PCs get a wow factor

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Monday , March 31, 2008 at 0142 hrs Don’t look now, the PC industry is changing! First notebooks (the fastest growing segment of the computer industry) tried to add a personal touch. Next came brand ambassadors and clever promotions. And now, the notebooks are getting ready to walk the ramp. Leading PC vendors are mingling their product lines with fashion to make a style statement. It’s clearly one of the boldest steps in the PC’s journey from a staid old, boring beige box to a lifestyle product and a fashion statement.

As notebooks don new colours and styles, the industry is rebooting to be in sync. Hewlett-Packard (HP) marketing heads, for one, walked the ramp with Serena Williams to show off their new designer notebooks. You couldn’t miss the fashion statement they made at Wills India Fashion Week. Earlier, they collaborated with MTV to launch a PC design competition. Lenovo is also preparing for the glitz as it launches its new notebooks with frameless screens, touch-sensitive control surfaces and novel textures. Acer conducted intense focus group studies across continents before launching its Gemstone design.

And the design revolution is catching on. “Design is no more a thrust for Apple and Toshiba alone. In mid-2008, we expect Fujitsu Siemens to come out with a new consumer desktop and notebook portfolio, representing a complete design overhaul,” says Eszter Morvay, senior research analyst, IDC’s EMEA PC Group, looking after PC research in Western Europe.

In a clear bid to woo the home consumer segment, the PC industry is raising its style quotient. The reasons are not far to seek. Notebook PC shipment to home and

SOHO (small office home office) grew at 166% during the third quarter over the same period last year and constituted 43% of total notebook sales. While young professionals, students and women are on their radar, PC vendors are primarily eyeing the youth—seen to be driving the car and mobile phone boom in the country.