Motherboard maker Asustek to split into three
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(InfoWorld) - A familiar name in computer motherboards, Asustek Computer, will split into three companies by January to separate its name brand product business from its contract manufacturing operations, it said Monday. "We think this will boost our competitiveness in each area," said Jonney Shih, chairman of Asustek, at a news conference in Taipei. The announcement comes after months of speculation over such a move and years after some rivals in Taiwan first undertook similar changes to avoid conflicts of interest with customers. A number of companies on the island produce IT hardware for huge overseas customers such as Hewlett-Packard, Sony Computer Entertainment, and Apple, in addition to their own-brand products. Acer, the world's third-largest PC maker, was a pioneer in spinning off manufacturing operations in Taiwan. Several years ago the company divided itself in three, using the Acer name for its branded PC business, while spinning off its main contract manufacturing arm into a company called Wistron and its mobile phone and monitor business into BenQ. As part of the division, Wistron had to compete against other contract manufacturers for orders from Acer. Some people feared the contract manufacturing business might wither and die without the Acer orders, but instead Wistron has steamed ahead, capturing high profile business including Xbox 360 game console orders from Microsoft. Asustek's name brand business will continue to operate under the same name, while its PC-related manufacturing operations will become Unihan Technology. Asustek's casing, modules, and non-PC contract manufacturing business will become Pegatron Technology. Asustek sells goods ranging from motherboards and graphics cards to laptop PCs and smartphones under a few names, including its popular Asus brand. The company is also well-known for quality. When Sony Computer Entertainment went looking for a manufacturer for the PlayStation 3, it tapped Asustek to kick start production and then later added its old partner, Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. The split will take place on January 1, 2008, Asustek said. Pegatron will have the largest revenue of the three companies after the split. Revenue this year from the future Pegatron businesses should fall between NT$300 billion (US$9.14 billion) and NT$350 billion, while the future Asustek business is expected to account for NT$250 billion and what will become Unihan will see revenue of NT$150 billion, Asustek said. In total, the companies combined should post revenue as high as NT$800 billion this year, compared to NT$560 billion last year. Asustek will remain listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange, while the company did not rule out the possibility of overseas stock market listings for the two new companies. The three-way split requires the approval of government regulators before it can be finalized.
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A new group of processors could put the chipmaker inside your set-top box.
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(InfoWorld) - Asustek ComputerÂ will begin selling its first ultra-mobile PC (UMPC), the R2H, worldwide by the end of this month, while Samsung Electronics is readying one that eschews Intel microprocessors in favor of Via Technologies chips. Asustek's UMPC is designed with all the functions of a laptop, including a folding typing pad, as well as other devices, such as a GPS (global positioning system) so it can sit on the dashboard of a users' car to map the way home. The R2H runs Microsoft's Windows XP Tablet Edition OS on a 900MHz Intel Celeron M microprocessor. It measures 23.4 centimeters by 13.3cm, about half the size of a laptop, and weighs 870 grams. The OS allows touch navigation with a stylus on its 7-inch screen, but the models on display Monday at a news conference in Taipei wereÂ difficult to use. Company representatives said the display models were for testing only, the reason for the sluggish performance. Like most UMPCs, the R2H is an Internet device, connecting through 802.11b/g WLAN (wireless LAN), and supports Bluetooth. For security, Asustek added an infrared fingerprint identification system to keep users' data safe from thieves. Although the suggested retail price of the R2H bound for the Taiwan market is NT$36,800 (US$1,117), it will come in different configurations users can choose from, so prices will be flexible. Asustek will offer models with different sized hard drives, ranging from 20GB to 60GB in capacity. The standard edition will also come with just a two-cell battery, for about two hours of use before needing a recharge. Users will be able to select a four-cell battery as well, at an added cost. The device is Windows Vista compatible. The company also launched a new tablet PC, the R1F, and expects to produce a total of 3,000 units of the two devices each month, said Benson Lin, head of sales in the Asia Pacific for Asustek, at a news conference in Taipei. Samsung Electronics, of South Korea, isÂ readying a new UMPCÂ with a 7-inch screen that uses a 1.0GHz Via C7 microprocessor, but hasn't set a launch date. The device, dubbed the Q1B, will come with 40GB of storage space, WLAN and Bluetooth, and will weigh 1.7 lbs, according to Samsung'sÂ Web site. The Q1B will come with a better battery than the R2H, a three-cell battery offering up to five hours of life before needing a recharge. Samsung is offering an upgrade to a six-cell battery at an additional charge. The company is also offering additional peripherals similar to Asustek's, such as an organizer bag, optical disc drive, and typing pad.
