China has now been tagged as the “world’s electronics factory”. It has become the largest producer and supplier of consumer electronics products.
That’s the question, isn’t it? We all don’t want to end up being chased by the guv’ment because we didn’t pay our dues, right? We have to give to Caesar what is Caesar’s.
Anyway, for those of you who are now looking at buying wholesale electronics from China, here’s great news: For now, most China-based wholesale consumer electronics supplier aren’t charging any VAT, other taxes or any other hidden charges at all. Zero. Nada. So, what do they charge you? Just pay them what you see on your computer screens when you checked your items out which, of course, includes shipping charges which are very minimal (and at least say “Thank you” in your heart for their wonderful service).
But hold your horses! Your supplier doesn’t charge you any taxes, yes, but depending on your country’s tax regulations you might pay up for some custom duties. Yup, that’s one of life’s hard facts. But, hey, don’t lose sleep! Do these quick and easy but very necessary steps to learn how to deal with tax matters when importing to save you time and money:
* Do your homework. Do a research on your country’s tax regulations on imported goods. Don’t guess.
* Take time out to contact the right government agency that handles these concerns and remember to talk to the right person in that agency.
* Contact your supplier and ask if they have special arrangements to help you minimize your taxes (or even eliminate them altogether).
* Outline your special instructions for your suppliers concerning disclosure of amounts or value of the goods and they will be more than glad to assist you with these matters.
Remember, your suppliers are from foreign lands. They won’t know how to deal with your tax situations until you fill them in on what’s up with your country’s tax regulations.
So go check out your supplier’s wholesale consumer electronics offerings, compute the costs and do your homework now and get started with the lucrative business of selling Chinese wholesale consumer electronics.
To check out the best wholesale electronics items to buy and sell from ChinaBusiness Management Articles, visit http://bestwholesaleelectronics.blogspot.com.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Charlemagne Solanor is from the Philippines and has began blogging in November, 2006. His blog Wholesale Electronics (http://bestwholesaleelectronics.blogspot.com) talks about consumer electronics products. His goal is to help electronics retailers find the best online wholesale electronics deal to explode their retailing business
Friday, May 4, 2007
Chinese Wholesale Electronics – Why Chinese?
China has now been tagged as the “world’s electronics factory”. It has become the largest producer and supplier of consumer electronics products.
OK, I’m not Chinese, I don’t live in China (although it’s our country’s neighbor and there’s a big Chinese community here) and I don’t speak Chinese. So why am I so passionate about importing wholesale electronics from China?
It’s amazing how China has its doors now opened to international enterprises and how it has now sought to expand its businesses outside. One of its companies even took over a western giant a while back. China used to be a closed off nation and a “sleeping giant” but is now wide awake and ready to take on the international business center stage to do a Beyonce Knowles number. Here are a few reasons why it’s difficult to ignore China these days:
* Newspapers started carrying dedicated sections for China business because the business world is buzzing loudly about China.
* Bureaucratic red tape is becoming less and less restrictive to traders, which means more freedom, more than ever, between Chinese and foreign traders
* Even eBay is partnering with a Chinese company to gain more influence and connection in the Chinese market
* Almost everything has some parts or is entirely “made in China” and Jacky Chan goes Hollywood!
“But I don’t speak Chinese”, you say. Well, don’t you think Chinese wholesale suppliers didn’t have that language barrier predicament in mind? Of course they did! That is why they have English speaking staff and they themselves are already able to speak the international language, which is, well – English! The problem these days, as is the case everywhere else, is not what language to use when doing business with your suppliers; it’s how you communicate with them.
So why import from China? How do I communicate with Chinese suppliers?
China could be the next Japan. After the Second World War, Japan imitated western electronic products like televisions, portable radios, cars, etc. They were perceived as cheap until the Japanese innovated these lines of products, started giving them brand names and bested the rest of the western first world in inventing things. We now forever admire Japanese brands like Sony, Honda, Toyota, and Nintendo to name a few. And whose jaw wouldn’t drop on the smart android ASIMO? China is following the same pattern of imitating, innovating and inventing electronic products that, who knows, might become the next big household name.
China has now been tagged as the world’s factory as they manufacture almost all types of products at incredibly lower cost than anywhere else in the world. That’s because everything in China is low cost; low human resources cost, low cost of living, low cost of energy and a lower corporate tax burden. Every production outfit can employ cheap labor, but still produce superb quality products.
