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Raja Simhan T.E.

Mr Moninder Jain

Chennai , July 18

THE mouse and keyboards have been essential parts of any personal computer (PC). So far, these have been mostly wired, but the trend is fast changing in India. Both the peripherals are increasingly becoming wireless, according to Mr Moninder Jain, Country Manager, Logitech Electronic India Pvt Ltd, part of Logitech, and a $1.5-billion computer peripherals devices technology major.

Six months back, Logitech India used to sell around 1,000 pieces a month of wireless mouse and keyboard. The number is today around 5,000, and is expected to reach around 10,000 by the year-end. The wireless concept has just picked up, and the volume is miniscule at this point (around 3.63 million PCs were sold in India in 2004-05). However, but the growth rate is pretty impressive, he told Business Line.

Wireless peripherals are not only easy to handle, but also safe for health. A number of PC users has been complaining of backaches and wrist-related problems using a wired mouse or a keyboard since the person's posture would be restricted. However, a wireless peripheral allows the user the freedom to use the way he/she feels comfortable, he said.

There is not much difference in cost between a wired mouse and a wireless one. A good quality wired mouse costs around Rs 1,500 and wireless around Rs 2,500. A person spending Rs 35,000 to Rs 40,000 on a PC would not mind spending a couple of thousand rupees more on a wireless product that is safe for one's health and comfortable to handle.

According to Mr Jain, Logitech recently launched another cordless product - the Bluetooth headset called Logitech Mobile Freedom Headset, which is a hands-free telecom peripheral. Bluetooth is a protocol that enables data exchange between electronic devices such as desktop computer, wireless phones, electronic organisations and printers within 10 metres range.

The potential in India for Bluetooth mobile devices is huge. India is one of the fast growing mobile handsets market in the world.

The total number of mobile subscribers as of May end stands at around 53.65 million, and by 2007 it is expected that there will be 180-200 million mobile phones. The number of mobile subscribers increased from 33.6 million to more than 52.1 million during last year. Most handsets that now enter the market offer Bluetooth interfacing as a standard feature, he said.

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