0.83%
Change from Dec'08 to Jan'09 alone	-0.46% to 88.27%	+3.12% to 9.93%	-3.53% to 0.82%

Acer aims to gain 2-3% in 2009 notebook market share

From Digitimes -

Acer is aiming to increase its global notebook market share 2-3 percentage points in 2009. Per company chairman JT Wang, China, Japan and the US are the three markets with high shipment growth potential for Acer this year and the company will work on enhancing its performance there. Currently, Acer has around 30% of most of its major markets, and the company hopes to boost the share to 40-50% in 2009.