July 30, 2001

Hewlett-Packard Co. plans to outsource at 700,000 digital cameras with a resolution of 1,3 million and 2,1 million pixel respectively. The total order has a value of US$80 million, a local economic daily reported.

According to the reportr, HP sent inquiries to several Taiwan camera manufacturers.

In 2000, HP promoted its high-performance inkjet printers by giving away 1.3 million pixel digital cameras to buyers. The promotional campaign met the company's expectations, inspiring HP to repeat it this year or early next year.

Taiwan's leading digital-camera manufacturers, including Premier, the biggest one, and Primax Electronics are scrambling for the contracts.

In 2000, the heavyweight printer suppliers contracted Taiwan's Altek Corp., and Asia Optical Co. Ltd, to supply it with 800,000 digital cameras Local industry insiders expect Asia Optical to be one of the contractors again this year.

For Taiwan's digital camera makers the HP order would be a blessing, as their sales have been lukewarm recently.

In related news, Primax recently announced that it had received major orders for digital cameras from three Japanese firms. The company delivered about 200,000 digital cameras in 200, including 60,000 pieces to Minolta. The other delivery where low-end PC cameras. Primax estimates that 2 million-plus pixel digital models would account for more than 30% of its production this year.