New range of notebooks from Acer India

Chennai: After leading the market with the first sub-Rs. 50,000 notebook last September, Acer India Pvt Ltd is now enticing consumers with nine fresh notebook configurations in the Rs 40,000 to Rs. 60,000 price band. These will comprise eight models from TravelMate notebook series and one model from the Aspire series.

With this, notebook buyers will have a greater variety of notebooks below Rs 60,000 to choose from without sacrificing features or compromising on performance.

Targeted at the small and medium enterprises (SMEs), small office home office (SOHO) segments, corporates, the education and mobile professional segments, the notebook range will offer an option of either an Intel or AMD processor, as well as a choice between Windows and Linux operating systems. These entry-level notebooks are equipped with a 14.1 inch TFT monitor. The notebooks will also offer a range of free upgrade options including CD or combo-drives and one year free international travellers' warranty.

According to S Rajendran, general manager, sales and marketing (consumer products group), "There is a definite market potential at these price points and we believe we need to aggressively target these segments. Our range of notebooks will give consumers the flexibility to opt for a configuration of their choice without compromising in anyway on their unique requirements, be it technology or performance."

Acer was the first vendor to launch a Celeron-based notebook at sub-Rs.50,000 (TravelMate 240 series) in September 2003, while competitors took more than three to six months to respond. Acer was also the first to offer a Pentium 4-based notebook in the market at sub-Rs.55,000 in December 2003. These prices were subsequently reduced to Rs. 43, 999 and Rs. 46,999 respectively, after the interim Budget.

According to the latest International Data Corporation (IDC) survey, Acer, an aggressive marketer, has recorded the highest year-on-year growth of 566.06 per cent (Q4 2002-Q4 2003) in the notebook segment. Acer sold 3,317 units in the last quarter of 2003.

Acer India's wide range of notebooks in the TravelMate Series include the TM 240 Series, TM 250 Series, TM 290 Series, TM 800 Series and TM C111 (Tablet PC). Entry-level Acer notebooks are targeted at the SME, SOHO, and educational sectors while the high-end tablet notebook is targeted at top-level management.