Asus Planning 11.6 inch Eee Netbook

Asustek plans to launch an 11.6-inch version of its Eee PC netbook later this month, DigiTimes is reporting.

The 11.6-inch netbook is expected to account for 30 percent of Asustek’s total shipments. The 10-inch model, the paper reports, will still be considered the mainstream specification for 2009 and will account for 50 percent of the company’s total shipments.

The paper additionally reports that Asustek’s 2009 sales forecast for ultra-thin notebooks is 10 percent, with the potential to reach 20 percent in 2010, while Acer expects the ultra-thin notebooks to account for 50 percent of its 2009 notebook sales.

Acer, which ranks below only HP and Dell for U.S. and worldwide PC shipments, recently reported a net profit of $60.3 million (£40.1m)  for the first quarter of 2009 — a fall of 31 percent from a year earlier — which has been attributed, in part, to its need to move its netbooks to 10-inch screens.

Asus, which is not among the top-five PC manufacturers, reported first quarter 2009 revenue of approximately $1.4 billion (£900m) which was 26.6 percent below revenues from the same quarter the previous year.

Netbooks, or mini-notebooks, are generally priced below $600 (£399), and this price point has made them the saving grace of the PC market, in an economy that has otherwise discouraged sales.

Netbook shipment numbers are expected to increase by 68.5 percent in 2009, and 39.6 percent in 2010, with approximately 31 million units shipping, according to research Firm iSuppli.

iSuppli has also suggested that as the economy improves, netbook numbers may decline.

According to DigiTimes, Asus president Jerry Shen said his company additionally plans to launch the XS15, a 15.6-inch mid-range to high-end notebook based on Intel’s CULV (consumer ultra low voltage) chip, as well as a 13.3-inch notebook..