THE SHOW GOES ON

Janani Krishnaswamy, April 20, 2009
The Hindu Business Line

Recession or no, companies in the consumer technology space appear to be going ahead with R&D and new product launches. eWorld talked to the players for more on their plans. Here's a snapshot of the action:

More flat panels coming

If there is one market that seems unaffected by recession, it is the flat panel display segment. Samsung and LG are betting big on this space this year. LG India plans to launch 35 models of LCDs, eyeing a 33 percent market share by year end.

Talking to eWorld, Amitabh Tiwari of LG says the company plans to launch LED and OLED display options in the next couple of months. "OLED should be here by end of 2009." Commenting on prices, he says, "LED-backlit displays might be 1.6 times the cost of present generation LCDs, whereas OLEDs might cost 2.1 times the price of an LCD." As part of its marketing strategy, LG attempted to prove that the In-Plane Switching technology has the advantage of a touch screen. When it was compared against an existing VA panel (of its competitor), the display remained stable after our touching the screen, while we observed that the latter offered an image of lightning when tested for the same.

Samsung will also be launching ultra-thin LEDs in the next couple of months. An array of Blu-ray products displayed at the Consumer Electronics Show at Las Vegas will mark its presence in India by late October.

Hitachi will soon be coming out with its LED-based Ultra Thin LCD televisions in India. "The product is targeted at high networth individuals (HNIs) and will be launched around August 2009," says Tarun Jain, Country Head-India, Hitachi Home Electronics. Hitachi expects the Indian market to maintain robust growth. The company will be investing in new distribution channels to reach out to its high-end consumers.

However, for Philips India, the LCD business doesn't sound too profitable at the moment. "We have moved from `TV and the wall' to `health and well-being'," says Mahesh Krishnan, Consumer-Lifestyle Head, Philips India. Hinting about Cinema 21:9, he says Philips is working on something that will offer the `real cinema' experience. Philips will be focusing on four dimensions as of now - my body (healthcare and home appliances), my appearance (personal care), my mind (audio products) and my space (ambilight, ambisound products).

Netbook cushion to PC industry

A Gartner analysis reveals that the PC industry will experience its sharpest unit decline in history - an 11.9 percent decline from 2008. Both emerging and mature markets are forecast to suffer unprecedented slowdowns. And global spending on computing products will likely decline nearly 4 percent this year. However, mini-notebooks (also called netbooks) are expected to cushion the overall PC market slowdown. Mini-notebooks are forecast to represent 8 percent of PC shipments in 2009. According to IDC, the global netbook category is estimated to be 8.1 million units this year.

Lenovo India recently launched its range of slimmest entertainment PCs in India. Despite the fact that the desktop market has been facing a downward trend (IDC quarterly PC tracker reveals that, for CY 2008, desktop PC shipments dropped 10.1 percent), Lenovo India has launched the IdeaCentre A600. "This is one of the slimmest all-in-one desktop PCs," says Ramprasad L, Vice-President, Transactional Consumer Sales, Lenovo India. Unlike other all-in-one products, the A600 enables motion sensor gaming, VoIP calling, and also allows remote access to its media centre.

Gartner expects PC hardware to see the sharpest drop, nearly 15 percent compared to a 2.8 percent increase last year. However, Logitech maintains that its PC peripherals division and iPod docks have been an instant hit and continue to fare well even in times of slowdown in the Indian market.