Portability and convenience are fueling growth in the Gulf region’s mobile computing business with notebooks and netbooks steadily posting impressive sales figures, says an executive at Samsung Electronics Co Ltd.
“We see an opportunity in both the netbooks and notebooks market,” says Raj Varma, business head-notebooks of Samsung’s IT Sales Group, while remaining privy to the company’s laptop sales statistics for the second quarter.
In the first three months of 2010, however, Samsung recorded a 48.5-per-cent increase in notebooks and netbooks sales as against the same period last year. It is also expecting its laptop division to grow by a whopping 160 per cent this year with the launch of new series of laptop models, coupled with extensive marketing campaign across the region.
Samsung has attributed the growth to the increasing internet usage in the region, which has spurred demand for consumer electronics goods such as mobile computing devices.
According to
Internet World Stats, the GCC has an average internet penetration of 55.82 per cent as of June with Bahrain having the highest population with web access at 88 per cent, followed by the UAE with 75.9 per cent and Qatar with 51.8 per cent.
Another factor that has been driving consumer spending in the region is its relatively young and dynamic demographics. As of last month, majority or about 70 per cent of the region’s population consist of people between 15 and 64 years old, figures from the
CIA World Factbook have revealed.
Likewise, notebooks and netbooks tend to be a better option for the region’s huge expatriate population, who prefer to access their files – video, data and audio – while on the go.
Varma says netbooks represent a significant 26 per cent of their portable computer business, making them one of the top three netbook makers in the region. He added that
Samsung seeks to take advantage of their brand popularity by launching various types of notebook and netbook models this year.
Notebooks versus netbooks?
The region’s demographics offer a mixed market for notebooks and netbooks. Varma, however, was quick to point out that one device cannot be considered “more popular” than the other as each was created for specific purposes as required by certain types of users.
“Basically netbooks are for data accessing whereas notebooks are for data processing. There are certain segments of buyers, who are looking only at netbooks because of their portability. But there’s also a portion of users, who want to utilise data processing [so] they go for notebooks. There’s a demand for both,” he explained.
A recent survey conducted by Samsung, however, indicated changing consumer trends in UAE and Kuwait, two of the company’s major markets in the GCC.
According to Varma, the average entry level for a notebook buyer has gone down to as young as 16-18 years old – an interesting fact considering that when netbooks where created, it primarily targeted the student community.
“Students are not buying them (netbooks), [because] they want notebooks. They don’t want to compromise on specifications, which they consider the most important followed by design,” he said.
Netbooks’ appeal, meanwhile, has been growing among older people who often travel or those who want a device that they can use for sending emails or communicating with families and friends overseas via social networking, says Varma.
Consumer electronics manufacturers have likewise been introducing trendy designs and various colour ranges of laptop models to cater to various age and gender groups.
“There’s very little to differentiate hardware because every brand would have practically the same specs so what we’re trying to do is personalise the laptop,” Varma said.
Tapping UAE’s laptop market
This week, the Seoul-headquartered electronics company launched in the UAE their R-series of laptops, which include the R590 and R440 models, as well as the N-series of netbook models such as N-150 Plus and N-210.
Varma said the new netbook models will be priced between Dh1,299 and Dh1,799 ($354 and $490) while the notebooks will be sold with a price tag ranging from Dh2,100 to Dh5,000.
The company describes their R-series as a device that “combines looks with performance, which is normally found in top-of-the-range portable PCs.” The new notebook models boast of an Intel Core i5 processor, Nvidia GeForce 330M graphics card, advanced 3D graphics processing power and a dedicated 1GB DDR3 memory for users who want to play 3D video games or watch high-definition movies.
Meanwhile, Samsung said it has addressed two major user requirements in its new netbook models: longer battery life (each N-series model can run up to a maximum of 13.5 hours) and extensive wireless connectivity.
The same models will also be sold on August 15 to four other GCC countries, excluding the Saudi Arabian market, which Samsung has yet to enter, says Varma.
Consider also reading:
UAE electronics retail braves out the slump
Samsung Notebooks Show 180% Market Growth for Q2 2009
Asia PC shipments up 36pct to 27m in Q2
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