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Quanta Computer expected to see booming shipments of PlayBook
Yenting Chen, Taipei; Joseph Tsai, DIGITIMES [Wednesday 13 April 2011]
RIM is internally optimistic about the marketability of its PlayBook tablet PC and therefore has placed large-volume orders for shipments in the second and third quarters of 2011. Taiwan-based ODM Quanta Computer may ship more than one million PlayBooks a month in the third quarter, according to sources from component makers. Quanta declined to comment on its clients, but pointed out that the company's tablet PC shipment goal remains unchanged. In addition to 3G models, RIM is set to launch models that support LTE and WiMAX in the third quarter, the sources noted. Although most market watchers believe RIM's total PlayBook sales will reach only about 4-5 million units in 2011, since RIM plans to at least order an average of 800,000 units each month in the second half of 2011, the company will have a great chance of having annual sales surpass market watchers' expectations. The strong demand of RIM's BlackBerry smartphone, which has had global sales of about 48 million units, accounting for about 17% of global smartphone market share, is also expected to transfer to its PlayBook tablet PC, the sources added. The sources pointed out that RIM's first three Wi-Fi-only PlayBook models are just the initial phase of its tablet PC plan, in the second quarter, the company will start pushing 3G models and launching LTE and WiMAX models in the third quarter to significantly push its tablet PCs to consumer markets via telecom channels. As for the possibility of component shortages, since RIM already turned to receive supply from second-tier touch panel makers, while it has already prepared a safe amount of inventory at the end of 2010, RIM internally is not concerned about the tight supply of touchscreen capacity. Since RIM demands its devices be produced on production lines with high security and quality, Quanta has used its production lines in Taiwan to satisfy RIM's demand.
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