Asus smashes records with netbook sales

 

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By Stuart Turton

Posted on 7 Oct 2008 at 09:14

Asus sold 700,000 netbooks last month, shaking off the economic downturn to break a company record.

The maker of the diminutive laptop bullishly expects that figure to rise to 800,000 in October, as customers continue to buy into Asus' pioneering concept.

Total shipments of Eee PCs in the third quarter came to 1.7 million units, and Asus is predicting similar sales for the fourth quarter, pushed along by strong demand over the holidays.

However, Asus is far from a one trick pony. The company also sold 6.12 million units of its P45-based motherboards in the third quarter, a growth of 20% from the same quarter the year prior.

Asus also says it expects to shift 6.2 million standard laptops this year.

The netbook category has undoubtedly become the hot technology of the last year, with many of the major manufacturers jumping on the bandwagon. Sony remains a notable hold-out, however. The company previously described the entire netbook boom as "a race to the bottom".