FOR the first time in the region, Samsung, a company that used to be known as a house electronics producer has announced its new laptops in the Middle East. Samsung has been selling notebooks in Korea since 1995 according to Madhav Narayan, General Manager of IT Division at Samsung Gulf in Dubai. The new notebooks will be available from December 2008 in the United Arab Emirates and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; Samsung plans a phased roll out, with other Middle Eastern countries to follow the next years. The Middle Eastern launch follows the recent availability of the notebooks in the USA, followed by the UK, France, Germany, Russia, China and Hong Kong. The launch of notebooks complements Samsung Electronic's diverse and comprehensive portfolio of products, thereby enhancing the company's offering to consumers in the region. “It's too early to talk about the price but we are very confident that our entry into the UAE and KSA markets will be met with positive consumer feedback and demand. Samsung Electronics is a committed investor in R&D, which enables us to offer notebooks that fuse extensive functionality and performance with world class design that meet consumer needs and requirements. Moreover, when you look at the Samsung notebook range, you will find that 60 percent of the components are manufactured by the company itself. This means that Samsung notebooks have one of the best reliability records in the industry thus lowering the total cost of ownership,” said Narayan. The decision to move into the Middle Eastern market will complement Samsungs existing range of LCD, storage and printer hardware. Although it is yet to be decided which of the notebook range will be available at launch, all Samsung notebooks offer latest technologies in conjunction with stylish, ergonomic design. “Research shows that the notebook market in Middle East is witnessing extremely healthy growth and by 2009 is expected to increase by 30 percent. With our world class mobile performance, incorporating the all new Intel® Centrino® 2 processor technology, designed to meet the demanding ‘anytime, anywhere' performance and connectivity requirements of today's new generation of agile users, the latest Samsung notebooks will set a completely new standard in mobile computing in the Middle East.” The full range of Samsung notebooks will be available in the UAE and KSA markets in December 2008. Jarir Bookstores might be one of the Channels where customers can find Samsung notebooks. __
