Laptops struggle to become more popular

Laptops struggle to become more popular

Urip Hudiono, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Working as a software developer, Christianto often has to serve
his clients on-the-spot in different areas of Jakarta.

On one day, just as an example, he had to set up his company's
custom program for a client in South Jakarta's Blok M district in
the morning before moving to another client on Jl. Sudirman,
Central Jakarta, in the afternoon.

A laptop computer -- apart from a motorcycle to weasel his way
through the city's chronic traffic jams -- is thus crucial for
him to get his job done efficiently and on time.

"With a laptop, I can easily hook up to the client's computer
network and upload the program I've prepared to their server,"
Christianto said. "Install it, hack it a bit to suit their
server's configuration, and it's a mission accomplished for me."

Similarly, freelance writer Ronny also preferred a notebook
computer -- as laptops are also called -- due to its convenience
and mobility.

"I decided to buy a laptop because you can get the same
performance of a desktop computer without all the bulk and
clutter of cables," he said. "I can also bring it along with me
and stay online when I have to travel out of town."

When Ronny experiences the much-dreaded writer's block, he can
just pop a DVD into his multimedia-enabled laptop and watch his
favorite movie until that rush of inspiration comes along.

Whether it is for serious work or (more) serious play, laptops
-- along with their sibling electronic gadgets of cellular phones
and personal digital assistants (PDA) -- have become a norm in
today's fast-track digital world, where accessing information
anywhere and staying productive on the go is a must.

In Indonesia -- despite a slight sag in sales last year and
the fact their market share is still being overshadowed by the
more affordable desktop computers -- laptops are expected to pick
up in popularity this year.

Research firm Gartner noted that laptop sales in Indonesia
reached 95,876 units last year, while market analyst IDC
Indonesia recorded sales of 74,250 notebooks. In 2003, the
figures were slightly higher at 99,834 and 75,450 respectively.

Laptops currently make up between 10 percent and 15 percent of
the country's total personal computer (PC) market, and have
experienced an average growth of 10 percent over the last three
years.

Gartner analyst Lilian Tay was, however, content with his
estimation that laptop sales in Indonesia would rise this year,
saying last year's downturn was due to market jitters from the
2004 general elections.

"Notebook demand in the professional segment slowed down, but
the private segment continued to show growth," he said, adding
that the mind-set that considered laptops as premium products
could change as the need for them rises while their prices
continue to drop.

IDC analyst Fajar Roosman also expressed similar optimism,
forecasting that laptop sales would grow 13.4 percent this year
on the back of an increasing mobile workforce and robust consumer
segment.

"The price difference between notebooks and desktops are also
getting smaller as vendors continue to provide channel incentives
and end-user promotions to increase market adoption," he said.

Information technology (IT) expert Rudy Rusdiah of the
Indonesian Computer Business Association (Apkomindo) agreed,
saying global laptop makers are making advances every day to
deliver economic scales in their manufacturing of laptop
components, particularly of the pricey liquid crystal displays
(LCD).

"The bottleneck in reducing laptop prices is in LCD prices,"
he said. "If LCD prices can be slashed, it is not impossible that
we could see sub-$1,000 notebooks."

Laptops are offered at $1,300 for lower-end products, and up
to $2,000 for higher-end ones.

Vendor-wise, Japanese laptop maker Toshiba and U.S.-based
Hewlett-Packard and IBM have always competed fiercely to unseat
one another from the top spot in Indonesia's laptop market.

Tailing the trio are Japanese Fujitsu, NEC and Sony, Taiwanese
Acer and ASUS, and U.S. Dell, to name a few. Meanwhile,
refurbished or used laptops are grabbing a piece of the market as
well.

Rudy also pointed out that the "lifestyle" factor -- staying
online on the Internet and joining the wireless fidelity (WiFi)
experience -- could also boost laptop sales in the future.

"Corporate executives usually look for full-featured laptops
with powerful graphic displays and WiFi capabilities, with some
stress on the weight factor for best mobility," he said. "College
students, meanwhile, put heavy consideration on the price
factor."

WiFi has been knocking on Indonesia's doors -- with "hotspots"
set up in several places and many Internet service providers
(ISP) using the technology -- but its proliferation in the end-
user segment is still to be proven. It could begin to roll,
however, as many laptops now come equipped with WiFi as standard.

Apkomindo's Michael Sunggiardi said laptop sales could be
boosted even further wit several schools and universities
providing laptops and WiFi facilities for their students.

"The digital life has inevitably come and resistance is
futile," he said.

A PC gamer enthusiast, however, said laptops could never
replace desktops, as the former's stress on mobility had limited
their capability to run today's power-hungry, graphic-laden
games.