Asustek Computer's US$199 11.6-inch EeeBook X205 notebook (clamshell-type design), released during the IFA 2014 show, will only achieve shipments of 200,000 units in the fourth quarter and Digitimes Research believes if the inexpensive low-specification Wintel product is unable to find a new business model to boost sales, it can't compete with the Chromebook.
Asustek's first Eee PC netbook, which was launched in the fourth quarter of 2007 and recorded 700,000 in unit shipments in the same quarter. Its 10.1-inch Transformer Book T100 detachable 2-in-1 device priced at US$260 on Amazon is expected to see 400,000 in unit shipments in the fourth quarter of 2014. Compared to them, the EeeBook X205's performance has been rather unsatisfactory.
With the exception of display size, touchscreen feature and industrial design, the X205 and T100 have similar specifications with both featuring Intel's Atom Z3745 processor and 32GB eMMC.
Despite similar performance and a price 30% cheaper, the X205 still has been outperformed by the T100 2-in-1 device in unit shipments, showing that the inexpensive low-specification traditional notebook is no longer able to attract consumers in a market that is filled with tablets and smartphones, Digitimes Research noted.
However, featuring the same 11.6-inch non-touchscreen display and clamshell design and also pushing low price and thin-and-light characteristic like the X205, the bestselling Chromebook in 2014, Acer's C720, priced at US$215 and slightly higher than that of the X205, is able to ship over 400,000 units quarterly during the second half.
Digitimes Research believes in addition to a higher grade processor (Celeron 2955U 1.4GHz), the C720's popularity also comes from the bundling with education software and service solutions and such an emerging business model has become a new direction for the traditional clamshell-type notebooks to create business opportunities.
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