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News
| HCL unveils Laptops for Indian conditions |
| Personal computer manufacturer HCL Infosystems has unveiled a range of laptops that it says is ideal for Indian tropical conditions.
"Our new range of laptops is designed and manufactured with thermal protection to withstand the heat and dust, a common feature in our tropical climate," HCL Infosystems vice-president George Paul said on Monday.
Based on Intel's Centrino processor technology, the HCL laptops in Microsoft and Linux versions come in four models.
"These next generation laptops are being introduced on customer feedback for a product that is conducive for regular use in Indian conditions where ambient temperatures are higher and the surface temperature of the device tends to become uncomfortable due to excessive heat generated within," Paul said.
"With the trend of computing devices moving towards notebooks, the need for meeting the varied requirements and mode of usage has become imperative in the hot and humid Indian weather conditions," he added.
Priced between Rs.39,990 and Rs.42,990, the thermal notebooks meet the energy star 4.0 compliance standards to ensure the temperature remains below 6 degrees on palm-rest surfaces.
The $3-billion (Rs.126-billion) company foresees rapid penetration and growth of domestic laptop market in the years to come, thanks to increasing computerisation and discretionary spending by enterprises, institutions, governments and retail customers.
"We foresee the share of laptops in the domestic market equalling that of desktops (personal computers or PCs) over the next three years because of their multiple advantages such as mobility, convenience, longer battery life and wireless connectivity through broadband," Paul said.
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| Date: |
Tuesday,18th November 2008 |
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| HCL Info eyes double digit share of Laptop market |
| Despite the overall slowdown in the sale of laptops during the last quarter, HCL Infosystems, the $3 billion (Rs 12,604 crore) hardware business of HCL Enterprise, is eyeing a double digit market share in the laptop segment in India in the next 18 months. The firm, which has a market share of 7.34 per cent in the laptop segment in India, presently stands at fifth position.
“The drop in the sales of laptops in India in the last quarter, is a temporary phenomenon. We attribute that to the increasing difference in costs between the desktops and laptops, especially due to the rise in dollar value. We are confident of garnering a double digit market share in the laptop segment in India in the next 18 months,” George Paul, executive vice president, Marketing HCL Infosystems said.
Due to the escalating dollar value, the price difference between a desktop and laptop has gone up from about Rs 10,000 to about 12,000-13,000 in the last quarter, which forced many home consumers to go for desktops instead of laptop.
HCL, which is leading the desktop market in India entered the laptop segment almost three years ago and is the fifth largest laptop seller in the country today. According to the company, the consumer market consists of roughly about 30 per cent of its PC sales, while the enterprise segment is contributing the rest. Within the enterprise market, 30 per cent of its sales come from government and another 30 per cent from BFSI sector.
Paul said the company has not seen much of an impact from the recent global economic downturn, which has forced enterprises to cut their IT budgets.
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| Date: |
Monday,17th November 2008 |
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| HCL Info to market Sandisk Memory Cards |
| SanDisk Corporation India has announced a partnership with HCL Infosystems, a premier information enabler and a leading ICT system integrator and distribution company to be the distributor for SanDisk’s wide range of mobile phone memory cards in India, according to a release |
| Date: |
Wednesday,12th November 2008 |
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| Call to create products for domestic needs |
| ‘Made in India’ electronic products always have taken a back seat when compared to ‘Made in China’ or ‘Made in Taiwan’ products. There is a need to change this perception and innovate to let India’s electronic hardware industry gain the same significance as software industry, industry experts said.
“India has high skill set and low cost labour, and good domestic market, just that we have to get into design-based manufacturing than assembly-based manufacturing,” Encore Software Ltd Chairman & CEO Vinay Deshpande said speaking at a session on “IT Manufacturing- Designed and Made in India” at BangaloreIT.biz on Friday. He emphasised the immediate need to create new products specially catering to the Indian needs that has huge market potential. “However, products designed in India is very low as also manufacturing is low in adding value. Business men have low risk taking attitude and have lost the skill to design own products. Without major trust in manufacturing, import of electronics hardware would zoom to $110 billion by 2015,” he added.
Industry alone cannot strive towards success, government should facilitate to ramp up electronics manufacturing industry in India. “Market demand are suppressed due to taxes, lack of global brand name, complex export/import procedures, low velocity in setting up a project, all hinder manufacturing industry in India,” MAIT Chairman Venkat Kedlaya said.
The other main constraints voiced include local component supply, lack of scale, infrastructure constraints, lack of R&D and quality perception.
Innovation fund
To facilitate innovation and to encourage electronic manufacturing industry, Encore along with MAIT has put forth proposals to Government of India as well as Karnataka.
It includes creation of ‘India Innovation Fund’ and ‘Karnataka Electronic Innovation Fund’ respectively, and to provide R&D grants for product development among others.
There is also need to implement long term policies for electronic manufacturing sector. For Karnataka they have also proposed to create electronic hardware manufacturing hub, he informed. “We have put forth these proposals to the government it might take a month or two to know its outcome,” Deshpande said. With the government support India electronic manufacturing industry has the potential to grow from $24 billion in 2008 to $155 billion by 2015.
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| Date: |
Monday,10th November 2008 |
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| Global reputation will help Indian firms grow: Gates |
| Microsoft chairman Bill Gates on Wednesday said that Indian IT companies will be affected by the global economic slowdown but will continue to grow their business as they have built a global reputation.
“IT companies in India are great partners of Microsoft. They are investing in the long term and they have a pretty incredible reputation. They are always considered whenever a global project comes up,” he said, speaking at a seminar at IIT Delhi.
Gates is currently on a visit to India to promote anti-polio and other healthcare efforts, undertaken by his charitable foundation, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, in the country.
Talking about the financial crisis that started with the US and has now spread to other markets, Gates said that global markets had overreacted in gauging the spread of the crisis. “There is no doubt that the US is in somewhat of an economic recession but it doesn’t need to extend to other markets.
I think the markets have overreacted. The economy will have some weakness for more than six months but it will get back on track,” he said. A proponent of increasing the number of H1-B visas, the speciality worker visas for foreign nationals working in the US, Gates also highlighted the shortage of right skills worldwide during his speech.
“The world continues to have a shortage of the right skills. So, we need more IITs, more universities. The shortage might be bridged in another 10 years when it will catch up with the demand, leading to a new set of challenges.
But there are always opportunities for those with the right skill sets,” he said. The Microsoft co-founder also unveiled a new programme, DreamSpark, on Wednesday that will provide the latest Microsoft developer and designer tools to students for free.
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| Date: |
Thursday,6th November 2008 |
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 16th September 2008
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Gulmohar, India Habitat Centre, Lodi Road, New Delhi |
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24th September 2008
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Tuesday,16th September 2008
MAIT leadership to focus on creating a vibrant domestic IT market and robust manufacturing ecosystem
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