Total PC shipments including desktops and notebooks in the Taiwan market reached 558,389 units in the first quarter of 2008, a sequential drop of 19%. Affected by the uncertain political situation in Taiwan, increasing oil prices and weakened US economy, PC demand in the first quarter became slow, according to IDC.
Taiwan has become the leading experimental center for worldwide notebook PC sales as low-cost PCs showed up in the market. Although low-cost PCs have effectively attracted a special group of consumers, vendors also face pressures including market overlap and shortened product cycles, IDC said.
There were 212,287 notebooks shipped in the first quarter of 2008, a sequential drop of 17%. Asustek Computer still remained the number one notebook vendor in Taiwan, while Acer trailed behind as number two. Hewlett-Packard (HP) and Lenovo were number three and four, respectively.
Shipments of desktop PCs in the first quarter were 346,102 units, a sequential drop of 20%. Acer was the number one vendor, while Asustek, HP and Lenovo were second, third and fourth.
IDC expects Taiwan's PC market to be impacted by new the government transition, including delays in governmental and educational purchasing in the second quarter. In addition, with the traditional slow season in the second quarter, IDC forecast PC shipments in the second quarter to remain conservative.
Article translated by Joseph Tsai
