Taiwan-based notebook makers are already assembling notebooks with fixed 6 series chipsets as Intel's progress in fixing its defective chipsets is ahead of schedule and most of the makers already received new samples from Intel last week; therefore, notebook makers believe their shipments in March will rebound strongly, according to sources from notebook makers.

The sources pointed out that new notebook products will be able to ship to Europe and US channels by the end of February via air and will only see a 1-2 week delay compared to brand vendors' original launch schedules.

Makers originally estimated that 6-series chipset supply would need until April to fully recover; however, based on the current status, supply is likely to fully recover in March.

Market watchers believe Compal Electronics and Wistron have a chance to see their March revenues grow 30-40% on month, and the growth will continue until May, boosting their sequential shipment growth in the second quarter to a double-digit percentage.