Importing consumer electronics from China is the way to go! Of course you can look elsewhere, but the point that I would like you to take away from here is that Chinese electronic products are manufactured and exported cheap without compromising quality.
Now, when contacting suppliers from China – go directly to suppliers, better yet, to the manufacturers and avoid middlemen as much as possible as the low production cost leaves a lot of room for them to jack the prices up. Remember, your goal in buying from China is to “buy low and sell high”. Where do you find these suppliers and manufacturers? Thanks to the Internet, the problem of locating reliable suppliers from China is now passed on to, uhm, your fingertips. Doing business can’t get any easier than doing it online. Search them out, contact them through email and I strongly suggest you phone them to “feel” the signs that you’re about to do business with the right people. I can’t emphasize more the importance of really building good relationship with these suppliers. These wholesalers are not picky as long as you build nice rapport with them and they are really into exporting their goods to western markets. I can attest to the excellent customer support that my favorite supplier provides. They are promptFeature Articles, polite and very accommodating.
Take advantage of importing consumer electronic products from China now. Who knows? Your competition might already be capitalizing on it.
Visit bestwholesaleelectronics.blogspot.com.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Charlemagne Solanor is from the Philippines and has began blogging in November, 2006. His blog Wholesale Electronics talks about consumer electronics products like mp3 players, dvd players, car accessories and more. His goal is to help electronics retailers find the best online wholesale electronics deal to explode their retailing business.
OK, I’m not Chinese, I don’t live in China (although it’s our country’s neighbor and there’s a big Chinese community here) and I don’t speak Chinese. So why am I so passionate about importing wholesale electronics from China?
It’s amazing how China has its doors now opened to international enterprises and how it has now sought to expand its businesses outside. One of its companies even took over a western giant a while back. China used to be a closed off nation and a “sleeping giant” but is now wide awake and ready to take on the international business center stage to do a Beyonce Knowles number. Here are a few reasons why it’s difficult to ignore China these days:
* Newspapers started carrying dedicated sections for China business because the business world is buzzing loudly about China.
* Bureaucratic red tape is becoming less and less restrictive to traders, which means more freedom, more than ever, between Chinese and foreign traders
* Even eBay is partnering with a Chinese company to gain more influence and connection in the Chinese market
* Almost everything has some parts or is entirely “made in China” and Jacky Chan goes Hollywood!
“But I don’t speak Chinese”, you say. Well, don’t you think Chinese wholesale suppliers didn’t have that language barrier predicament in mind? Of course they did! That is why they have English speaking staff and they themselves are already able to speak the international language, which is, well – English! The problem these days, as is the case everywhere else, is not what language to use when doing business with your suppliers; it’s how you communicate with them.
So why import from China? How do I communicate with Chinese suppliers?
China could be the next Japan. After the Second World War, Japan imitated western electronic products like televisions, portable radios, cars, etc. They were perceived as cheap until the Japanese innovated these lines of products, started giving them brand names and bested the rest of the western first world in inventing things. We now forever admire Japanese brands like Sony, Honda, Toyota, and Nintendo to name a few. And whose jaw wouldn’t drop on the smart android ASIMO? China is following the same pattern of imitating, innovating and inventing electronic products that, who knows, might become the next big household name.
China has now been tagged as the world’s factory as they manufacture almost all types of products at incredibly lower cost than anywhere else in the world. That’s because everything in China is low cost; low human resources cost, low cost of living, low cost of energy and a lower corporate tax burden. Every production outfit can employ cheap labor, but still produce superb quality products.
Importing consumer electronics from China is the way to go! Of course you can look elsewhere, but the point that I would like you to take away from here is that Chinese electronic products are manufactured and exported cheap without compromising quality.
Now, when contacting suppliers from China – go directly to suppliers, better yet, to the manufacturers and avoid middlemen as much as possible as the low production cost leaves a lot of room for them to jack the prices up. Remember, your goal in buying from China is to “buy low and sell high”. Where do you find these suppliers and manufacturers? Thanks to the Internet, the problem of locating reliable suppliers from China is now passed on to, uhm, your fingertips. Doing business can’t get any easier than doing it online. Search them out, contact them through email and I strongly suggest you phone them to “feel” the signs that you’re about to do business with the right people. I can’t emphasize more the importance of really building good relationship with these suppliers. These wholesalers are not picky as long as you build nice rapport with them and they are really into exporting their goods to western markets. I can attest to the excellent customer support that my favorite supplier provides. They are promptFeature Articles, polite and very accommodating.
