For last month and probably into 4Q 2005, motherboard shipments for Asus (Asustek), Gigabyte, ECS and MSI have risen from the same number shipped last year, and all four have a higher growth percentage than last year. The article is almost entirely figures, so I bet you are thinking 'why is this important'?
This is good for consumers and enthusiasts. More motherboards being shipped means more at the stores. Higher volume at the stores means the more likely a particular vendor will have a sale or a combo for them. More means lower prices, because of increased volume in distribution. More ASUS and Gigabyte mean more performance boards and more ECS means more hobby boards. In short, more is better for enthusiasts! Asustek had a highest-ever month in revenue for August, with nearly $1 Billion USD, and over 400,000 notebooks shipped. Nearly half a million notebooks from one vendor in a month, definitely showing a lot of interest in notebook hardware. As back-to-school kicks in, a lot of vendors are going to be competing. Competition is a good thing.