Italians love wine, women, football and the Asus Eee PC

Davey Winder
Thursday, 03 July 2008 19:02

IT Industry - Market

Perhaps somewhat surprisingly, and in Italy at least, the market for these ultra-portable, ultra-affordable fashion statements is not restricted to the young and trendy. It looks like a combination of the low price and the easy use will give such devices a boost within that previously pretty much untapped senior population market. Pensioners and mobility are not words you often find in close proximity, but the Asus Eee PC could change all that.

Acer, Dell and HP have all already announced their own low-cost ultra portables, while Olidata (the biggest Italian vendor) has recently launched the JumPC. The first Italian-made 'Netbook' it uses the Intel Classmate PC and targets children from 6 to 10 years old.

Coming complete with Magic Desktop software that has an interface designed especially for young kids, the JumPC will soon be available in big Italian retail stores as well as being bundled with broadband connections from Telecom Italia or Tiscali.

All of which makes thr JumPC, and indeed the Asus Eee PC, very attractive options for the education market where IDC expects to see them hit strongly as schools start placing orders for low-cost ultra portables from 2009 onwards.

"Consumer notebook demand will remain the key engine of growth, fueled by faster renewal trends and further expansion of the installed base through multi-equipment homes," said Nicolina Angelou, research analyst for IDC's EMEA Quarterly PC Research Group. "Low-cost ultra portables are expected to gain increasing traction as secondary devices, especially when bundled with a WiFi connection."