Inventec Corp chairman Richard Lee confirmed Tuesday, September 22, the company is making Xiaomi Inc’s first notebook computer product in China, with shipments set to begin in the first half of next year, Taipei Times reports.

“I am upbeat about the business outlook for Xiaomi’s notebook computers, as the firm has more than 200 million registered smartphone users,” Lee told reporters on the sidelines of the 12th cross-strait forum on technical standards for information technology held in New Taipei City.

Lee said Xiaomi is likely to adopt the same smartphone business strategy for its laptop products — which is different from other companies’ conventional way of selling servers, desktop and notebook computers.

“I am not sure if the smartphone approach will be applicable to notebooks, but I expect Xiaomi’s entry into the notebook industry to bring something new to the market,” Lee said.

Subsidiary Inventec Appliance Corp, which assembles Xiaomi’s smartphones, is to jointly design and manufacture the Chinese company’s first notebook products in Inventec’s plants in China, Lee said.