PC sales rise 26%, cross 6.3 million units
The PC sales in the country crossed 6.3 million units in 2006-2007, a growth of 26% over the previous year. The notebook / laptop segment grew by 97% with over 8.5 lakh units sold and the desktop segment grew by 19% with over 54.9 lakh units sold in 2006 -2007. Businesses accounted for 74% of the total PC sales, registering a growth of 18% YoY. E-governance activities accounted for a 126% increase in government consumption.
Of all the PC’s sold, multinational brands accounted for 39% of the total desktop market while Indian brands accounted for 23% of the pie.
North region accounted for 31% of all desktop sales, growing at a rate of 59%.
West region accounted for 27% of all desktop sales, growing at a rate of 5%.
East region accounted for 18% of all desktop sales, growing at a rate of 53%.
South region accounted for 24% of all desktop sales, declining at a rate of 12%.
via HinduÂ
Did Proto really uncover “new” startups ?
While the recently concluded Proto did uncover some exciting startups in the new frontier and mobile - enterprise segments, I did not uncover any ‘new’ startups in the consumer Internet segment.
The companies selected to present as part of the consumer Internet segment included Cricketology, Genie Interactive, Inasra, MineKey, routeguru, tolmolbol and Tyroo (via go2IndiaWeb2) - all of which arent exactly ‘new’ to me. I guess with all the hype, I was expecting a big bang and that a few stealth startups would be launching at the event. I guess as time progresses and Proto matures, startups will align their go-live plans such that they launch at Proto.
I am sure that Proto would have been a great networking event and everyone who attended would have benefited in some form. Kudos to the organizers who pulled off the event.
If you attended Proto, I’d like to hear how your experience was.
Sify announces F1Q07 results
Sify announced the financial earnings for the first quarter (Quarter ending 6/30/07) today.
Highlights of the earnings call:
- Net loss for the quarter was $1.27 million compared to a net profit of $1.54 million for the same quarter last year
- Revenues for the quarter rose by 6.6% to $34.6 million compared to same quarter last year
The company lost $1.28 million due to provision of doubtful debts. This ate into the revenues last quarter as well. And as per Pijush Das, CFO, Sify, will eat into the next couple of quarters as well. This Stronger rupee led to a further loss of $0.4 million.
Consumer services contributes 32.6%, enterprise services contributes 60.5% while portals contribute 3.1% of total Sify revenues.
Indian govt plans action to meet projections of 20 million broadband connections
India had a target of 3 million, 9 million and 20 million broadband Internet users by 2005, 2007 and 2010 respectively. In contrast, current broadband figures stand at 2.5 million users. The gap is expected to widen to 10 million by 2010. So, instead of the projected 20 million broadband users, India will have only 10 million users. As noted in an earlier post, penetration currently is less than 1%.
These are the findings of a paper to be published on Wednesday - brought out jointly by ASSOCHAM and Frosh & Sullivan and aptly titled “Broadband in India“. The paper also correctly cites poor PC penetration in India as a contributing factor. Besides PC adoption, localized content and WiMAX will be key enablers of broadband in India.
Walt Disney comics on Indian mobiles
The Walt Disney Internet Group, a division of Walt Disney, is set to introduce Disney comic strips & full length stories for Indian mobile users. “Disney Mobics”, as they will be known, will be available on Reliance Communication for Rs 3/- per comic strip, while Airtel and Hutch users can read entire stories for Rs 50/-. The service will begin with Mickey, Winnie the Pooh and going forward, a new character will be introduced each week.
GPRS users can download content from their WAP Portal.
via BSÂ
Yahoo India acquires stake in ad network Tyroo
Yahoo India announced that it has acquired a 35% - 50% in online ad network company Tyroo. Tyroo is part of the Smile Interactive
Technologies Group (Smile Group). The cash infusion by Yahoo! will be used to invest aggressively in technology and sales network to reach out to the vast number of small and medium sized advertisers and publishers in India. Yahoo will get a board seat on Tyroo (via release).
Nikhil has many more details on ContentSutra.
While on the topic of online advertising in India, it would be great to know whats on the mind of the advertisers when it comes to the online medium.
There was an interesting piece on the advertiser’s perspective by Ratish Nair, CEO, Interactive Avenues. I’ve highlighted a few points below:
Are we content consumers or content generators ?
Ok. Chances are you may shove this aside as just another generalization.
But it has been my observation that we (Indians) as a community, are more of content consumers as opposed to content generators. Majority of us will rabidly consume various forms of media while very few actually create content.
Debatable, arguable - yes, indeed !!
I’d like to know what you have to say.
Reliance Communications plans largest wireless network in the world
Close on the heels of the Yipes acquisition, Rediff has a story on Reliance Communications’ ambitions and grand plans for a global footprint.
- Goal to become the world’s single largest wireless network by year end
- 16,000 Crores will be invested for network expansion in FY08
- The company will cover 23,000 towns
- DTH network will be launched by end of year
FLAG Telecom has reported profits for the first time and plans are to expand from 40 to 60 countries. The Yipes brand will be going global leveraging the FLAG network.
Several other tidbits in the rest of the story.
WatchIndia launches Internet TV Portal for Indians
WatchIndia has launched an entertainment portal for Indians in US and Canada. The portal will comprise of live Indian channels and video-on-demand content featuring Indian TV, news, Indian TV serials, Bollywood movies, music and cricket. Some of the channels that will be streamed live are Zee Tv, Zee sports, Aastha, Zoom and Times Now News.
The subscription package costs $25 /- month and can be viewed anywhere except in India.
via release
Is offline the key to success of Indian Internet portals ?
Online travel portals in India have reshaped the face of the Indian travel industry. The major travel portals seem to be thriving, with revenue touching millions of dollars. This class of verticals has definitely carved out its own space and validated that the market is prime, and ready to accept online travel as a credible industry.
After online recruitment, matrimony and travel are the two verticals that have emerged successful in India. On close inspection, you’ll find that the latter two share a common trait. Both, online matrimony and online travel portals have taken a online-offline hybrid approach. They may have started out as a pure online player but in the process of reaching out to the mass consumer, they have leveraged the offline channel as well.
Consider the following examples:
- Yatra announces tieup with network provider Hughes, enabling customers to access Yatra’s services through select HughesNet Fusion centers
- MakeMyTrip sets up counters at Spencer’s and Subhiksha
- Shaadi introduces Shaadi Point
- The BharatMatrimony Centres