The notebook market is on the move this year. There are signs to the effect with a lot of action from different key players.
p____p One such major development over the last week was the announcement by Seagate that it was entering the notebook drives market. Coming after a gap of 5 years, the reentry into the market with its �Momentus� hard disk drives is indeed a momentous occasion for the company. Although, the Indian availability of Momentus is yet to be known, the notebook drive can definitely help the company recover some lost ground in the Indian market, besides bringing in more revenue.
p____p There is the unmistakable sign that the notebook market is getting �hotter�. With Intel driving the hype of Wi-Fi capability via its Centrino processors on laptops and the launch of many Centrino based models from different vendors such as Acer, Toshiba, Wipro, BPL Telecom, Ingram Micro etc in recent months, it is action time in the market. AMD too has launched three new processors for the mobile market.
p____p With aspiration levels of consumers growing, the laptop market could have a good growth this year. The availability of lower priced models from recognized vendors and also smaller companies like the Bangalore based Micro-D is set to drive the growth of the market. Micro-D is pushing models with competitive prices and configuration.
p____p With different brands now beginning to available in the Rs.50,000 to Rs. 70,000 range, the notebook looks an alluring proposition to the upwardly mobile businessman and similar professional types.While we debate the virtues and shortfalls of Wi-Fi, let us not lose sight of the fact that the notebooks market is an opportunity that waits to be driven. The built in wireless functionality available in the new notebook models will definitely drive the market.
p____p Also as desktop replacements, the notebook makes more sense today with affordable pricing. Now, the channel will be hoping for some good schemes from the vendors to support an aggressive push in the market.
p____p On the sidelines, Intel with �Centrino� and now Seagate with �Momentus� will be among the interested parties, with high stakes of their own. Both could significantly benefit, besides the notebook vendors themselves from this growth.