Asus Eee: Threat to Apple, Microsoft, HP, Dell and the Hard Drive Vendors?

The Internet has made market research much simpler. Amazon is a gift to investors: it's an important data source for online sales, and provides listings of its bestsellers, most gifted and most wished for products. Those lists make interesting reading.

Look at Amazon's Laptops Bestseller List, for example. The top 3 products are:

1. HP's Pavillion
2. Sony's VAIO
3. Nokia's Internet Tablet

In fact, HP has 5 of the top 10 laptops, Sony 4 and Nokia 1. Surprisingly, Apple notebooks don't appear in the Bestsellers list. Perhaps consumers just prefer to buy Apple laptops directly from Apple, and pay the local sales tax...

However, the Most Gifted in Computers & PC Hardware List tells a different story. The top 3 products are:

1. Apple MacBook (1 GB RAM)
2. Nokia Internet Tablet
3. Apple MacBook (2 GB RAM)

Of the top 10 sellers, Apple holds 3 slots, HP 3 slots, Asus 2 slots, and Nokia one slot.

Asus? Taiwanese PC manufacturer Asustec offers a tiny laptop called the Asus Eee (pictured right). It weighs less than 2 pounds, is bump and shock resistent, and sells for $399 or $499 depending on the storage.

The Eee's appearance on one of Amazon's bestseller lists is a critical milestone for the PC manufacturers: Internet connectivity and online apps have become good enough that local storage and processing matter less. And that means a new generation of popular, highly portable laptops that cost under $500.

The Asus Eee and its ilk haven't yet made a dent in the revenues or margins of Apple (AAPL), Dell (DELL) or HP (HPQ). But before investors in those stocks get complacent, they should check out Amazon's Most Wished For Notebooks list.

Oh, and did I mention that the Asus Eee doesn't use Microsoft (MSFT) Windows, and has no hard disk drive from Seagate (STX), Western Digital (WDC) or the other hard disk drive manufacturers? If the Eee marks the beginning of a new trend in laptops, it's not good news for those stocks.

If you want to find out which companies do supply components for the Asus Eee, the Internet has also made that easier. Seeking Alpha's search function scans all the free articles and conference call transcripts we publish. So it's easy to see which companies' transcripts come up in a search for Asus.

Comments

[Macbth:]

Most likely this time of year the “most gifted list” would be the best list to be on -

2008 Jan 01 05:28 PM

[top_tier:]

Actually currently Apple has the number 10 spot. Interestingly though, it's weird, Apple had 3 of the top 10 laptops for most of December as pointed out (and earlier), so they were obviously the best gift. So I guess sales tax does matter to many. Then again my guess is the quantity of any laptop sale on Amazon after xmas drops off dramatically, so currently the top ten list is not as meaningful.

Wouldn't be surprised though (now that the top 10 Amazon list seems to be getting much more focus than ever before) if there's certain players out there that will try to manipulate this list. So I doubt it will be much of an indicator in years to come. As example, it would be cheaper for a company to buy its own product back through Amazon than advertise in more conventional means when considering the difference in paying for Amazons profit for said product versus conventional advertising. The Amazon best seller list has become free advertising as Amazon becomes increasingly used as a tracking model for sales.

Watch for Apple earnings, that will tell the real story.

2008 Jan 01 06:42 PM

[top_tier:]

By the way, can anyone take seriously Asus Eee being on the Most Wished For Notebooks list? Yes, that would be a, HELL no. There's obvious a retail kind of spamming going on here. I mean, come on, as cheap as it is why wish for it, just go buy it with the spare change in your piggy bank.lol

2008 Jan 01 06:49 PM

[Dor Kalev:]

Apparently, there were some that took the humble decision not to decide between a shiny MacBook and an Eee and created this mongrel: www.tuaw.com/2007/11/1.../

During the last few years we've seen hackers from all around the world installing Apple OS X on practically everything that has a CPU.

Is it the time for Apple to open their amazing OS to other hardware platforms? I wonder what it would do the PC market if users could choose it.

2008 Jan 01 07:19 PM

[drb:]

The problem with relying on Amazon for accurate information is that a lot of Apple products (laptops, iPods, etc.) get sold either through the Apple On-Line Store or through Apple Stores and those sales don't get folded into Amazon's lists.... So it is kind of ignorant to use Amazon as an indicator if Apple products are any part of the analysis.

2008 Jan 01 07:20 PM

[Monty:]

Jackson must be high, or kept reloading the page over and over again for one moment where it supported his thesis. I've been watching the same list for over a month, and Apple has usually been #1, with HP #3 and the Nokia tablet or Kindle as #2. Even this very second, Apple is #2, #5 and #6. Looks like just another idiot spouting ridiculous nonsense rather than taking more than a minute to back up his story.

2008 Jan 01 10:58 PM

[Thoughtful:]

MacWorld is in two weeks--new models coming out? Who's gonna buy now when you can decide between a great sale price on the previous models or the great new ones. I'm telling everyone who asks me to wait until then to purchase.

2008 Jan 01 11:02 PM

[Long-Short Guy:]

Apple is planning a similar product, to be launched at MacWorld:

Report: Apple Planning Flash-Based MacBook
seekingalpha.com/artic...

2008 Jan 02 12:35 AM

[Lisa:]

From Eight Predictions for MacWorld 2008 seekingalpha.com/artic...

- Mac sub-notebook - a number of Apple rumor sites have reported that an ultra-light, 13 inch notebook featuring solid state storage is in the works and may be introduced at MacWorld. While I have no specific insider knowledge on this, a 7-12 inch ultra light notebook with limited solid state storage under $800 ( along the lines of ASUS Eee model ) is sure to spark a lot of interest in the Mac platform by new converts and old Apple followers alike.

2008 Jan 02 01:27 AM

[David Jackson:]

Monty, I'm not saying that this proves that Apple's laptop sales will be weak. In fact, the Apple stores I visited during the run up to the holidays were always mobbed.

I'm just saying that the Amazon lists are based on real data, so they shouldn't be ignored. At the very least, they require some thought and explanation, not a knee-jerk reaction.

2008 Jan 02 01:31 AM

[MarkyMark:]

Either the author didn't do his homework or Amazon's info is inaccurate. The Asus EEE's are listed as pre-order only. How could they really top any sales list if they're only available for pre-order?

2008 Jan 02 11:31 AM

[Long-Short Guy:]

You can buy it on pre-order and commit to pay for it.

2008 Jan 04 08:55 AM

[Long-Short Guy:]

Or alternatively, that's why it's "Most Wished For" and not "Most Purchased".

2008 Jan 04 08:56 AM