Vizio Inc., which shook up the market with inexpensive high-definition televisions, now wants to become a computer manufacturer.
The Irvine, Calif., company, which ranks as one of the top sellers of televisions in the U.S., plans to show a line of thin laptop computers and all-in-one desktop PCs running Microsoft Corp.'s Windows software next week at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
Vizio, which also produces Blu-ray players and a tablet, says it worked on its computer designs for two years in attempts to offer an aesthetic that competes with Apple Inc.'s popular products but at a lower price.
Vizio says it spent months, for example, shaving millimeters from its desktop computer so the central processing chip could hide in a sleek base while the screen stands attached to its thin aluminum neck.
Matthew McRae, Vizio's technology chief said.
"It doesn't look mechanical or industrial. The industrial design is something we sweat."
The closely held company said it is well aware it is entering an already crowded market. Hewlett-Packard Co., Lenova Group Ltd., Dell Inc., Acer Inc., Toshiba corp. and Asustek Computer Inc. are among the competitors that have staked out nearly all of the computer market. Most compete for attention from either price-conscious consumers or value-focused corporate customers.
One result has been continually falling prices and ever-tight profit margins. But Vizio said it believes its brand will entice consumers looking for distinctive designs at attractive pricing.
It is not yet specifying price points for its computers, which aren't expected to go on sale until May. But Mr. McRae said they will cost "substantially less" than comparable products from Apple. He said the company isn't shooting for the price range of low-end laptops, many of which sell for around $499.
The announcement comes as many other companies are trying to emulate Apple's ultra-thin MacBook Air—which starts at $999 for an 11-inch screen—with models called ultrabooks that mainly range in price from $899 to $1,400. Vizio isn't using the ultrabook moniker, but its laptops are also thin and offer screens ranging from 14 inches to 15.6 inches.
Vizio has been able to offer its televisions, accessories and tablets at lower prices by keeping a small staff and restricting itself to a smaller number of products. Vizio also standardizes many parts across its product line, allowing it to buy parts in bulk for cheaper prices.
The company expanded its lineup to include an 8-inch tablet, which uses Google Inc.'s Android mobile operating system. Vizio said its supply of the device—priced at $329, compared with the $499 entry price for Apple's 9.7-inch iPad—quickly sold out after the debut in August, marking unusual demand in a crowded market where few iPad rivals have done well.
Mr. McRae said.
"We underestimated demand."
He declined to disclose sales other than to say the company sold out of its initial inventory in four months and that unit sales are "way over six-figures."
Mr. McRae said his team is working on software that will help Vizio's televisions to share content, like movies, with its computers and tablets connected to a home network. That software, which Vizio said it plans to offer for competitors' laptops and tablets as well, will be part of a larger strategy to tie its line of products together.
A planned update of the software will help different devices interact with one another, Mr. McRae said. A customer watching "Two and a Half Men," for example, could open a program on his Vizio laptop that would tell him details about the episode, offer other information on the series and even connections to social networks.
Such features could help the company distinguish itself in the crowded PC market, said Tom Mainelli, an analyst at IDC.
He said.
"If they're smart about how they bundle these products together, and make it clear your Vizio PC will talk to your Vizio TV and media tablet, it could be pretty interesting. Customers want to share content across these devices."
COMMENTARY: According to Vizio CTO Matt McRae, speaking to Bloomberg, the company plans to unleash two brand-new desktop PCs and three notebooks at next week's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
The Financial Times reports that the two desktops are going to be a 24-inch and 27-inch all-in-one PCs, while the three notebooks are split into two "ultrabooks" – thin and light portable PCs at screen sizes of 14 inches and 15.6 inches – as well as a second 15.6-inch laptop that's alleged to deliver, "extreme portable performance."
The Vizio tablet will have an 8-inch (1024 x 768 pixels) capacitive touch screen, 1 GHz single-core processor, 512 MB of RAM, Android 2.3.2 Gingerbread operating system, 4 GB of built-in storage, microSD card slot (up to 32 GB), micro HDMI port, micro USB port, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, and VGA front-facing camera. For complete tech specs, you can visit the Vizio 8-inch tablet product page.
Click Image To Enlarge
Click Image To Enlarge
Checkout Newegg TV 's neat demo of the new Vizio 8-in Android tablet:
Vizio prefers to not call its laptops "ultrabooks," the moniker given to systems resembling Apple's MacBook Air that come with more jacked-up specs than a traditional (and chubbier) netbook. But the comparisons to Apple don't stop there for Vizio. The company's allegedly working to build an Apple-like look and feel into the systems it plans to unveil, but Vizio hopes to beat out Apple on price -- the second punch the one-two combination Vizio will use to appeal to consumers. Or, as McRae calls it, "a price that just doesn't seem possible."
McRae, in an interview with the Financial Times said.
"People ask why we're taking on an industry that has tough margins, a lot of long-established competitors, and is relatively stagnant, but we say that's exactly what the TV business was when we entered that market."
He added.
"We've built a business model and strategy to identify markets that have matured and have slowed and then turn them upside down. We are uniquely advantaged in attacking stale markets that have sleepy giants that are not moving the ball forward much."
I did like NewEgg's demonstration of Vizio's new 8-inch Android tablet. Appears to be a very cool, quick and easy-to-use tablet. The ability to expand from 4-gb (standard) to 32 -gb by adding a separate SD card is a great plus. If Vizio can sellout its net tablet at a price $329, this definitely presents a threat to Apple. It nearly matches the iPad 2 screen and offers similar features. But, did it make money on those tablets?
Courtesy of an article dated January 7, 2011 appearing in The Wall Street Journal and an article January 7, 2011 appearing in PC Magazine
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