Hewlett-Packard on Wednesday launched a series of digital entertainment notebook computers which, it said, would create a new segment in the market and account for 50 per cent of all portable computer sales in the next 12 months.

"With the launch of mobile entertainment companions, we are creating a new market segment which will account for 50 per cent of the overall notebook market in the next 12 months," vice president of personal systems group at H-P Ravi Swaminathan said.

He said H-P created the market for wireless Internet-enabled notebooks in India and would continue to launch more products that would lead to coming up of new segments.

"We already have 36 per cent of the overall notebook market in India and the challenge for us is how to grow it," Swaminathan said.

This year, H-P notebook sales grew by 2.4 times while the growth in desktop segment was 90 per cent, he said, adding that with prices of notebook computers coming down drastically, their penetration has increased manifold.

"More and more people are opting for notebooks for home use. In the last six quarters the market for notebook computers increased three times and ratio of desktop to laptops changed from 51:1 in 2001 to 19:1 in 2004," he said.

The company launched two models of digital entertainment laptops priced at Rs 55,000 and Rs 70,000 under its Compaq brandname.

The laptops enable blue tooth connectivity and are fitted with JBL speakers and a widescreen display. They come loaded with software that can enable all that a conventional home entertainment PC offers. -- PTI

Ravi Swaminathan, vice president (personal systems group), Hewlett-Packard India Sales Pvt Ltd, poses with the newly launched Compaq Presario V2000 laptop in New Delhi on Wednesday.
Photo: Prakash Singh/AFP/Getty Images