COMMART X-GEN THAILAND 2008
SASIWIMON BOONRUANG
Special discounts on notebook PCs at the show catch the attention of visitors. |
Notebook computers and netbooks based on the newly-launched Intel Atom processor dominated the show floor at Commart X-Gen Thailand 2008 last week where the overall IT spend at the four-day show was over three billion baht, with notebook purchases accounting for over two billion.
Notebooks, multimedia mobile phones and printers were the three best-selling categories at the show held at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre, according to exhibition organiser AR Information and Publication's general manager Pathom Indarodom.
He said the total notebook market this year was estimated to be around one million units, of which 300,000 would be netbooks.
"We expect that some 200,000 notebook PCs will be delivered by Commart exhibitions which are held three times a year," he said.
Notebook computers available at Commart last week ranged from 12,900 baht for an Acer model based on a Celeron processor to 112,990 baht for the 1.8GHz Core2 Duo MacBook Air.
Most of the multimedia phones were new brands from China, with only one big-brand manufacturer, HTC, showcasing its new smart phones.
Pathom noted that some 50,000 multimedia phones, priced from around 17,000 to 18,000 baht, were estimated to have shipped at Commart exhibitions for the whole year.
LCD monitors, especially HD-format, were being well-received by consumers as prices were becoming more attractive. However, MP3 players had become slow movers. All printer vendors were showing new products and visitors could buy multifunction devices for under 2,000 baht. Acer Computer was doing very aggressive marketing, providing product promotion brochures at BTS stations, and for the first time Acer was offering a promotion for a package of products: PCs with netbooks and notebooks with netbooks, with a 3,000 baht discount.
Lenovo showcased its IdeaPad U110, the star of Lenovo's stylish notebook collection and on show in Thailand for the first time.
With a frameless screen and weighing less than 1.13kg, the 11in. notebook caters to the highly mobile user who wants an ultraportable notebook with striking design and cutting-edge features.
Apart from hardware and gadgets, the software zone also attracted many visitors where the theme at Microsoft (Thailand) was "Licensed software, real and cheap," with Windows Vista Starter Edition at the special price of 999 baht. Windows XP and Vista were also offered at a discount, from 2,999 baht for Windows Vista Home Basic to 7,999 baht for Vista Ultimate.
Sales of consumer electronics including mobile phones, digital cameras, MP3 and MP4 players are forecast to grow by at least 15 per cent this year, and Prathom added that youngsters and teenagers were not loyal to brands, and would easily switch vendors if impressed by new products.
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