Fab cos now drive PC designs
The PC market in India has taken the unconventional route with major chip makers like Intel and AMD coming out with new designs for computers that appeal to masses both in terms of price and value. The conventional PC dies not seem to be the preferred bet for those looking at increasing penetration of the Indian market as chip makers and hardware manufacturers are coming out with new form factors which suit Indian conditions.
If Intel has come out with its Classmate PC, which is more of a miniature form of notebook computer, then AMD has designed new form factor PCs where the central processing unit (CPU) has been shrunk to a minimal size. AMD’s designed product is being manufactured and marketed by Wipro Infotech under the brand name Protos. Alok Ohrie, MD, AMD India says that they are tying to facilitate a computing environment for the masses and thereby create a new market.
These new form factor PCs are not just about designs itself as they are competitively priced too. The protos comes with a price tag of Rs.14000 at the entry level while Intel’s Classmate PC comes with a bundled cost of around Rs.17000.
However, Ashutosh Vaidya, Wipro personal computing, Wipro Infotech, says it is not just the question of price which will drive these PCs but the value and functionality it generates. In case of Protos, it can be run on a 12 volt battery and can withstand extreme weather conditions and has all the features of a normal PC.
Mr.Vaidya said it is looking at adding more applications on Protos and would like to make it a more solution oriented machine. In the case of Classmate PC, Intel is targeting the education sector especially schools since the machine is more attuned to children.
According to IDC, the installed PC base in the country recorded a CAGR of 32.3% to grow from 9.5 million in 2003 to cross 22 million in 2006, thereby more than doubling in a three year time frame.
Kapil Dev Singh, Country Manager, IDC India said that the country has one PC for every 50 Indians. He said that this represents a watershed era in the history of the Indian PC market. He also said that they still have miles to go as a country to evolve an ecosystem that would help to that the benefits of computerisation reach of masses.
For players like Intel, AMD, Wipro Infotech and HCL Infosystems, it is not just a question of the masses having access ti PCs and broadband but also tapping future market potential. Mr.Ohrie said the innovations have already been getting a positive response from the marketplace especially with the small business community and first-time users.
