Zenith joins low-cost PC race, unveils EcoStyle at Rs 11,999

NEW DELHI: Joining the low-cost PC fray, Zenith Computers on Thursday unveiled EcoStyle PCs, including a Rs 11,999 desktop PC and a Rs 14,999 laptop. The company launched these products in collaboration with software major Microsoft.

The products have been lunched under the brand name ���EcoStyle��� as they are free of any toxic materials, said the company. ���The desktop model comes in three variants and are priced at Rs 11,999, including taxes and VAT,��� said Zenith CMD Raj Saraf.

The PCs come with the option of choosing between AMD, Via or Intel processors. Users would also get to opt for either a pre-loaded Windows Vista Starter or Microsoft Windows XP Home. The desktops come with a 15-inch CRT monitor, with an upgrade to a 15-inch TFT LCD monitor costing an extra Rs 2,500. The PCs would be available around Diwali in India.

Zenith Computers CMD Raj Saraf said the company would target B and C cities in India for the products. The company, which also sells its products in Africa and Middle East, plans to foray into the US and UK next year.

���Under the ���Microsoft Unlimited Potential��� initiative, our effort is to bring sustained social and economic opportunity to people who currently don���t enjoy the benefits of technology,��� Microsoft India Chairman Ravi Venkatesan said.

The company aims at selling 1-lakh desktops by March 2009. Zenith���s manufacturing plant at Goa currently produces 20,000 units a month and the company is planning to increase the capacity by another one thousand. It also launched laptops at Rs 14,999 with VIA processor and said it would launch another model in October with Intel Atom processor at same price.

The company which claims to be the only Indian PC manufacturer to export its products to eight countries including Middle East and South Africa also plans to extend these products to these countries in near future.