Chinese PC maker offers $129 system
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(InfoWorld) - A Chinese PC maker today introduced a low-cost PC designed for customers in rural China that can be used with a television as a display. The 998 renminbi ($129) Tian En GX-2 was developed by Sichuan Sinomanic Technology, based in the western Chinese city of Chengdu, and is being pitched as a low-cost system that can help narrow the "digital divide" between China's rural and urban areas. The GX-2 is based on a 400MHz MIPS processor from Raza Microelectronics. It runs either a version of the Linux operating system or FutureAlpha, a Chinese-developed operating system. The GX-2 has128MB of DDR (double data rate) DRAM, one USB 2.0 port, a 10/100MbpsÂ Ethernet adapter, and a 1GB SD (Secure Digital) memory card to store data. The PC, which does not include a monitor, has a VGA (video graphics array) output for computer monitors as well as a TV output. This capability could help some users save money as televisions are found in most homes across China. Software that comes bundled with the GX-2 includes an Internet browser, a Chinese-English dictionary and a calendar application for managing appointments, among others, Sinomanic said. The price of the GX-2 is roughly the same as the laptop developed by the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) project, which the group recently saidÂ costs about $130. That system is expected to enter volume production during the third quarter of this year. Â
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DECEMBER 07, 2004 (REUTERS) - China&#39;s largest PC maker, Lenovo Group Ltd., could announce as early as today that it is buying control of IBM&#39;s PC-making business for up to $2 billion, a source familiar with the situation said.
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Although virtually unknown in the United States, Lenovo--said to be in talks to buy IBM&#39;s personal computer business--is China&#39;s largest PC maker and the world&#39;s fastest-growing one.
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Company will manufacture a dual-core PowerPC processor.
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Philips might have started selling PCs again, but they are still outsourcing their internal PC needs. And Dell is the lucky one to get the deal worth around USD 700 millions!
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NEW YORK, December 8  - International Business Machines (IBM.NYS) has decided to sell its personal computers business to Chinaâs Lenovo Group for $1.75 billion in a cash and stock deal.
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Hewlett-Packard Co. has moved aggressively into the PC market in China by introducing a $483 machine, a price point which is in the same ballpark as other lean PCs announced earlier in the year by Lenovo Group.
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Lenovo Group Ltd. agreed to pay $1.25 billion for International Business Machines Corp.&#39;s personal computer business, making the Chinese company the world&#39;s third- largest PC maker and giving it a globally recognized brand.
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A small handheld computer from Lenovo that's available only in China right now surfaces at CES 2008.
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(InfoWorld) - A China Telecommunications Group (China Telecom) subsidiary in Jiangsu province and Hewlett-Packard are offering customers a desktop computer with broadband Internet access for 198 renminbi, or $26, per month. The promotion offer underscores how competitive China's PC and Internet markets have become, and the extent to which the market has become saturated after years of breakneck growth. For a monthly payment of 198 renminbi and a 27-month contract, China Telecom customers in Taizhou, Jiangsu province, get an HP Compaq DX2308 desktop PC with a 3.2GHz Intel Celeron D processor, 512MB of RAM, an 80GB hard drive, and a 17-inch CRT monitor, according to an online advertisement (in Chinese). The bundle includes 150 hours of broadband Internet access per month, most likely a 512Kbps DSL (digital subscriber line) connection, the most common in China. For an additional 700 renminbi, customers can upgrade to a 17-inch LCD (liquid crystal display) monitor. A similar deal is available in other Jiangsu cities, including Nantong (in Chinese). This isn't the first time China Telecom and HP have offered a PC bundled with broadband for 198 renminbi. Similar deals were offered in Jiangsu province earlier this year. Bundles like this are not yet common in China, although several vendors have experimented with them and seen mixed results, said Bryan Ma, director of personal system research at IDC Asia-Pacific. Besides the low-cost desktop, China Telecom and HP are offering a couple of other options to Taizhou customers, including an HP Compaq NX6515 notebook with a dual-core 1.6GHz Turion 64 X2 processor, 512MB of RAM, an 80GB hard disk, and a 14-inch screen. The notebook deal involves a one-time payment of 6,998 renminbi, or $923, and includes 1,660 hours of broadband Internet access during school vacation periods. HP may be the world's biggest PC maker, but the company still lags behind Lenovo Group in China. During 2006, the company was the fourth-largest PC maker in China, with a market share of 8.2 percent. HP's market share increased to 12.5 percent during the first quarter of 2007, thanks to aggressive notebook sales, Ma said
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Hewlett-Packard Co. HPQ.N, the  world's number-two PC maker, said on Friday it has launched a  3,999 yuan ($483) computer in China, turning up the heat in the  intensely competitive market.
