Laptops, notebooks, and netbooks are fast grabbing the market share of desktops as consumers prefer the former types of computer for their portability and other advantages like power back-up and less space requirement. The demand for laptop from professionals and students is also on the rise as the minimum price of a laptop is almost the same as that of a desktop.
Following the market trend, importers are also procuring more laptops notebooks, netbooks, and other mini-computers. ‘Traditional desktop computers are being replaced gradually by laptops, notebook, netbooks, and other mini-devices like Galaxy Tab and I-pod,’ said Bangladesh Computer Samity president Mustafa Jabbar.
He also said, ‘The number of laptops sold is expected to exceed that of desktops by 2012 as the demand for laptops is growing. Laptops accounted for 15 per cent of computers sold in the country in 2007 and 25 per cent in 2008.’
‘Forty-five thousand laptops were sold in 2008. The number jumped to 1,50,000 in 2010 and is estimated to reach 2,50,000 this year,’ the BCS chief said.
‘The demand for notebooks is also surpassing that for desktops. We sold around 12,000 notebooks, compared to 5,000 desktops, in 2010,’ Rayan IT Limited business manager SM Arifuzzaman told New Age.
‘Professionals and students, our main customers, prefer laptops to desktops considering portability and affordable price range of the former,’ he said, adding that the minimum price of laptop was about the same as that of desktops.
‘We have retailed 600 laptops and 156 desktops since January 1 compared to 400 laptops and 184 desktops retailed in the same period of 2010,’ said Computer Source business manager Md Husne Zakir.
He said portability was the main reason for consumers to prefer laptops to desktops.
‘On an average, we sell 20 laptops and 10 desktops a day,’ said Flora Limited assistant manager Shirin Afroza.
Mustafa Jabbar expressed his dissatisfaction at the delay in implementing the government’s plan of marketing laptops produced by Bangladesh Telephone Shilpa Sangstha at Tk 12,000 to Tk 15,000.
‘The project missed two deadlines due to bureaucratic delays and the chance of marketing laptops by the BTSS is now fifty-fifty,’ he remarked.
‘I find a laptop more suitable for my work than a desktop because of its portability. I can enjoy every facility of a desktop from a laptop, while it is not possible to move around carrying a desktop. Whether I am at home or outside, I have to be always in online contact with my employer,’ said Ahmed Riaj, a freelance data-entry operator.
‘The most important, perhaps I should say the sole, reason for people to prefer laptops to desktops is portability. The communication technology has become much developed nowadays as we see many facilities of a desktop computer can now be enjoyed from a mini-device like I-pod. It is easy to move with a laptop in a side bag, which is not possible in case of a desktop,’ said Arup Raton Roy, a student of the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology.
News Source: The New Age