2009年 05月 04日 13:05
As Giants Step In, Asustek Defends A Tiny PC
After upending the personal computer industry just over a year ago with a stripped-down laptop, Asustek Computer Inc. is now scrambling to fight back against encroaching competitors.
The Taiwan-based computer maker has seen its profit collapse in recent quarters. Its troubles are partly due to the global economic slowdown, but Asustek is also facing a problem familiar to many small companies that hit it big: how to sustain the success over the long haul.
Asustek is promising a raft of new products in coming months, including smart phones developed with Global Positioning System specialist Garmin International Inc. and its first low-cost computer using Google Inc.'s Android software, an operating system designed for cellphones.
The expansion comes as much bigger companies have begun to profit from an insight that Asustek founder and Chairman Jonney Shih had a couple of years ago: that many consumers don't need all of the computing power in a typical laptop.
Asustek in late 2007 launched the first so-called netbook, a simple, light-weight, portable computer that cost less than $250. At first dismissed by major computer makers as a toy, the Eee PC proved surprisingly popular, creating the first new category of PCs since the rise of notebooks in the 1990s.
Research firm Gartner estimates that world-wide shipments of netbooks will surge by 50%, to 7.8 million units in 2009, while overall computer sales are expected to decline. The success of the Eee PC, which has sold 6.1 million units so far, has powered Asustek to fifth place globally among notebook makers.
Now, almost every PC maker in the world is selling netbooks, including Asustek's Taiwanese rival Acer Inc. as well as giants Hewlett-Packard Co. and Dell Inc. Last week, South Korea's Samsung Electronics Co. announced it aims to sell five million netbooks this year, up from two million last year. That's forcing Asustek to show that it's more than a one-hit wonder.
'In order to remain competitive in the market, they'll need to move beyond netbooks and do so relatively soon,' said George Schiffler, an analyst at Gartner.
On Thursday, Asustek reported profit fell 94% to $13.7 million during the first quarter after posting a loss in the fourth quarter. Quarterly sales fell 27%.
Inside Asustek's new headquarters on the outskirts of Taiwan's capital, Mr. Shih said Asustek is well-positioned because of its focus on innovation and not just low-cost production. Bustling with foreign engineers and talent from Taiwan's top schools, the company is a testament to how Taiwan has transformed itself from a maker of products for other countries' big brands to home of several of its own global brands.
Asustek started in 1989, when Mr. Shih and other top engineers left Acer and began building motherboards, the cards that hold microprocessors and other electronics in PCs. It remained a component supplier until 1997, when it launched its first Asus branded notebook.
It sold only three units in the first month, but the company persisted in developing its brand. Now, 70% of revenue comes from its own branded products.
'An important concept in branding is being the first -- everybody thinks of Xerox when copy machines are mentioned,' Mr. Shih said. 'We still think innovation is a crucial strength of Asus.'
The Eee was born of similar thinking. Although the idea seems simple -- strip down a laptop and keep the price low -- Mr. Shih said the company spent time trying to make sure it did many of the things consumers wanted. The machine starts quickly, it easily connects to the Internet and the battery lasts a long time.
'They showed that they could break the PC industry's typical cycle of having to produce something that was always better and faster,' said Bob O'Donnell, an analyst at tech research company IDC. 'And instead they focused on creating something that was more affordable and more portable.'
But sometimes that innovative spirit has been a detriment. Last year, Asustek issued a new version of its Eee on average every six weeks, which analysts said confused consumers.
'We might have offered too many models because of our competitive engineering culture,' Mr. Shih said, adding that the company won't repeat this mistake. This year, Asustek plans to release three new versions.
Part of the reason for the flood of models was to correct an early misstep. The company's initial netbooks had small keyboards and no hard drives. To a degree this was the point -- the computer was meant to be ultra-portable and light -- but Asustek soon noticed that consumers preferred full-sized keyboards.
Although Acer entered the netbook market in mid-2008 about six months after Asustek, it has leapfrogged its rival. By March of this year, Acer shipped 38% of all netbooks, versus 30% for Asustek, according to research firm DisplaySearch.
'Asus enjoys strong advantages in innovation,' said Acer founder Stan Shih. 'But the brand hasn't been around long enough yet' to be a real global power.
Asustek CEO Jonney Shih (no relation) disagrees. Besides the new smart phone and Android netbook due out this year, he said Asustek is also looking to offer products like video phones and other electronics for the home.
Competitors might take a bite out of Asustek's netbooks, but the company has new hits lined up, he said, 'we can't forget that there are people running after us.'
