Asian PC Makers Turn to U.S. Market for Growth

Asian computer makers are finding growth prospects in the United States. They will target high-growth niche markets and plan to display new products with advanced features.

By planning to offer pocket-sized, full-featured notebooks or stylish high-end machines with advanced features, the Asians will target high-growth niches, while steering clear of the broader market dominated U.S. heavyweights Hewlett-Packard, Dell, and Apple.

"You can't afford not to be in the U.S.," said David Daoud, a PC industry analyst at market researcher IDC. "The best way to get into the U.S. is to have something unique, something different."

Taiwanese computer makers Asustek and Acer are aggressively courting consumers in the United States through retail outlets such as Best Buy and online stores including Newegg.com and TigerDirect.com.

The push comes as the U.S. lags the rest of the world in PC shipment growth. While Asian companies may have a tough time competing broadly in a saturated market, the laptop segment is still growing.

PC shipments increased 5.2 percent in the United States in the third quarter but were up 15.5 percent worldwide, with some of the fastest growth in the Asia-Pacific region.

Lenovo, the Chinese computer maker that bought IBM's PC business in 2005 will announce its entry into the U.S. consumer PC market at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), the industry's largest U.S. trade show, in Las Vegas, during the second week of January.

In the U.S., Lenovo sells IBM's ThinkPad laptops to business customers but has not targeted U.S. consumers until now.

Meanwhile, Japan's Toshiba, long a laptop leader in the U.S., continues to post healthy growth of nearly 17 percent, according to IDC's third-quarter report.

Toshiba ranks No. 4 in the U.S. behind Dell, HP, and Apple. It plans to refresh its own line of high-end multimedia, tablet, and ultrathin notebook products at CES.