Take advantage of importing consumer electronic products from China now. Who knows? Your competition might already be capitalizing on it.
Visit bestwholesaleelectronics.blogspot.com.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Charlemagne Solanor is from the Philippines and has began blogging in November, 2006. His blog Wholesale Electronics talks about consumer electronics products like mp3 players, dvd players, car accessories and more. His goal is to help electronics retailers find the best online wholesale electronics deal to explode their retailing business.
Thursday, May 3, 2007
Tiny fuel cell might replace batteries in laptop computers, portable electronics (press release)
If you're frustrated by frequently losing battery power in your laptop computer, digital camera or portable music player, then take heart: A better source of "juice" is in the works. Chemists at Arizona State University in Tempe have created a tiny hydrogen-gas generator that they say can be developed into a compact fuel cell package that can power these and other electronic devices -- from three to five times longer than conventional batteries of the same size and weight.
The generator uses a special solution containing borohydride, an alkaline compound that has an unusually high capacity for storing hydrogen, a key element that is used by fuel cells to generate electricity. In laboratory studies, a prototype fuel cell made from this generator was used to provide sustained power to light bulbs, radios and DVD players, the researchers say.
The fuel cell system can be packaged in containers of the same size and weight as conventional batteries and is recharged by refilling a fuel cartridge, they say. Research on these battery replacement fuel cells, which they claim are safer for the environment than regular batteries, was described today at the 232nd national meeting of the American Chemical Society.
"We're trying to maximize the usable hydrogen storage capacity of borohydride in order to make this fuel cell power source last longer," says study leader Don Gervasio, Ph.D., a chemist at the University's Biodesign Institute, Center for Applied NanoBioScience. "That could lead to the longest lasting power source ever produced for portable electronics."
One of the challenges in fuel cell development is finding hydrogen-rich compounds for the fuel source. Many different hydrogen sources have been explored for use in fuel cells, including metal hydride "sponges" and liquids such as gasoline, methanol, ethanol and even vegetable oil.
Recently, borohydride has shown promise as a safe, energy-dense hydrogen storage solution. Unlike the other fuel sources, borohydride works at room temperature and does not require high temperatures in order to liberate hydrogen, Gervasio says.
Gervasio and his associates are developing novel chemical additives to increase the useful hydrogen storage capacity of the borohydride solution by as much as two to three times that of simple aqueous sodium borohydride solutions that are currently being explored for fuel cell development. These additives prevent the solution from solidifying, which could potentially clog or damage the hydrogen generator and cause it to fail.
In developing the prototype fuel cell system, the researchers housed the solution in a tiny generator containing a metal catalyst composed of ruthenium metal. In the presence of the catalyst, the borohydride in the water-based solution reacts with water to form hydrogen gas.
The gas leaves the hydrogen generator by moving across a special membrane separating the generator from the fuel cell component. The hydrogen gas then combines with oxygen inside the fuel cell to generate water and electricity, which can then be used to power the portable electronic device. Commercialization of a practical version of this fuel cell could take as many as three to five years, Gervasio says.
http://www.newstarget.com/020961.html
The generator uses a special solution containing borohydride, an alkaline compound that has an unusually high capacity for storing hydrogen, a key element that is used by fuel cells to generate electricity. In laboratory studies, a prototype fuel cell made from this generator was used to provide sustained power to light bulbs, radios and DVD players, the researchers say.
The fuel cell system can be packaged in containers of the same size and weight as conventional batteries and is recharged by refilling a fuel cartridge, they say. Research on these battery replacement fuel cells, which they claim are safer for the environment than regular batteries, was described today at the 232nd national meeting of the American Chemical Society.
"We're trying to maximize the usable hydrogen storage capacity of borohydride in order to make this fuel cell power source last longer," says study leader Don Gervasio, Ph.D., a chemist at the University's Biodesign Institute, Center for Applied NanoBioScience. "That could lead to the longest lasting power source ever produced for portable electronics."
One of the challenges in fuel cell development is finding hydrogen-rich compounds for the fuel source. Many different hydrogen sources have been explored for use in fuel cells, including metal hydride "sponges" and liquids such as gasoline, methanol, ethanol and even vegetable oil.
