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Domain: compal.com

Stories and comments across the archive that link to compal.com.

Comments · 10

  1. Manufacturer designs making headway by poity · · Score: 3, Informative · on The Laptop Supply Chain

    While large manufacturers build machines on exclusive designs from resellers like Dell, IBM, HP, Sony, etc., many of these same manufacturers have thier own branded designs available through smaller resellers.

    These manufacturer designs are cheaper because they are often sold unbranded. They also experience shorter timespans between hardware revisions because they don't have to wait for those exclusive design specs from resellers, and thus often have the latest components in their models months ahead of those from the major resellers.

    ASUS, one of the largest manufacturers in Asia, supplies Apple with Powerbooks, iPod shuffle & minis, Sony with many of their laptops, and have been an on-and-off builder for IBM in the past (there was a report in March of ASUS in major talks with Lenovo to be their supplier in the future), among other famous names. This is one of the many well-kept secrets in the laptop industry.

    ASUS has seen their own laptop line more than double in sales since last year, mainly due to word of mouth between computer enthusiasts venturing into the laptop market.

    Major manufacturers who supply brand name resellers as well as popular specialty shops:

    ASUS
    Mitac
    Uniwill
    Clevo
    Compal

    Some resellers (VoodooPC, Falcon Northwest, Hypersonic, ABS, and Alienware among others) add some paint and a label (and, like good captalists, at least $500 to the pricetag) to these machines to come up with their own specialty models. Many other less visible resellers (MWave, Discountlaptops, ISTNC, Proportable, and others) sell the exact same machines unbranded in customizable barebone configurations for incredibly low prices.

    As computer enthusiasts ditch their unwieldy desktops for portable solutions, we will find manufacturer brands becoming more and more visible to the general public, and large brands will have even more competition.

  2. Re:local Consumption ? by cowbutt · · Score: 1 · on China to Be Laptop Leader
    Expecting the label to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth is naive.

    I have a Toshiba Satellite 3000-214 which I know is essentially the Compal ACL-00. The label says "Assembled in Europe" (Germany, I think), but that implies manufactured elsewhere, probably China or Taiwan.

    In the UK it's common practice for consumer electronics to be assembled here, typically by factories funded significantly by government "regional (re)development" grants. Doing so allows goods to be considered as "made in the EU" and thereby avoid import tariffs based on the price of the finished product.

    --

  3. Re:my dell...*another* anecdote... by morcheeba · · Score: 1 · on Dell Introduces Laptop With WUXGA

    Different compainies actually make dell's notebooks... The Inspiron 5000 (which is similar to the 7000 and 7500) is made by compal, while your Latitude was made by Quanta. That's got to be quite a problem for Dell... you'll only hear the horror stories from the worst notebook they sell. Personally, my PII Inspiron is still going great after 5 years... I cleaned/jiggled the backlight inverter board to fix an intermittent outage, and replaced a broken hinge (It's stood up very well to the abuse I give it!), and it still works like new!

  4. Linux/No-OS laptop vendors by mcelrath · · Score: 5, Informative · on Windows Refund Day II
    Having recently purchased a laptop, I extensively researched the companies that will sell laptops with no-OS or Linux preinstalled. This information is distressingly difficult to find, so I present a list below. I encourage you all to vote with your dollar and do not send a single penny to the monopoly in Redmond.

    You should realize though that most of these companies purchase the hardware from companies like Sager (Linux forum) and Compal, and those companies also supply the big-name guys like Compaq, HP, Dell, and Toshiba. So when you find some no-name laptop, it is usually equivalent to some branded laptop that never touched the hands of HP/Compaq/Toshiba/Dell. (And figuring out exactly *which* brand-name laptop it is equivalent to can be extremely difficult) Some of the below claim to manufacture their own notebooks, but what this means is that they buy them from Saeger/Compal or someone else, and put in a hard drive/CPU/RAM, which is why you will find identical looking cases at several of these vendors.

    If you find a HP/Compaq/Toshiba/Dell/IBM/Sony branded laptop that has linux preinstalled, it means that the vendor paid for windows and removed it. I do not list them below because I think this is a despicable and deceptive practice. These manufacturers do not (yet) sell no-os or linux laptops. (But please, call them and ask!! The squeaky wheel gets the grease!) Also if you order a no-OS laptop, please request linux to be installed anyway, and tell them you'll pay for it! Let them know there is demand!

    1. Linux-preinstalled laptops
    2. ASA Computers
    3. ASLab (Linux Forum)
    4. American Computer
    5. Cyclox
    6. Kachina Tech (positively ancient laptops -- K6 and PII)
    7. QLI Tech
    8. Workstation 2000
    1. No-os laptops
    2. ARM Computer
    3. Chem USA
    4. Mtech Laptops (these guys outright lied to me about what they could deliver, in order to get my order, were not able to deliver the laptop, and I had to cancel my order -- which took 3 months to process and they kept $5 for the priviledge -- do not do business with them)
    5. PC Torque
    6. Power Notebooks (very good customer service according to Reseller Ratings) (Linux forum)
    7. Xtreme Notebooks

    -- Bob

  5. Re:And ... So? by marxmarv · · Score: 5, Insightful · on 'White Box' Makers Take Up The Slack
    But I don't think anyone really ever disagreed with his final point: "The lesson: Publicly traded companies are not the whole computer industry, and the publicly traded stock market is not the whole economy." Was this ever a source of controversy?
    This article wasn't published in a trade publication, but in a daily newspaper. Most often the business press wants to hide facts like this from the average Joe, and it's good to see reminders of that in print every now and again so I don't get the urge to fsck myself with another salaried job.

