Weaker-than-expected sales of Google's second-generation Nexus 7 may cause Quanta Computer, the manufacturer of the tablet, to be unable to reach its tablet shipment goal of 20 million units for 2013. Quanta declined to comment on its clients, but said that the company is indeed having pressure achieving the goal it set in early 2013.
Some market watchers estimate that Quanta may reduce its tablet shipment target for 2013 by 35-40% to only 12-13 million units.
Quanta currently has orders for Amazon's Kindle tablets and Google's second-generation Nexus 7; however, because of the high price of the Nexus 7, the device's sales were weaker than expected. Google has not yet announced the sales of its second-generation Nexus 7.
Google currently prices its 16GB Wi-Fi-based Nexus 7 at US$229, 32GB Wi-Fi-based one at US$269 and 32GB LTE-based model at US$349. However, compared to competitors' close-to-US$100 7-inch tablets, the new Nexus 7 has failed to pose a strong attraction to consumers.
Since the entry-level tablet market has already been dominated by US$100 7-inch tablets and consumers would rather choose Apple's iPad mini if wishing to purchase a higher-end product, it has put the new Nexus 7 in a rather awkward position, the sources noted.
For 2014, since Google will not cooperate with Asustek Computer for the third-generation Nexus 7, Quanta will lose a major tablet client and since its Kindle tablet orders from Amazon has also been partly taken by Compal Electronics, the Taiwan-based ODM is expected to see limited tablet shipment growth this year.