Recently, borohydride has shown promise as a safe, energy-dense hydrogen storage solution. Unlike the other fuel sources, borohydride works at room temperature and does not require high temperatures in order to liberate hydrogen, Gervasio says.
Gervasio and his associates are developing novel chemical additives to increase the useful hydrogen storage capacity of the borohydride solution by as much as two to three times that of simple aqueous sodium borohydride solutions that are currently being explored for fuel cell development. These additives prevent the solution from solidifying, which could potentially clog or damage the hydrogen generator and cause it to fail.
In developing the prototype fuel cell system, the researchers housed the solution in a tiny generator containing a metal catalyst composed of ruthenium metal. In the presence of the catalyst, the borohydride in the water-based solution reacts with water to form hydrogen gas.
The gas leaves the hydrogen generator by moving across a special membrane separating the generator from the fuel cell component. The hydrogen gas then combines with oxygen inside the fuel cell to generate water and electricity, which can then be used to power the portable electronic device. Commercialization of a practical version of this fuel cell could take as many as three to five years, Gervasio says.
http://www.newstarget.com/020961.html
Plastic circuitry breakthrough may revolutionize electronics industry
(NewsTarget) Researchers from the University of Cambridge's Cavendish Laboratory have a chance to revolutionize the electronics industry if they can develop plastic semiconductors.
The idea is to replace the silicon wafers in standard microchips with layers or circuitry on plastic substrates. While the concept of plastic semiconductors may seem like a pipe dream, Cambridge-based startup Plastic Logic has been talking about commercializing the technology since 2000. The company is putting money where it's mouth is, too, as it has more than $100 million worth of investment funds for a factory that it plans to open in Dresden, Germany.
The technology has "tremendous potential," said Morry Marshall, vice-president for strategic technologies at Phoenix semiconductor research group Semico, adding that it was a "breakthrough that is waiting to happen."
The final product should be a plastic sheet roughly the same size as a piece of A4 sized paper, being produced at a rate of about 2.2 million a year. They will be composed of polyethylene terephthalate -- the same type of plastic used to make soft drink bottles -- and initially supplied to other companies as the basis for pieces of "electronic paper," which can display the pages of thousands of books.
We hope to make it as easy to carry around large amounts of written information using devices based on our technology as it is now to have easy access to large amounts of music using an iPod or MP3 player," said Hermann Hauser, one of Plastic Logic's founders and a Cavendish Laboratory alumnus.
The proposed plastic semiconductors will have one disadvantage compared to traditional silicon-based substrates: There is between 5 and 10 micrometers (1 micrometer is 1 millionth of a meter) between adjacent circuitry lines in the plastic semiconductors, whereas the same space in traditional semiconductors is measured in nanometers (1 nanometer is a billionth of a meter). However, Plastic Logic Chief Executive Officer John Mills said that they are developing plastic circuits with only 60 nanometers between adjacent circuitry lines.
If they could be made smaller, plastic microchips could be used for tasks for which it would not be cost-effective to employ silicon microchips. For example, a toy could have a surface where it could display its own instruction manual.
"Plastic electronics could lead to a fundamental revolution in the way the electronics industry evolves", said Mr Hauser, who also said he would not be surprised if Plastic Logic's chief scientist Henning Sirringhaus was awarded the Nobel Prize for his work in the field.
The Cavendish Laboratory has been lauded for it's discoveries during the past 136 years, including the genetic building blocks known as DNA and the electron.
http://www.newstarget.com/021424.html
The idea is to replace the silicon wafers in standard microchips with layers or circuitry on plastic substrates. While the concept of plastic semiconductors may seem like a pipe dream, Cambridge-based startup Plastic Logic has been talking about commercializing the technology since 2000. The company is putting money where it's mouth is, too, as it has more than $100 million worth of investment funds for a factory that it plans to open in Dresden, Germany.
The technology has "tremendous potential," said Morry Marshall, vice-president for strategic technologies at Phoenix semiconductor research group Semico, adding that it was a "breakthrough that is waiting to happen."
The final product should be a plastic sheet roughly the same size as a piece of A4 sized paper, being produced at a rate of about 2.2 million a year. They will be composed of polyethylene terephthalate -- the same type of plastic used to make soft drink bottles -- and initially supplied to other companies as the basis for pieces of "electronic paper," which can display the pages of thousands of books.