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Upcoming Opteron chips will occupy the same space as single-core models.
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The chipmaker appears to have met its most recent deadline for production of the smaller-featured chips.
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Foundry partner gears up for second-generation 90nm Efficeons
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(InfoWorld) - Taiwanese hardware maker Asustek Computer is working with IntelÂ on a line of notebook PCs priced as low as $199, according to one of the chip maker's top executives. The new line of notebooks is intended for users in emerging markets and education, said Sean Maloney, executive vice president and general manager of Intel's sales and marketing group. He announced the initiative with Asustek Chairman Jonney Shih during a speech at the Computex exhibition, which started today in Taipei. "The entry level notebooks for that will start at $199, street price," Maloney said. The new notebooks are similar toÂ Intel's existing Classmate PC notebooks, a line of low-cost machines aimed at schools in developing markets. The notebooks will have an Intel processor and either a 7-inch or 10-inch screen. They will come with Wi-Fi, a solid-state hard disk, and run either Linux or Windows XP. "It's totally new. It's going to have the Classmate PC brand on it, but it will be sold and shipped by Asus," Maloney said, calling the notebooks a complement to Intel's current Classmate PC line, which is aimed at bringing more students in emerging markets online. "We're delighted there's another product here that can be used to address this problem," he said. The $199 price of the low-end version of Asustek's new laptop is not far from the current price of the One Laptop Per Child's (OLPC's) laptop. In April,Â OLPC raised the priceÂ of its upcoming XO laptop, commonly called the $100 laptop, to $175.
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SAN FRANCISCO/TAIPEI  - Intel Corp.  has  detailed plans to team up with Asustek Computer Inc. ,  the world's largest maker of computer motherboards, to make a  notebook PC that would cost as little as $200 and be aimed at  mass markets in developing countries.
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Company will manufacture a dual-core PowerPC processor.
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Intel Corp.  detailed  plans on Tuesday to team up with Asustek Computer Inc.  (2357.TW), the world&#39;s largest maker of computer motherboards,  to make a notebook PC that would cost as little as $200 aimed  at the education market in developing countries.
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Half-size server motherboards are a "poor man's blade solution," chipmaker says.
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The motherboard's components are changing, but the chipset will survive integration with CPU.
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Company looks to leap past current limit of eight Opteron processors in a single server.
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Corel Corporation (NASDAQ:CREL)(TSX:CRE), a leading developer of  graphics, productivity and digital media software, today announced that  ASUSTeK Computer Inc. (TSE:2357), (ASUS), is bundling InterVideoÂ®  WinDVDÂ® with its  complete line of ASUS BD/HD notebooks.
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The three companies are investing billions of dollars to develop and prepare for mass production of Cell, a multicore semiconductor composed of several processors that work together to handle multiple tasks simultaneously.
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Taiwanese notebook PC vendor Asustek Computer plans to launch its 1.25 kilogram, battery-friendly U2E laptop in Taipei next week, the company said Tuesday.The new laptop, wrapped in either black or brown leather, is built for power-savings with an LED (light emitting diode) backlight behind its 11-inch LCD panel, and a 32GB SSD (solid-state drive) instead of a hard disk drive (HDD).LED backlights use about 10-15 percent less power than the CCFL (cold cathode fluorescent lamp) backlights that are currently used in most laptop PCs. SSDs save power as well, because unlike HDDs, they do not contain any moving parts.Asus isn&#39;t disclosing pricing details until the launch ceremony next week, nor which markets will be first for the device. Normally, Asustek products hit Asia and Europe first.
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Intel Corp.  detailed plans on Tuesday to team up with Asustek Computer Inc. , the world's largest maker of computer motherboards, to make a notebook PC that would cost as little as $200 aimed at the education market in developing countries.