Vietnam laptop market: Will be 'hot'!

In Vietnam, in 2005, the number of laptops sold increased by 100% compared to 2004, while desktop computers only grew at 20%. In 2006 the MTX market is promising a higher growth last year by a series of events to promote this market.

The product segment with a price of about USD 1,000 is still being targeted by most of the domestic and foreign brands, and compared to 2005, in the first 5 months of 2006, the configuration for products under USD 1,000 significantly stronger. Elsewhere, unlike desktop computers, the laptop playground in Vietnam still belongs to foreign manufacturers, they are holding the majority of market share.

The "events" below $ 1,000

• Opening in 2006, January, HP announced the sale of HP Compaq Presario M2235AP laptop (Intel Celeron M 370J - 1.5GHz processor) priced at 777 USD; The first 100 customers will also receive a voucher worth VND 200,000.

- In mid-February 2006, CMS sold Sputnik C4 (Intel Cereron M processor - 1.5GHz) for VND 10,800,000.

• March 2006 Acer sells Aspire 3620 laptop (Intel Celeron M 370 - 1.5 GHz) 699 USD, not including VAT, customers can upgrade free DDR2 RAM from 256MB to 512MB.

• In April 2006, Digiworld, a distributor of HP laptops introduced HP Compaq Presario V2359AP (Intel Celeron M 380 - 1.6GHz) for USD 866 without VAT. Immediately, at the same time, FPT Distribution, a HP laptop distributor with HP Compaq nx9040 (Celeron M 360 1.4 GHz), priced at 686 USD without VAT. HP also gave gifts worth 20 USD to 150 students - the first student to buy nx9040.

• At the end of April 2006, Acer sold TravelMate 4082 (Intel Centrino Sonoma Pentium M 740 - 1.73GHz) for $ 999 without VAT.

• In May 2006, NEC launched the P8100 laptop (Intel Pentium M 1.7GHz) for $ 999. Customers will be given a voucher worth VND 500,000.

This information shows that, during the first 5 months of 2006, every month the IT market also witnessed the birth of at least one laptop product costing less than 1,000 USD (not including VAT). That is not to mention promotions, gifts always appear in almost all MTXT products available in Vietnam market. The configuration of these products is getting stronger, which is evidenced by the "shocking" event Acer sold a 1.73GHz Centrino Sonoma Pentium M 740 processor, or NEC NEC P8100 running Intel Pentium M 1. , 7GHz costs less than 1,000 USD. Meanwhile most of the remaining products have processing speed of 1.5 GHz or more. It is worth mentioning that in 2004 there was only one product to use the 1.6 GHz Centrino M 7251 processor for $ 999 (not including VAT) but that was the Vietnamese manufacturer - GCC, Genuine Mobibook model MS- 1016.

When the market for laptops in Vietnam is forecast to grow, companies are competing, the price of components is decreasing, plus many manufacturers claim to sell laptops using processors. AMD, etc., many experts say, the price war will continue in the market of products under $ 1,000.

You also know that according to the law of the IT industry, the more users will benefit from the lower price or the price is the same, but the configuration is stronger. Following this momentum, Vietnamese users have the right to hope that in 2006 only $ 500, the amount is only enough to buy second-hand goods with low configuration at the moment, they can buy one a new 100% laptop from a foreign manufacturer. This is also one of the main reasons that threaten the used laptop market which is quite developed in 2005.

Of course, in the last 5 months, not only has the market for laptop products under 1,000 USD "risen" but the manufacturers of laptops (especially foreign brands) have also raced to launch many high-end products. For those with whom "they are not all", the latest CPU technologies such as Intel Centrino Sonoma, Intel Core Duo (Yonah) . are already available on most laptop brands at Vietnam, such as Acer, Apple, Dell, HP, NEC . are the most active in announcing new products, they "spoil" each customer when selling specialized products for entrepreneurs. , students, students, even . specializing in women.

New Hope

While the price of laptops is getting lower and lower, new technologies are increasing its capacity and strength. Wi-Fi Internet appears in many places, plus almost everyone is dependent on computers for work as well as entertainment, etc. The laptop market is "lucrative".

In Vietnam, in addition to the above factors, the laptop market has only developed from 1 to 2 years ago, the number of people owning laptops is not much, and the economy is growing, making Vietnam become a point. "gathering" of most major computer manufacturers in the world such as Acer, Apple, Asus, BenQ, Dell, HP, IBM (later Lenovo), NEC, Sony, Toshiba . and not less than 20 domestic manufacturer. They are continuing to launch "wars" to compete for market share.

According to Than Trong Phuc, General Director of Intel Vietnam and Indochina: " In the past year, there has been a special trend in the world as well as in Vietnam: more and more people are using laptops. In Vietnam, in 2004 billion. laptop sales increased by 10% and follow this momentum by the end of 2006 at 20% Intel will focus on helping local companies develop their laptop market segment to create more conditions and choices for many capable audiences. own laptops ". It is also because Vietnam is a big market for laptops, " Intel cannot stand outside the game ", said Thieu Phuong Nam, Intel's senior business manager in Vietnam and Indochina.

However, not less than 20 domestic manufacturers announced their participation in the laptop market, creating a small number of products, as well as an extremely modest market share compared to foreign manufacturers. Recalling last year, in an effort to boost the market of locally-produced laptops, the world's largest processor manufacturer, Intel and its partners initiated a flexible laptop assembly program based on human requirements. build-to-order. With this program, users can optionally configure and place orders through the agent system of Vietnamese computer companies.

Intel Vietnam works with partners such as Microsoft, Seagate, Crucial and Targus to offer users the best-priced, affordable products. But up to now, products from this program only count on the fingers. According to Mr. Nam: " The causes of Vietnamese brand laptops have not been successful in the domestic market: price, products are not diversified, warranty service is not good, standardization of components is not much and weak competition platform ".

Based on the above reasons, in May 2006, Intel and its partners again announced a new "Verified by Intel" event with the expectation of making this change. market of domestic production laptops. To promote this program, Intel has "shook hands" with three leading laptop manufacturers including Asus, Compal and Quanta Computer (according to Intel, 60% of laptops in the world market are produced by these 3 companies. under different brands) to standardize 7 components (CBB) for laptops: LCD monitors, hard drives, keyboards, optical drives, batteries, power supplies (AC adapters) and chassis. Any retailer, dealer or manufacturer of a laptop can choose these components to manufacture laptops. In addition to the benefits of being interchangeable, the widespread deployment of these 7 products also helps improve after-sales service and availability of replacement equipment.

The official distributor of Intel products, GCC, will undertake the equipment import and distribution to the participating agents. In particular, when purchasing "Verified by Intel" products, customers can personalize their laptops by asking the supplier to print images on the outside of the machine according to their preferences and can change them if they wish. change images to 100 times. The program's laptop models are sold with Intel quality certificates and are provided with this manufacturer's global warranty. "We hope the" Verified by Intel "program will transform the game on the laptop market in Vietnam, where local manufacturers have not achieved as much success as the desktop market." , Mr. Nam of Intel said.

If Mr. Nam's hope becomes a reality, this will be a good signal for the domestic IT industry. Although the results do not come overnight, we have the right to hope.

Nhat Binh