We hope to make it as easy to carry around large amounts of written information using devices based on our technology as it is now to have easy access to large amounts of music using an iPod or MP3 player," said Hermann Hauser, one of Plastic Logic's founders and a Cavendish Laboratory alumnus.
The proposed plastic semiconductors will have one disadvantage compared to traditional silicon-based substrates: There is between 5 and 10 micrometers (1 micrometer is 1 millionth of a meter) between adjacent circuitry lines in the plastic semiconductors, whereas the same space in traditional semiconductors is measured in nanometers (1 nanometer is a billionth of a meter). However, Plastic Logic Chief Executive Officer John Mills said that they are developing plastic circuits with only 60 nanometers between adjacent circuitry lines.
If they could be made smaller, plastic microchips could be used for tasks for which it would not be cost-effective to employ silicon microchips. For example, a toy could have a surface where it could display its own instruction manual.
"Plastic electronics could lead to a fundamental revolution in the way the electronics industry evolves", said Mr Hauser, who also said he would not be surprised if Plastic Logic's chief scientist Henning Sirringhaus was awarded the Nobel Prize for his work in the field.
The Cavendish Laboratory has been lauded for it's discoveries during the past 136 years, including the genetic building blocks known as DNA and the electron.
http://www.newstarget.com/021424.html
When old electronics meet their end, much ends up becoming toxic waste in China
NewsTarget) Old computers and other used-up appliances are creating polluted environments in Asia, the final resting place for much of the world's electronic goods, reports the China Daily newspaper.
Known as "e-waste," more than 75 percent of televisions, computers and other home electronics discarded by the developed world end up bound for Asia. Up to 90 percent of the old electronics goes to China, according to the Beijing-based Science and Technology Daily, the official newspaper of China's Ministry of Science and Technology.
However, only 10 percent of the electronics that go to China are recycled for reuse. The rest gets burned, destroyed or otherwise reduced to poisonous end-products.
Inside computers and other electronics are gold, copper and other reusable precious metals. This makes the 90 percent of discarded electronics not recycled a viable enterprise for people looking to extract those precious metals. However, many of these "electronics harvesters" use simple and environmentally unfriendly processes to get the metals out, such as putting the machines through acid baths.
The result is that lead, mercury and other chemicals are released into the atmosphere – through toxic gasses – and put into lakes and rivers through wastewater systems. The harvesters are burning the plastic cases, melting lead-based monitor glass and simply tossing out the undesirable by-products of precious metal extraction.
In some cities that are hotspots for the metal extraction business, pollution levels are much higher than American or European standards.
In the Guiyu area, an agricultural sector in south China that many e-processers have set up shop, the groundwater became so contaminated that drinking water had to be brought in from an area 18 miles away, according to a 2001 report from the Seattle-based toxic trade watchdog Basel Action Network.
Sediment samples from the area showed that the groundwater had so much lead in it that it would have been considered 212 times more toxified than acceptable standards if it came from Europe's Rhine River.
"Tin was found at levels 152 times the EPA threshold. Chromium in one sample was at levels 1,338 times the EPA threshold level," the report added.
A major source of this e-waste are unsuspecting good Samaritans in America thinking they are helping the environment: Much of the old electronics donated by people and businesses for recycling in the U.S. instead gets exported into the world market.
"Informed recycling industry sources estimate that between 50 to 80 percent of the e-waste collected for recycling in the western U.S. are not recycled domestically," according to the BAN report.
From there, the supply market takes over, and often metal extraction companies win.
The supply market of old electronics sways in favor of these shops because they often offer higher prices for the goods than recycling outfits can.
The supply is good, too: the volume of e-waste from the United States is "estimated at 5 to 7 million tons," the report said.
In China alone – excluding the e-waste that is brought into the country – "about 150 million television sets, washing machines, refrigerators, air-conditioners and computers are discarded every year in China," the China Daily reported, using statistics from the China Home Electronics Association.
For the American market, the BAN report from 2001 posited that e-waste numbers would rise by 2006 thanks to the proliferation of High-Definition Television – flat-screen TVs – obsolescing old television technology, and the fact that most computers bought today are replacements for an old one that must be thrown out.