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(InfoWorld) - Hewlett-Packard and itsÂ Watergate re-enactmentÂ now own the tech scandal headlines, but during the summer our attention focused on other alleged malfeasance, by the company with the normally shiny image: Apple Computer. A British newspaper claimed that one of Apple's contract manufacturers in China, Foxconn, owned by Taiwan's Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., wasÂ mistreating its workers, through low pay, long hours, and poor living conditions. What went unreported from this saga was that we so rarely see headlines that contain the words "Apple" and "China." Microsoft, Intel, GoogleÂ -- their ongoing conflicts with the Chinese government and the Chinese consumer are bread and butter for business and technology reporters in China. But Apple? In Beijing, the best evidence that Apple exists is an iPod billboard that faces one of the city's main arteries, and advertising during televised English soccer matches. There are quite a few iPods peeking out of people's pockets, but when it comes to which laptops are being tapped upon at Starbucks, it's HP, it's Dell, it's Sony, but except for foreigners, no Apple. The fact is, when it comes to China, Apple as a computer manufacturer and retailer is nowhere. The simple reason for this is that Apple is asking too much of Chinese consumers. The biggest factor is price. Service, quality, prestige, satisfaction -- these are extremely secondary concerns to the Chinese consumer. People bringing home $400-$600 per month are considered middle class in this country. They can afford to buy computers, and for them, price is the singular issue. An Apple machine in China costs between double and four times as much as a competing Wintel box. The computer whiz kid down the street can build you a generic box with a pirated copy of XP for about $400. An entry-level Lenovo computer probably costs about 20 to 25 percent more, followed by foreign name brands. Apple is at least double the no-name box. So, one month's salary to give your kid a computer and access to the Internet, or two months'? What would you choose? The second reason is availability of software. In China, if you're using Apple and you need software, you have to buy the legitimate product. For Apple, that means that their system is rejected, except by high-end graphic designers and die-hards. The cost of ownership of an Apple machine plus legit software to run on it is just too high for most people to consider. Third is service. Until recently, having your machine break down was the thing that every Apple user in China prayed to avoid. Repairs are much more accessible now, but still there are only one or two authorized service centers in Beijing, whereas fixing a Windows box is far simpler. Apple's China strategy for its computers seems entirely different than for the iPod. While its music player is accessible, affordable, and increasingly ubiquitous, for desktop hardware it seems to be following Vertu, the luxury phone maker, instead of Nokia. Unless Apple chooses to address this market on its own terms, there won't be any harvest for it here.
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Sanmina-SCI sells business to Foxconn and Lenovo Sanmina-SCI, the US electronics contract manufacturing company, has sold its PC business to Foxconn, a major Taiwanese competitor, for between $80m-$90m. It is also selling its Mexican PC plant to Lenovo, for an undisclosed sum.â¦
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BEIJING: IBM is selling its personal computer making business to China&#39;s largest PC producer, Lenovo Group Ltd, for US$1.25bil, marking the US giant&#39;s retreat from an industry it helped pioneer in 1981.
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Beleagured company hopes to add a little game power to its PC lineup with its purchase of high-end computer maker.
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With its lowest-priced home PC to date, company shows desire to move beyond pricier game machines.
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China&#39;s biggest computer maker says it is in acquisition talks with a major information technology company following a newspaper report that it might buy IBM&#39;s personal computer business.