DVD-ROM for laptops is hot in Taiwan.................
Makers Put DVD-ROM Drives into Notebooks
November 21, 1997 (TAIPEI) -- AOpen Inc., a subsidiary of the Acer
Group, said it will release a DVD-ROM drive for notebook computers
around the end of 1998.
Acer's archrival, Twinhead International Corp., said its latest notebook,
to appear at the end of 1997, will be equipped with Toshiba's 2X
DVD-ROM drive.
And in 1998, one-half of Twinhead's new notebooks will come with
DVD-ROM drives.
Acer Inc. and First International Computer Inc. predict that notebooks
equipped with DVD-ROM drives will become a hot sellers in the
market, and they plan to follow suit to boost buying interest for their
products.
Yet at present, Toshiba is the only company in the world that installs
DVD-ROM drives into its notebook computer products.
Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd., Hitachi Ltd. and Pioneer
Electronic Corp. all claim to have plans to follow the trend, but at least
in the initial period, their production will be comparatively small.
Local manufacturers have been producing DVD-ROM drives for quite
some time, but to date, all are for desktop computer model.
AOpen and Lite-on Technology -- Taiwan's leading DVD-ROM drive
makers -- are planning to introduce 2X DVD-ROM drives for
desktops at the '97 Fall Comdex Show in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Lite-on Technology hopes to begin mass producing the products in the
first or second quarter of 1998.
Neither company, however, is in a hurry to produce DVD-ROM drives
for notebooks.
AOpen executives said there remain many unresolved problems in the
acquisition of key components for notebook-sized DVD-ROM drives.
In addition, they said, the industry has yet to set a standard for these
products, and buying interest for non-standard models is unlikely to be
strong.
A spokesman for Lite-on said the major market for DVD-ROM drives
is still in the desktop market, and since the acquisition of key
components for the notebook models is unstable, mass production of
the latter is a risky business.
Related story: DVD-ROMs Take Off in Taiwan
(Commercial Times, Taiwan) |
