Notebook vendors gearing up for touchscreen devices

Aaron Lee and Siu Han, Taipei; Jessie Shen, DIGITIMES [Thursday 29 November 2012]

Acer, Asustek Computer and Lenovo are gearing up to promote their new touchscreen-based notebooks in 2013. Touchscreen devices are expected to account for 10-15% of overall notebooks shipped in 2013, according to sources at notebook companies.

Panel makers hold a more optimistic view, anticipating that shipments of touchscreen models will contribute more than 20% to total notebook shipments in 2013.

The availability of Microsoft Windows 8 is expected to reshape the PC market, with touch-capable notebooks to become mainstream, industry sources believe. Acer, Asustek and Lenovo are among the most aggressive players targeting the touchscreen notebook market, the sources observed.

Acer, for example, will have 10-14% of its overall notebook shipments feature touchscreen displays in 2013, while Asustek and Lenovo will both see touchscreen notebooks account for a higher 15-20% of their notebook shipments, the sources estimated.

Fellow notebook companies Hewlett-Packard (HP), Dell and Samsung Electronics have been relatively cautious about their efforts to promote touchscreen notebooks, as they pay more attention to the tablet market, the sources noted. HP and Dell will see touch-capable devices account for 7-9% and 4-5%, respectively of their notebook shipments in 2013, the sources said.