Taiwan computer firms to launch tablet PCs to compete with iPad

Acer, the world's third-largest PC vendor, and AsusTek are among Taiwanese computer companies that are developing or assembling up to 10 tablets for foreign makers, said Li Chang, an executive of the Taipei Computer Association. He did not identify the other producers.
Acer and AsusTek are expected to display tablet PCs at the Computex show in Taipei on June 1-5, Li said.
Officials at Acer and AsusTek declined comment. But Taiwan's Economic Daily News quoted unidentified sources as saying the two firms will launch tablet PCs in the third quarter this year with a price tag below $400.
Apple Inc.'s iPad tablet computer hits US shelves on Saturday and international releases are planned for later in April. The iPads will connect to Wi-Fi networks and cost $499, $599 or $699, depending on the data storage capacity.
A Taiwanese research firm, Topoly Research Institute, said Tuesday tablet PCs might cut into shrinking sales of mini-laptops known as netbooks, a market dominated by Acer and AsusTek.
By 2012, sales of tablet PCs could reach 50 million units worldwide, surpassing the figure for netbooks, Topology Research said.


Contract Laptop Makers


Compal and Taiwan-based Quanta Inc. are the world's top two contract laptop makers.
Compal's 2009 sales amounted to $19.8 billion, up nearly 50 percent from 2008, with the launch of Microsoft Windows 7 operating system and low-priced laptops known as netbooks propping up sales amid the global economic recovery.

Taiwanese makers account for more than 80 percent of the world's laptop output by setting up assembly lines in China to take advantage of the mainland's cheaper labor.
Several Taiwanese makers, including Quanta Inc. and Inventec Corp., are building factories in Chongqing in southwest China, where labor costs are estimated to be 20-40 percent lower than the coastal cities.