Rumors are circulating that long time enthusiast motherboard brand “abit” might be on the ropes, this time from the previous “savior” corporate parent, Universal. According to the source the company will determine if staying in the motherboard business makes sense after seeing how Intel’s P4-series of chipset launches plays out – talk about a no-pressure situation, huh?
UPDATE: I just saw that Kyle @ HardOCP talked with Thore Welling of Universal abit about this issue who had this to say:
In fact, particularly over the past 12 months we have been able to considerably increase market share not only in traditional markets such as Western Europe, but even stronger so in emerging markets such as East Asia as well as in the Middle East.
…
We have no intention what-so-ever to pull out of motherboards.
Well, there you have it. Let the debate rage on!
Second-tier motherboard maker Abit is reportedly considering phasing out of the motherboard market after evaluating its shipment performance of Intel 4 series motherboards, according to channel sources.
Abit, however, maintains it does not know anything about the speculation and will continue to develop motherboard products.
Abit has failed to meet the expectations of parent company Universal Scientific Industrial (USI) in its ability to compete with fellow second-tier makers in terms of performance, or first-tier makers in terms of pricing in the mid-range and entry-level market, and so the company is evaluating whether to quit the market and start developing other products for the Abit brand, noted the sources.
In 2007, Abit shipped 2-3 million motherboards and had set a goal to ship six million units in 2008. However, the company’s current shipments to date in 2208 have actually decreased. Abit will determine whether to stay in the market after evaluating its shipments performance of P45-based motherboards, added the sources.
