"Brand vendor clients" probably meaning Dell, one suspects.
"HTC is not just doing contract business, but has also tried to be a brand vendor," said Mr. Cheng.
Microsoft reportedly has called off a plan to mass produce its small-size Surface Mini tablet because of fierce compeition in the small-size tablet segment, as well as negative responses from its brand vendor clients, according to sources from the upstream supply chain.
Still, at $55 a pop, some enterprising off-brand vendor might see VIA's chip as a bargain and offer it in an ultra low-cost notebook PC.
DRAM shortages, which started in early 2013, have become worse recently and may impact PC brand vendors' performances in the second quarter, according to sources from PC players.
Many who run intensive simulations, for example, pass up packages from I.B.M. and other name-brand vendors for cheaper groups of linked computers known as Beowulf clusters.
In June 2011, Acer and Samsung launched their Chromebooks ahead of other PC brand vendors, but by the end of July, Acer had reportedly only sold 5,000 units and Samsung was said to have had even lower sales than Acer, according to sources from the PC industry.
By partnering up with local brands, vendors, merchants etc., Poncho has a real opportunity to convert an informational service into a promotional one.
"With the cost and time-to-market advantages afforded by their Chinese supply chain… small-to-micro brand vendors are eating up tablet market share.
The rise of small-to-micro brand vendors has proved that there is a demand in for entry-level Android tablets in every country and in every region," writes Shanghai-based Analyst James Wang.
