Laptops at a Cheaper Rate

The good news - laptops are definitely getting cheap and noticeably more affordable.The intense competition among manufacturers is driving prices ever lower. As new processors such as AMD's 64 bit X2 chip and Intel's core 2 duo are released on to the market, retailers are keen to shift older models. They do this by reducing the price and offering coupons and significant discounts to the consumer.

eBay India, one of the leading online marketplaces, has kicked off a laptop sale. This is the biggest online laptop sale in the country till date.

The sale comprises of attractive deals on the laptops of leading brands such as Zenith, HCL, Toshiba and Sahara. Under this offer Sahara HJ04 laptop, available at only Rs. 24,883, features The Intel PM 1.6 with 256 MB and a 40 GB HDD, also has a DVD Writer, a 14.1” Screen, Wifi and comes with a Reliance Data Card, a web camera and 4 USBs. Also a special Carry Bag and a Canon Colour printer will be offered at no additional cost.

Likewise eBay has many more deals to offers for Indian customers.

According to Rathin Lahiri, Chief Marketing Officer, eBay India, “An online Laptop Sale with an unmatched array of brands available at unbeatable prices…it cannot get bigger than this. This offer is sure to resonate with the tech-savvy online buyers with interests in cool gadgets,”

Interested buyers will have to hurry up as the laptop sale has already started and its last date is 30th Sept. Buyers can log on to http://shopping.ebay.in/promotion/laptop.php to take advantage of great offers.

Allied Computers International (Asia) Ltd, which launched a Rs 19,999 laptop in India last year, plans to go a step further by offering a compact laptop costing around Rs 15,000 by mid-2008.

ACi's CMD Hirji Patel said that following a good response to the sub-20k range of laptops, the company will open its own showrooms all over India and enter into tie-ups with supermarkets or malls and retail showroom franchisees.

It also plans to set up a manufacturing unit exclusively for laptops in Thane district, near Mumbai.

"We plan to increase our production from the existing 10,000 laptops to 100,000 per year. As a first step towards achieving this, we hope to garner Rs 60 million through the IPO which opened Friday," Patel said.

Patel managed to cut costs through innovations like providing an aluminum body rather than fiber or plastic.

Within the first three quarters of 2006 ACi captured 40 percent of the estimated total market of 250,000 laptops from the SME segment in India in which it operates.

"Now, the hostility to laptops in the Indian market has disappeared, and customers are choosing a laptop over a PC since the price barrier between them has been erased," Patel said.