The world market for e-waste is one that is mostly unregulated, but a limited number of other countries are involved. Outside of China, other countries in the metal extraction business include India and Pakistan. The Middle Eastern country of Dubai is another major collector of discarded electronics, but it acts as a middleman: most of what it receives is re-exported out to China and other countries.
http://www.newstarget.com/021578.html
Known as "e-waste," more than 75 percent of televisions, computers and other home electronics discarded by the developed world end up bound for Asia. Up to 90 percent of the old electronics goes to China, according to the Beijing-based Science and Technology Daily, the official newspaper of China's Ministry of Science and Technology.
However, only 10 percent of the electronics that go to China are recycled for reuse. The rest gets burned, destroyed or otherwise reduced to poisonous end-products.
Inside computers and other electronics are gold, copper and other reusable precious metals. This makes the 90 percent of discarded electronics not recycled a viable enterprise for people looking to extract those precious metals. However, many of these "electronics harvesters" use simple and environmentally unfriendly processes to get the metals out, such as putting the machines through acid baths.
The result is that lead, mercury and other chemicals are released into the atmosphere – through toxic gasses – and put into lakes and rivers through wastewater systems. The harvesters are burning the plastic cases, melting lead-based monitor glass and simply tossing out the undesirable by-products of precious metal extraction.
In some cities that are hotspots for the metal extraction business, pollution levels are much higher than American or European standards.
In the Guiyu area, an agricultural sector in south China that many e-processers have set up shop, the groundwater became so contaminated that drinking water had to be brought in from an area 18 miles away, according to a 2001 report from the Seattle-based toxic trade watchdog Basel Action Network.
Sediment samples from the area showed that the groundwater had so much lead in it that it would have been considered 212 times more toxified than acceptable standards if it came from Europe's Rhine River.
"Tin was found at levels 152 times the EPA threshold. Chromium in one sample was at levels 1,338 times the EPA threshold level," the report added.
A major source of this e-waste are unsuspecting good Samaritans in America thinking they are helping the environment: Much of the old electronics donated by people and businesses for recycling in the U.S. instead gets exported into the world market.
"Informed recycling industry sources estimate that between 50 to 80 percent of the e-waste collected for recycling in the western U.S. are not recycled domestically," according to the BAN report.
From there, the supply market takes over, and often metal extraction companies win.
The supply market of old electronics sways in favor of these shops because they often offer higher prices for the goods than recycling outfits can.
The supply is good, too: the volume of e-waste from the United States is "estimated at 5 to 7 million tons," the report said.
In China alone – excluding the e-waste that is brought into the country – "about 150 million television sets, washing machines, refrigerators, air-conditioners and computers are discarded every year in China," the China Daily reported, using statistics from the China Home Electronics Association.
For the American market, the BAN report from 2001 posited that e-waste numbers would rise by 2006 thanks to the proliferation of High-Definition Television – flat-screen TVs – obsolescing old television technology, and the fact that most computers bought today are replacements for an old one that must be thrown out.
The world market for e-waste is one that is mostly unregulated, but a limited number of other countries are involved. Outside of China, other countries in the metal extraction business include India and Pakistan. The Middle Eastern country of Dubai is another major collector of discarded electronics, but it acts as a middleman: most of what it receives is re-exported out to China and other countries.
http://www.newstarget.com/021578.html
Wednesday, May 2, 2007
Processor Vendors Chip Away in March, Q1
March processor sales totaled $20.3 billion worldwide, or 3.2 percent higher than the $19.7 billion reported for March 2006, according to new tallies from the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA).
The March growth mirrored growth for the first quarter, when chip sales rose 3.2 percent to notch $61 billion, or almost $2 billion greater than Q1 2006.
However, thanks to heated competition in the market for personal computers, cell phones and other devices such as MP3 players, Q1 2007 semiconductor sales declined 6.5 percent compared to the $65.2 billion reported for Q4 2006.
The SIA said in a statement that price pressures from intense competition in market segments such as DRAMs (define), DSPs (define) and NAND Flash (define) limited growth despite higher unit shipments for these products.
For example, DRAM sales declined by just over 8 percent from Q4 2006 even as units increased over 16 percent. This is due largely to average sales prices dipping close to 20 percent over the same time period.
"Even with continued strength in unit sales of personal computers, mobile phones, and other portable consumer electronic products, an abundant supply of chips for these applications resulted in declining average selling prices as manufacturers sought to hold onto market share," said SIA President George Scalise.
This may make sales executives for the chip and PC makers pull at their hairlines, but it's good news for the consumer, as Scalise noted that the average sales price for a PC fell to $850.
