[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]DiscountLaptops.com Sell Quality [/FONT]
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DiscountLaptops.com has been in the laptop business since 1995. Over time, we realized many of the so called "laptop manufacturers" produce what seemed to be, an identical product. This seemed odd to us, so we dug a little deeper. What we found was very interesting. Hopefully, the information below will shed some light on who is making what.....[/FONT]
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First, let me explain the different levels of manufacturing.[/FONT]
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[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Original Design Manufacturers - ODMs
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ODMs are the true manufacturers who actually cast, and assemble the main unit which includes the motherboard, outside casing, and display. A few examples of ODMs are Quanta, Compal, Clevo, Mitac, Asus, Aopen (Acer), Uniwill, and TwinHead-- probably companies you have never heard of before. But you have definitely seen their systems under other well known brand names. ODMs are usually located somewhere in Asia, and may have distribution centers in the US. ODMs distribute their product to Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs).[/FONT]
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Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs)
OEMs add the ram, processor, hard drive, and software to the systems. The OEMs perform final assembly and stick their label (Brand) to it, and call themselves manufacturers. In our opinion they are really service providers, not true manufacturers. Their products are then sold directly to dealers/resellers like DiscountLaptops.com or directly to the public (ie. DELL). If this doesn't make sense, think of the cell phone industry. You can by the same phone from many wireless service providers (i.e.. Sprint, AT&T, Cingular, etc..) the only difference is the label. The wireless company is simply a service provider, not the true manufacturer (i.e.. Nokia, Motorola, LG....)[/FONT]
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Lets move on. So, who makes Toshiba notebooks? One would assume Toshiba right? Nope, wrong. Toshiba actually buys their product from several ODM manufactures in Taiwan. To name a few, Compal, Clevo, and Mitac. OK, they may make a few (and I mean just a few) of their models themselves, but most are bought from other ODM manufacturers. Toshiba simply labels and services it. HP, same story. HP has been in the notebook business from the very beginning. They buy their systems from ODMs as well. Mitac, an ODM manufacturer gained strength in the notebook market from a large contract with Compaq (Compaq was acquired by HP). Unfortunately, HP has become mainly cost conscience as of late and their quality has slipped a bit. IBM buys from Quanta and and Arima. IBM is leaving the notebook and PC market as of recent news. DELL buys most of their systems from Aopen (Acer), Compal and Quanta. Most systems offered by ChemUSA are manufactured by Compal. Sony, HP, Sharp have all had, or still have contracts with TwinHead. Sager buys from Clevo. Clevo is the ODM for many boutique laptop shops such as Hypersonic PC, Alienware, Hollywood PC and many more.[/FONT]
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This brings us to our brands. I would call them manufacturers like everyone else, but as you know now, there are only a handful of true manufacturers (ODMs). Since only OEMS can buy directly from ODMs, our brands are all considered OEMs.[/FONT]