Global notebook computer shipments in the second quarter of this year are expected to grow dramatically following better-than-expected figures in the January to March period, a Taipei-based analyst firm said yesterday.
Digitimes Research forecast worldwide notebook shipments of 55 million units in the second quarter, a 17.6 percent quarterly increase and a 9.5 percent rise year-on-year.
“This points to a full recovery of the industry in 2012,” Digitimes senior analyst Joanne Chien (簡佩萍) said.
She predicted that global notebook shipments for the whole year would reach 236 million units, up 17 percent from last year, with the introduction of more low to medium-priced models and the release of Microsoft Corp’s Windows 8 operating system.
In terms of brand breakdown, Asustek Computer Inc (華碩) and Apple Inc are both expected to post 30 percent growth, with the former very likely to replace Dell Inc as the world’s fourth-largest notebook brand, she said.
However, Samsung Electronics Co and Toshiba Corp, which also did well in the first three months, might have a hard time in the second quarter, Chien said.
The South Korean and Japanese companies will not be able to maintain their momentum because they are struggling to keep up with the average growth rate of the industry, she said.
Global shipments of Ultrabooks are forecast at 1.5 million units in the second quarter, about the same as the expected strong showing by Apple’s MacBook Air. However, Ultrabooks will continue to trail in the notebook market, accounting for only 2.7 percent of the total, Chien forecast.
Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) yesterday said that its research institute has launched its first advanced artificial intelligence (AI) large language model (LLM) using traditional Chinese, with technology assistance from Nvidia Corp. Hon Hai, also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), said the LLM, FoxBrain, is expected to improve its data analysis capabilities for smart manufacturing, and electric vehicle and smart city development. An LLM is a type of AI trained on vast amounts of text data and uses deep learning techniques, particularly neural networks, to process and generate language. They are essential for building and improving AI-powered servers. Nvidia provided assistance
GREAT SUCCESS: Republican Senator Todd Young expressed surprise at Trump’s comments and said he expects the administration to keep the program running US lawmakers who helped secure billions of dollars in subsidies for domestic semiconductor manufacturing rejected US President Donald Trump’s call to revoke the 2022 CHIPS and Science Act, signaling that any repeal effort in the US Congress would fall short. US Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, who negotiated the law, on Wednesday said that Trump’s demand would fail, while a top Republican proponent, US Senator Todd Young, expressed surprise at the president’s comments and said he expects the administration to keep the program running. The CHIPS Act is “essential for America leading the world in tech, leading the world in AI [artificial
DOMESTIC SUPPLY: The probe comes as Donald Trump has called for the repeal of the US$52.7 billion CHIPS and Science Act, which the US Congress passed in 2022 The Office of the US Trade Representative is to hold a hearing tomorrow into older Chinese-made “legacy” semiconductors that could heap more US tariffs on chips from China that power everyday goods from cars to washing machines to telecoms equipment. The probe, which began during former US president Joe Biden’s tenure in December last year, aims to protect US and other semiconductor producers from China’s massive state-driven buildup of domestic chip supply. A 50 percent US tariff on Chinese semiconductors began on Jan. 1. Legacy chips use older manufacturing processes introduced more than a decade ago and are often far simpler than
Gasoline and diesel prices this week are to decrease NT$0.5 and NT$1 per liter respectively as international crude prices continued to fall last week, CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) said yesterday. Effective today, gasoline prices at CPC and Formosa stations are to decrease to NT$29.2, NT$30.7 and NT$32.7 per liter for 92, 95 and 98-octane unleaded gasoline respectively, while premium diesel is to cost NT$27.9 per liter at CPC stations and NT$27.7 at Formosa pumps, the companies said in separate statements. Global crude oil prices dropped last week after the eight OPEC+ members said they would
RSS