Issue No.598
InfoTech
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8 - 14 August 2002 Issue No.598 InfoTech |
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 | Recommend this page | ||
Small is beautiful
As technology advances into the wireless age, computer companies are emphasising the charms of the notebook. Amira Howeidy monitors a sudden interest in the Egyptian market
Are notebooks the end result of an evolution in computer technology? In other words, will the portable computer replace the desktop? As it makes its debut in the local market, Toshiba, for one, is emphasising this concept as part of an aggressive advertising campaign that aims to position the notebook higher up on consumers' agenda. Although Compaq has the largest local market share in notebooks -- 26.8 per cent -- it has recently been engaged in a merger with HP. This has been seen by other competitors as an opportune moment to enter the market and make an impact. Interestingly enough, the focus of this latest marketing campaign is not the drop in global prices of notebooks, rather that mobile computing is the next PC revolution.
On the Cairo-Alexandria highway, where the volume of traffic during the summer is at its highest, impressive billboards featuring slick Toshiba notebooks decorate the sky in an astonishing display. Similar ones are visible in central Cairo. In daily newspapers and magazines, notebook advertisements are becoming commonplace, as more and more companies offer a wide array of portable machines. DELL, Fujistu, HP and Toshiba are offering affordable notebooks ranging from LE8,499 to LE13,000. And with the arrival of Personal Digital Assistants, the concept of "mobility" is quickly establishing itself. This, in a market that, until two years ago, was viewed as modest in its purchasing power, and thus incapable of keeping up with such advanced technology.
So what happened? Why are computer companies suddenly promoting portable machines in Egypt? "The trend is moving towards mobile computing: the communications infrastructure has so improved, that the bandwidth now allows mobile users to use their notebooks while on the move," says Rania Hanoush, marketing manager for HP Middle East. "HP noticed this unique opportunity and took advantage [of it by] increasing its marketing activities around notebooks." The Egyptian market has "changed", she noted. There is qualitative change, as seen in "market share increases, the availability of the latest technologies and a decrease in the total cost of ownership". A quantitative change is also visible. "The home market has shrunk for the branded PC," Hanoush told Al-Ahram Weekly.
Although the high customs on imported computers remain the same, the price of mobile computing has decreased, mainly due to economies of scale and the now wider choice of affordable technologies.
Hanoush is optimistic, predicting that the notebook will "replace the PC by the end of this decade". More specifically she said, "We are beginning to see this trend in the education sector. For example, students are being encouraged to buy notebooks."
This is evident in the buying patterns in both the European and Middle Eastern markets, according to Ahmed Khalil, Middle East sales and marketing manager of Toshiba's Dubai- based computer systems division. In Europe, he says, the desktop market is at best static; in many regions it is shrinking. "Mobile computers, however, are showing marked growth. The difference in Middle Eastern markets is that trends are even more pronounced. Toshiba's market share in the Middle East has risen to 25 per cent in just two years, compared to 14.4 per cent in Europe where the company is the undisputed market leader," he told the Weekly.
What is remarkable is that consumers are switching to mobile computers at a faster rate than in Europe, which explains the sudden interest of computer companies in this market. Khalil says, "Many customers in the Middle East are only just becoming computerised, so they are able to skip the desktop stage completely, and go directly to mobiles, attracted by their power and versatility. This is also contributing to the rapid growth in Toshiba's market share."
So will laptops eventually replace normal PCs? "Yes," Khalil replies confidently, "and it's happening already." "Why be constrained by a fixed-point, desktop computer, when you can have even better resources, and in portable form?" he asked. "Today's portables are more powerful than the mainframes of the not-so- distant past. They are light, slim and unobtrusive, and with the rapid growth in wireless technology, they are genuinely becoming 'anywhere, anytime' devices."
He added that the desktop will still have a role in a static office environment, but for the businessperson on the move -- and that's most of us these days -- the mobile computer will be the only option.
New laptop models are becoming smaller and lighter, and their processing power keeps increasing. At the same time, lower prices have made mobile computing far more accessible. "Entry level models," explains Khalil, "are now a fraction of the cost of desktop systems from 10-15 years ago, yet are infinitely more powerful."
This evolution, according to Khalil, is set to accelerate, along with the rapid growth of wireless "hotspots" across the world. Hotspots are areas enabled for wireless computing so that it is unnecessary to plug in to send e-mails or surf the net. Airport lounges, railways stations, conference centres, hotel foyers, filling stations and motorway cafes are typical hotspot locations -- sites where business people congregate or pass through. "It's rather like the growth in mobile phones -- if you can't get a signal, you can't send or receive. Computing hotspots will grow in the same way as for mobile phones, eventually attaining near universal coverage. We're still a little bit off the pace in the Middle East in that respect, but we'll catch up quickly. As so often happens, we might be slow starters but when we embrace a trend we very quickly become leaders. Just think of the way mobile phones have become so predominant in the past few years."
Toshiba made the world's first notebook computer back in 1985.
The latest wonder on the scene right now is the mobile Pentium 4 processor, which is taking laptops into a new dimension. "Add the latest developments in sound and graphics cards and you have power and performance unimaginable only a couple of years ago," says Khalil.
On your portable laptop you can watch movies, generate music of concert hall quality and enjoy realistic game software. This in an ultra-lightweight form and at increasingly affordable prices. The implications are immense in every sphere of activity. Welcome to the wireless age.
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