ACi devises ways to top notebook market

ACi Asia is all set to tap the education segment with low priced notebooks for students, which will be launched in the next few months. This, the company claims, will put them on the top of notebook business in India.

"We have devised a plan in which notebooks will be made available for a price as low as Rs 35,000 exclusively for the student community in India," asserts Hirji Patel, CMD. According to him, ACi Asia holds around 7% marketshare in notebooks in India, and its new strategy for the education segment will propel it to the number one slot in a year's time.

ACi will tie up with educational institutes and part of the laptop cost will be shared by the institutes. "We may not make much profits but, the startegy will surely give us the mileage and make us number one in the country in terms of volumes," says Hirji. He adds that these machines won't be outdated models, but will be the latest P4 machines with full multimedia capabilities.

The company recently launched a range of low-cost notebooks under the name Ethos and Emerald, priced from Rs 55,000 to Rs 1
lakh.

For corporates, ACi has come out with an branding program called Corporate Imaging, in which corporate customers will be provided laptops with customized images like logos and company names embossed on the back of the laptop cover (back of the LCD screen as per customer's requirement).

"This will help reduce theft because it is very difficult to get rid of the embossing or even replace it with a fresh cover," says
Hirji.

NELSON JOHNY

MUMBAI