    The reason Dell and Gateway and large manufacturers are so important have to do with the support contracts they offer,
    White box firms can roll almost instantaneously and often have parts and systems in stock.
    the shipping options,
    See above.
    the warranties,
    See above.
    the phone support,
    Ah, here's a possible failing of the small retailer. The phone support is often relatively weak -- but phone support is pretty much a non-issue when you have minimally sharp desktop people of your own on hand (which you do, if you're a large company).
    the willingness and ability to ship next-day in the event of component failure
    White box companies can roll almost instantaneously and often have parts and systems in stock.
    In short, the security blanket that makes department managers at large companies feel comfortable purchasing those systems.
    Corporations are best known for swallowing their own bullshit. It's the same reason COTS software is so prevalent in large organizations, the same reason schmucks pay six and seven figures for crap like Vignette or BroadVision or Dynamo: they want someone they think they can blame, even if they can't.
    But [the typical purchasing manager] doesn't know them and here enters the important issue of brand value, identity, and leverage.
    Better the devil you do know than the devil that lives entirely in one's mind? It's just another excellent example of the corporation swallowing its own bullshit. I once had a manager describe in hushed tones the Aura of the Brand, of how a brand represents an experience, much like how an infant saying "ma-ma" /* FIXME needs localization */ results in the goddess figure of its life appearing.

    Except when it doesn't.

    Ladies and gentlemen, we have put the economy and our very lives in the hands of imaginary colossal infants, and THEY NEED SPANKED.

    Not to mention that the Dells and Gateways can, in fact, ship in the hundreds of units per day, manufacture in the thousands per week and purchase components in the billions of dollars per year. That's why they're important and has that really ever been a mystery?
    And this is important why? This is worth paying extra and getting depersonalized service to who? White-box builders are no less capable of shipping hundreds of barebones systems per day, to order. Dell and Compaq both OEM their finished notebooks from an outfit called Compal. They're not a contract manufacturer, but a turnkey solution for notebook design and manufacturing.

    This is what several companies do for the white box market.

    This reporter got a good story and then took the wrong angle.
    For PHBs and others invested in the worldwide corporate circle-jerk, perhaps. As it is, it's a testament to partial decentralization.

    -jhp

  6. Compal Electronics N38W2 . . . by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0 · on How Much Are You Paying For A Nameplate?

    . . . is the same as the Dell Inspiron 5000/5000e.
    And if you were to go on their web site, you will see that their `road map' is . . . well, a road map.

  7. Another by RainbowSix · · Score: 5, Informative · on How Much Are You Paying For A Nameplate?

    One of the other big names is Compal.

    Read this for more information and specific model numbers.

    I just bought a "Toshiba 3005" from them, and since they don't come default operating systems I didn't have to may the M$ tax and get an extra battery instead.

  8. Re:Digital Networks United Kingdom by cowbutt · · Score: 2 · on Linux Laptop Recommendations for 2002?
    Heh. Well, a little detective work seems to indicate that my Toshiba 3000-214 is actually a Compal ACL00 as sold by ChemBook and others.

    For more info, check out DiscountLaptops and PowerNotebooks. It's a shame that laptops are much more expensive in the UK and that our Tier 3 vendors only seem to sell ASUS (in the case of Hi-Grade) and Clevo. Both of which are OK, but it'd be nice to have a few alternatives.

    --

  9. What about the Inspiron 5000's "clones"? by SaxMaster · · Score: 2 · on Dell Notebooks Catch On Fire!

    Dell didnt design the Inspirion 5000 or 5000e. Compal did. Both computers are rebadged Compal N30W series machines. I know because I'm typing this message on one :) (mine's sold as the MilwaukeePC Nomad 1500) It gets hot, and ironically enough when I need an extra battery I borrow one from my friend who has an Inspiron 5000 :) To the point: WILL MY INSPIRON CLONE CATCH FIRE? I dont know if we use the same battery vendors, but they're certainly compatible.

  10. What about the Inspiron 5000's "clones"? by SaxMaster · · Score: 2 · on Dell Notebooks Catch On Fire!

    Dell didnt design the Inspirion 5000 or 5000e. Compal did. Both computers are rebadged Compal N30W series machines. I know because I'm typing this message on one :) (mine's sold as the MilwaukeePC Nomad 1500) It gets hot, and ironically enough when I need an extra battery I borrow one from my friend who has an Inspiron 5000 :) To the point: WILL MY INSPIRON CLONE CATCH FIRE? I dont know if we use the same battery vendors, but they're certainly compatible.