Taiwan's optical disc drive
manufacturers, such as Lite-On IT, Quanta Storage and BenQ, predict an increase
in demand for slim DVD burners during the second half of this year.
 The OEM
pricing for slim DVD burners is around US$150 at present, a drop of over
20% from a year earlier, Taiwanese makers indicated.
According to Lite-On IT, slim DVD burners
are mainly used in high-end notebook models with prices of at least US$
1,200-1,500 but use will be extended to notebooks priced below US$ 1,000
as the price level of burners drops significantly. Shipments of notebooks
equipped with slim DVD burners will rise from four million to five million
units (less than 10% of global sales) in 2003 to 15 million in 2004
(20-30% of global sales), the company pointed
out. |
Gearing up
production, companies from Taiwan are winning some big OEM
contracts such as Lite-On with Dell. Meanwhile, Japan and Korea are loosing
market share. Wonder if we will see a response from these countries
manufacturers, driving prices down further?
Source: DigiTimes
