Notebooks

Mindshare is a wonderful thing. It pumps life into all those
ad campaigns, and marketing activities. Companies try their best to gain upon
this mindshare. Notebooks is one segment where IBM and Compaq have been tossing
this mindshare between each other for several years. Last year, IBM was the most
preferred brand, the year before it was Compaq, and the year before that it was
again IBM. This year, Compaq has again caught up and be—come the most
preferred brand in the User’s Choice Club.

The notebook segment has mostly been dominated by MNC brands.
However, this year, an Indian brand has entered the User’s Choice Club. Wipro,
who only managed to become the winner in this segment in 1993, has finally made
a comeback this year at number three. Toshiba, which was in the third position
last year, has slipped down to number four. Some other Indian vendors have also
recently entered the notebook market, so next year should be interesting.

Thin is in, or so it seems looking at the latest notebooks.
Earlier, notebooks were divided into another sub-segment called sub-notebooks,
which were very slim. However, they weren’t as powerful as full-sized
notebooks. Things appear to be changing now with even slim notebooks being
packed with PIII processors.

Looking at regional preferences, IBM came out strong in the
West, while Compaq was the favorite brand down South. The North needs attention
from both the vendors. Quality appears to be the main criterion for purchasing a
notebook this year. Price, of course, came out as the second most important
buying criterion.

A look at the current usage of notebooks revealed the same results. Compaq
was at the top, followed by IBM, Wipro, and Toshiba. Not too many notebooks
manage to enter the User’s Choice Club. Will this battle between Compaq and
IBM continue next year as well? Or will one of them be able to crack this
mindshare? We’ll move on it next year. n