Taiwanese computer giants Asustek Computer Inc (華碩電腦) and Acer Inc (宏碁) are both gearing up to grab a slice of the growing smartphone market pie this year.
Asustek, the pioneer of netbook computers, yesterday introduced its third smartphone model, which carries the “Garmin-Asus” brand, saying it aimed to sell 1 million smartphones globally this year.
The company declined to reveal last year’s smartphone shipments, but said the quantity was minimal because it only tied up with US navigation device maker Garmin Ltd last February to produce and market smartphones under the joint brand.
“We experienced a restructuring period with Garmin after the partnership, and that was why we have been slow in launching smartphones,” Benson Lin (林宗樑), Asustek corporate vice president of personal mobile devices, told reporters on the sidelines of a product launch.
Asustek aims to launch one smartphone every quarter in Taiwan this year, including the first model that runs on Google Inc’s Android operating system in the second quarter.
It will also test the waters in China by launching a model based on China’s homegrown standard TD-SCDMA in the fourth quarter, Lin said.
Asustek is banking on location-based services (LBS) to bolster sales of its latest smartphone M10 — a Windows Mobile model that incorporates a 5-megapixel camera and a 3.5-inch screen.
“Taiwanese consumers do not have faith in LBS [in terms of user interface.] M10 will change their perception,” Lin said.
To sweeten the deal, M10’s selling price is only NT$13,900 (US$421), compared with the NT$20,000 price tag that its other smartphones normally carry, he said.
Meanwhile, Acer chairman Wang Jeng-tang (王振堂) said the company aims to ship a total of 2 million smartphones globally this year.
The company launched its first smartphone early last year after merging with local handheld device maker E-Ten Information System Co (倚天) in March 2008.
Acer aims to introduce about 10 smartphone models this year. It launched a total of nine models last year, said Eric Chuang (莊博淵), Acer marketing and communications manager.
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