Chuck Kuhn's Asia in Photos: Locally-made laptops flutter

Saturday, May 10, 2008

Locally-made laptops flutter

Vietnamese producers hoped to have no international rivals for their low-cost laptops but their dream hasn’t become true.

There is fierce competition among big names like HP, Acer, Dell and Toshiba in the market segment for laptop models of $500-600/unit so locally-assembled laptops can’t compete in terms of price.

In August 2005 when GCC, the distributor of Seagate hard disk drives in Vietnam, launched a low-cost model of laptop at $699, Acer immediately introduced models of similar configuration, which had prices a little bit higher. With famous brand, good after-sale services, Acer laptops were favoured.

Other local producers also announced low-cost laptop model plans but these plans were not implemented as famous producers continuously slashed the prices of their laptops subsequently.

Some producers have tried to compete with foreign rivals in the market segment for low-cost laptops but they are now virtually corpses among the living.

The sales of V-Open, which is invested in by many electronic, computer component and desktop producers and distributors, is around 100 laptops per month. Launched onto the market in January 2007, V-Open targeted selling 1,000 laptops/month. Some strategic shareholders are withdrawing their capital from this joint venture.

FPT Elead began manufacturing laptops three years ago to provide for IT projects but they had to stop this project two years ago when they couldn’t find any clients. The laptop project was kicked off again this April but this time FPT is only producing 250 units for a project.

CMS, a subsidiary of CMC Group, also halted their laptop project for a time and then resumed it in September 2006. The firm is pursuing this project with around 5-6 models on the market. Its laptops are available at some laptop supermarkets like Hoan Long and Mobile World.

According to Mobile World, it sold a total of 61 CMS laptops in March and April 2008. Asked how many laptops did CMS sell in Vietnam of its total sales of 200,000 computers, CMS HCM City Director Le Quang Thanh said: “A very small number and we don’t want to release the number.”

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They say "

“I can’t say what made me fall in love with Vietnam - that a woman’s voice can drug you; that everything is so intense. The colors, the taste, even the rain. Nothing like the filthy rain in London. They say whatever you’re looking for, you will find here. They say you come to Vietnam and you understand a lot in a few minutes, but the rest has got to be lived. The smell: that’s the first thing that hits you, promising everything in exchange for your soul. And the heat. Your shirt is straightaway a rag. You can hardly remember your name, or what you came to escape from. But at night, there’s a breeze. The river is beautiful. You could be forgiven for thinking there was no war; that the gunshots were fireworks; that only pleasure matters. A pipe of opium, or the touch of a girl who might tell you she loves you. And then, something happens, as you knew it would. And nothing can ever be the same again.”
― Graham Greene, The Quiet American

Tips on Travel to Vietnam

It's always warm in Southeast Asia apart from high mountains, so leave the heavy clothing at home. Cotton and breathable fabrics are always better than synthetics -- although cotton does wrinkle a lot when traveling! December through April is roughly the dry season in that region, although it can still rain a little. December is a good time to go in terms of temperature -- cooler than in the humid summertime. Either way, wearing more clothing (shirt sleeves and long pants) is always more respectful towards the Asian culture, especially when visiting temples and rural areas.