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Shamik Paul

Bangalore, May 14

Computer sales might have declined marginally in 2008, but it is hardly a deterrent for personal computer (PC) makers launching new models.

While some vendors feel this is the right time to introduce devices with higher productivity and efficiency, others said the need for technology refresh continues in spite of a drop in volume.

Dell has gained share across segments due to new launches and expects new product announcements over the next few months, said Mr Sameer Garde, Country General Manager, Dell India.

Recently, Dell launched the new Precision workstations and the Adamo series of notebooks among other products. “The new products and services offer great return over investment (RoI) at all times but has become even more relevant in different economic conditions,” Mr Garde said.

Hewlett-Packard, too, has introduced new products including the HP Z Workstation series and the HP EliteBook 8,000 series notebooks.

“The environment makes little difference as customers are looking for solutions for better RoI,” said Ms Deepti Dang, Head of Marketing - Commercial & SMB, Personal Systems Group, HP.

Ms Dang said the new workstations can offer savings that are equal to the cost of the machines in three months. HP would introduce notebooks and desktops in the enterprise as well as in the mid-market space in the next two-three months, she added.

In tough times such as this, volumes may be down but the need for product refresh continues to be there, said Mr S. Rajendran, Chief Marketing Officer, Acer India. Product refresh helps a company keep running ahead of the competition, he added.

Acer recently launched its Nettop or a small form factor computer targeted at first-time users, especially in the Tier I and Tier II cities. The PC penetration in India is low, but if the market is addressed in a different way, the penetration can actually improve, Mr Rajendran said.

Technology refresh including new processors that are launched by chip makers as part of their product roadmap has greater influence over the PC industry than the slowdown, said Mr Diptarup Chakraborti, Principal Research Analyst, Gartner.

He said the demand for PCs is very dynamic and users ask for newer configuration, which might not necessarily be more expensive. Fresh products also create an excitement that causes consumers to come into the market, and it is a marketing pull, he added.

In spite of decreasing investments on PCs, India continues to be an attractive market due to factors such as demographics, nascent nature of PC deployments and the increasing awareness on the benefits of PCs, said Mr Jaivinder Singh Gill, Executive Director, Commercial Business, Lenovo India.

In the home segment, Lenovo recently launched the H200 and IdeaCentre A600 desktops that offer energy and cost savings.

“It is important to give consumers higher value for their purchase during a downturn when price assumes greater significance,” said Mr Peng Yang, Director, Consumer COE India, Lenovo.

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