By region, March chips sales in the Americas dropped 2.2 percent to $3.34 billion, yet grew 7.4 percent to $3.95 billion In Japan. Europe's chip sales grew 1.5 percent to $3.39 billion while Asia-Pacific dipped .04 percent to $9.66 billion for the largest share of the $20.3 billion worldwide chip tally.
For the year, Scalise said sales are running slightly ahead of last year's record level, but well short of the 10 percent growth projected in the forecast issued by SIA last November.
He also said reports that China's IT sector is experiencing slower growth coupled with a U.S. GDP growth rate that fell to 1.3 percent in the first quarter may make near-term outlooks more cautious.
http://www.internetnews.com/stats/article.php/3674911
The March growth mirrored growth for the first quarter, when chip sales rose 3.2 percent to notch $61 billion, or almost $2 billion greater than Q1 2006.
However, thanks to heated competition in the market for personal computers, cell phones and other devices such as MP3 players, Q1 2007 semiconductor sales declined 6.5 percent compared to the $65.2 billion reported for Q4 2006.
The SIA said in a statement that price pressures from intense competition in market segments such as DRAMs (define), DSPs (define) and NAND Flash (define) limited growth despite higher unit shipments for these products.
For example, DRAM sales declined by just over 8 percent from Q4 2006 even as units increased over 16 percent. This is due largely to average sales prices dipping close to 20 percent over the same time period.
"Even with continued strength in unit sales of personal computers, mobile phones, and other portable consumer electronic products, an abundant supply of chips for these applications resulted in declining average selling prices as manufacturers sought to hold onto market share," said SIA President George Scalise.
This may make sales executives for the chip and PC makers pull at their hairlines, but it's good news for the consumer, as Scalise noted that the average sales price for a PC fell to $850.
By region, March chips sales in the Americas dropped 2.2 percent to $3.34 billion, yet grew 7.4 percent to $3.95 billion In Japan. Europe's chip sales grew 1.5 percent to $3.39 billion while Asia-Pacific dipped .04 percent to $9.66 billion for the largest share of the $20.3 billion worldwide chip tally.
For the year, Scalise said sales are running slightly ahead of last year's record level, but well short of the 10 percent growth projected in the forecast issued by SIA last November.
He also said reports that China's IT sector is experiencing slower growth coupled with a U.S. GDP growth rate that fell to 1.3 percent in the first quarter may make near-term outlooks more cautious.
http://www.internetnews.com/stats/article.php/3674911
3Leaf Hangs Hat on 'Elastic' Servers
Occasionally, a startup is born to try and challenge or ride the coattails of IBM (Quote), Sun Microsystems (Quote) and HP (Quote) in the multi-billion-dollar market for computer servers.
3Leaf Systems emerged from stealth mode today to announce its candidacy in the server market.
The Santa Clara, Calif., startup unveiled the 3Leaf Systems V-8000 Virtual I/O Server, which aims to offer customers performance-hungry and cost-conscious mainframe-like availability and reliability for x86 commodity systems.
3Leaf CEO Bob Quinn, who secured $20 million last September in a funding round led by Intel Capital, said V-8000 addresses the pain points datacenter managers feel by boosting server resource utilization far beyond its current 10 percent to 15 percent level.
"Due to the transition from scale-up to scale-out computing over the last 10 years, we've had to deal with extremely low utilization on our servers," Quinn told internetnews.com in a recent interview. "That low utilization drives power and space, which really puts the datacenter in a bind today."
Quinn also said the V-8000 will help accelerate the deployment and provisioning of new servers and provide high availability and management.
V-8000
V-8000 Virtual I/O Server.
Source: 3Leaf
"In this day and age, it should be possible, particularly with virtualization, to deploy servers -- maybe not instantly but certainly in under an hour," Quinn said. "Most datacenters take from four to 12 weeks to deploy a new server with a new application stack. That is unacceptable."
Perhaps most importantly, Quinn said customers who try the V-8OOO may realize capital expenditure savings of 50 percent from the get-go, as well as operations savings as great as 60 percent.
The V-8000 aims to boost the efficiency of existing x86 servers by delivering I/O connectivity for machines, eliminating the need for excess network and storage adapters, disks and switch ports.
This is because the servers are stateless nodes that connect to virtual Network Interface Cards, virtual Host Bus Adapters, and virtual disks through the V-8000. Fewer connections to the storage area network (SAN) means significant capital savings, Quinn said, and because there is less to manage, operating expenditures are reduced, as well.