Ting-I Tsai / Ian Johnson
一
年多以前﹐華碩電腦有限公司(Asustek Computer Inc.)以一款低價筆記本電腦顛覆了個人電腦行業﹐如今該公司正在努力應對不斷迫近的競爭對手。最近幾個季度﹐這家台灣電腦廠商的利潤大幅下滑。全球經濟低迷是原因之一﹐但華碩還面臨著一個類似很多小公司一舉做大之後的問題﹕如何長期延續成功。
華碩表示將在未來數月推出一系列新產品﹐包括由全球定位系統(GPS)專業公司Garmin International Inc.研發的智能手機﹐以及該公司第一部使用谷歌(Google Inc.)手機操作系統Android的低成本電腦。
華碩創始人兼董事長施崇棠數年前就提出﹐很多消費者並不需要一部普通筆記本電腦所具備的所有功能﹐如今很多規模較大的公司已經開始從這一洞察中獲利。
華碩於2007年底推出了第一款所謂的上網本﹐這款輕薄便攜的筆記本電腦易PC(Eee PC)售價不到250美元。易PC最初被主要電腦廠商譏笑是玩具﹐但這款低價電腦卻出人意料地熱賣﹐創造了自上世紀九十年代筆記本電腦崛起以來第一個新的電腦類型。
市場研究公司Gartner預計﹐今年全球上網本發貨量將飆升50%﹐至780萬部﹔而整體電腦銷量預計會下滑。易PC目前已經售出了610萬部﹐這款產品的成功成就了華碩在全球筆記本電腦廠商第五強的地位。
現 在﹐幾乎全球每家個人電腦廠商都在銷售上網本﹐包括華碩的台灣競爭對手宏碁股份有限公司(Acer Inc.)﹐以及行業巨頭惠普公司(Hewlett-Packard)和戴爾公司(Dell Inc.)。4月下旬﹐韓國三星電子(Samsung Electronics Co.)宣佈計劃今年銷售500萬部上網本﹐去年銷量為200萬部。這種狀況正迫使華碩展現自己並不是曇花一現。
Gartner分析師舍弗勒(George Schiffler)說﹐為了在市場上維持競爭力﹐華碩需要在上網本以外下功夫﹐並且需要行事相對迅速。
Bloomberg News
華碩的低端筆記本易PC曾在個人電腦行業開創先河﹐而今這種產品已面臨著激烈競爭。
在華碩位於台北郊外的新總部﹐施崇棠表示華碩處於有利地位﹐因為公司注重創新而不只是低成本生產。華碩聚集了海外工程師和台灣本地高校的人才﹐這家公司已經成為了台灣如何從外國大品牌的製造基地轉型為全球幾大品牌之家的見證。
華碩電腦創建於1989年﹐當時施崇棠和其他高級工程人員離開了宏碁﹐開始生產主板。在1997年推出首部華碩品牌筆記本之前﹐這個公司一直是個電腦部件供應商。
儘管第一個月只賣出了三部機器﹐但華碩仍然堅持開發品牌。目前該公司70%的收入來自於自己品牌的產品。
施崇棠說﹐營造品牌的一個重要理念就是走在行業先列──就好像提到複印機﹐人們就會想到施樂(Xerox)。我們仍然認為創新是華碩的關鍵實力。
類似的思維催生了易PC。儘管想法看似簡單──簡化功能並降低價格──但施崇棠表示華碩費了不少時間努力確保這個產品滿足消費者的諸多需求。這個機器開機迅速﹐上網方便﹐電池續航時間久。
科技研究公司國際數據公司(IDC)分析師奧多耐爾(Bob O'Donnell)說﹐華碩顯示出他們能夠打破個人電腦行業必須製造更好更快產品的傳統週期。他們轉而注重於創造一些更便攜更經濟的產品。
但有時候創新精神也會帶來損害。華碩去年每六個星期就推出易PC的一款新版本﹐分析師表示這給消費者帶來了混亂。
施崇棠說﹐由於競爭性的工程文化﹐我們可能推出了太多版本。他補充稱﹐華碩不會再犯這個錯誤。華碩今年計劃推出三款新版產品。
華碩之所以推出眾多版本﹐原因之一是為了糾正此前的一個紕漏。該公司最初的上網本鍵盤很小﹐也沒有硬盤。在一定程度上﹐這是個賣點﹐因為這款電腦就是要實現超級輕薄便攜﹔但華碩很快意識到消費者更喜歡全尺寸鍵盤。
儘管宏碁到2008年中才進入上網本市場﹐落後華碩六個月﹐但宏碁卻後發制人地超過了華碩。研究公司DisplaySearch的數據顯示﹐截至今年3月﹐宏碁佔據了上網本市場38%的份額﹐而華碩只有30%。
宏碁創始人施振榮說﹐華碩得益於強勁的創新優勢。但這個品牌創立時間還不夠久﹐還沒有成為真正的全球性力量。
華碩首席執行長施崇棠對此無法苟同。他表示﹐除了今年將要推出的新智能手機和Android系統上網本﹐華碩還打算推出其他產品﹐如視頻電話和其他家用電子產品。
他說﹐競爭對手或許會衝擊華碩的上網本業務﹐但公司還有新的重要產品。我們不能忘記背後有人在緊追不放。
Ting-I Tsai / Ian Johnson
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