HCL unveils new-look PC for home segment

Mohit Chhabra

NEW DELHI: HCL Frontline will soon make available through its channel its

latest offering from its stable, the Beanstalk Snoopy- a jazzy looking brightly

colored and contoured PC targeted at the home segment. Snoopy, the first of its

kind for the home customer, will be available at HCL stores and partners across

the country shortly.

HCL Infosystems (senior manager) Satinder S Juneja said, "The product is

aimed at the home user, as there is no such product available for this segment,

presently". Being launched after extensive consumer research, the product

design, color and the name Snoopy clearly positions the product in the home

segment.

"The time of the launch is to coincide with the holidays," said

Juneja. The launch has been timed to coincide with the holidays and declaration

of school results. "With the tax liability for the year also behind them,

we expect the product to generate considerable interest in the market," he

added. HCL plans to sell at least 500 units in the first month after the launch.

The product is powered with Intel Pentium III Processor 750 Mhz with 64MB

RAM; 20GB HDD, 1.44 Mb FDD, 52x multimedia kit, integrated modem and it comes

pre-loaded with Norton Anti-Virus and Windows 98. It comes with a 15-inch

monitor and is color-coded to ensure ease of installation and trouble shooting

the connections.

The product will initially retail at an introductory price of Rs 44,990 plus

taxes and Octroi as applicable. As part of the package a one-month unlimited

premium Internet connection will be available from HCL-Infinet. The machine will

be bundled with an Epson Stylus 480, a 15-CD pack and a web camera at extra charge of Rs 5,500.