Servers may be deployed faster with the help of the V-8000, too. Because the V-8000 allows servers to be defined in advance, spare nodes can have new profiles applied in minutes rather than weeks. Moreover, network and storage interfaces have been pre-allocated to server profiles to eliminate the provisioning of those products.
Quinn said the V-8000 also offers a kind of "elastic" computing resource, thanks to service policies that allow networking and storage levels to be raised or lowered as application demand changes.
Finally, the V-8000 may go down but it won't stay down. In case of a failure, the V-8000 automatically fails over to a redundant V-8000 with redundant networking and storage interfaces.
3Leaf enters a competitive computer server market, of which IBM, Sun Microsystems and HP command roughly three-quarters. However, Quinn pointed out, 3Leaf systems, recommended as pairs for $100,000 are intended to augment and support those companies' x86 servers, not replace them.
Evidence suggests there may be plenty of datacenter computing business to go around, even for startups like 3Leaf.
With IDC expecting money spent on IT consolidation projects to grow from $18.1 billion in 2004 to $24.7 billion in 2009, virtualization software sales are expected to rise from $340 million to $15 billion during that period.
That should provide more than enough opportunity for 3Leaf to succeed, Quinn said.
http://www.internetnews.com/storage/article.php/3674706
3Leaf Systems emerged from stealth mode today to announce its candidacy in the server market.
The Santa Clara, Calif., startup unveiled the 3Leaf Systems V-8000 Virtual I/O Server, which aims to offer customers performance-hungry and cost-conscious mainframe-like availability and reliability for x86 commodity systems.
3Leaf CEO Bob Quinn, who secured $20 million last September in a funding round led by Intel Capital, said V-8000 addresses the pain points datacenter managers feel by boosting server resource utilization far beyond its current 10 percent to 15 percent level.
"Due to the transition from scale-up to scale-out computing over the last 10 years, we've had to deal with extremely low utilization on our servers," Quinn told internetnews.com in a recent interview. "That low utilization drives power and space, which really puts the datacenter in a bind today."
Quinn also said the V-8000 will help accelerate the deployment and provisioning of new servers and provide high availability and management.
V-8000
V-8000 Virtual I/O Server.
Source: 3Leaf
"In this day and age, it should be possible, particularly with virtualization, to deploy servers -- maybe not instantly but certainly in under an hour," Quinn said. "Most datacenters take from four to 12 weeks to deploy a new server with a new application stack. That is unacceptable."
Perhaps most importantly, Quinn said customers who try the V-8OOO may realize capital expenditure savings of 50 percent from the get-go, as well as operations savings as great as 60 percent.
The V-8000 aims to boost the efficiency of existing x86 servers by delivering I/O connectivity for machines, eliminating the need for excess network and storage adapters, disks and switch ports.
This is because the servers are stateless nodes that connect to virtual Network Interface Cards, virtual Host Bus Adapters, and virtual disks through the V-8000. Fewer connections to the storage area network (SAN) means significant capital savings, Quinn said, and because there is less to manage, operating expenditures are reduced, as well.
Servers may be deployed faster with the help of the V-8000, too. Because the V-8000 allows servers to be defined in advance, spare nodes can have new profiles applied in minutes rather than weeks. Moreover, network and storage interfaces have been pre-allocated to server profiles to eliminate the provisioning of those products.
Quinn said the V-8000 also offers a kind of "elastic" computing resource, thanks to service policies that allow networking and storage levels to be raised or lowered as application demand changes.
Finally, the V-8000 may go down but it won't stay down. In case of a failure, the V-8000 automatically fails over to a redundant V-8000 with redundant networking and storage interfaces.
3Leaf enters a competitive computer server market, of which IBM, Sun Microsystems and HP command roughly three-quarters. However, Quinn pointed out, 3Leaf systems, recommended as pairs for $100,000 are intended to augment and support those companies' x86 servers, not replace them.
Evidence suggests there may be plenty of datacenter computing business to go around, even for startups like 3Leaf.
With IDC expecting money spent on IT consolidation projects to grow from $18.1 billion in 2004 to $24.7 billion in 2009, virtualization software sales are expected to rise from $340 million to $15 billion during that period.
That should provide more than enough opportunity for 3Leaf to succeed, Quinn said.
http://www.internetnews.com/storage/article.php/3674706
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