RP computer brand competes head-on with foreign brands

CEBU, Philippines - A Philippine-based manufacturer of personal computers and notebooks has proven that Filipino brands can compete with foreign brands.

According to Mutya Syling, vice president for planning and operations of Neo Manufacturing and Services, the Neo notebooks, which were launched a year after the Neo brand was introduced in May 2003, have been doing well in the market despite competition from known notebook brands.

She said Neo is relying on its relatively lower cost of laptops in attracting the market. Neo’s lower end notebooks are P1,000 to P2, 000 cheaper than the known brands while those in the higher end category are as much as P10, 000 cheaper than its competitors.

“But we don’t compromise the quality of our products. We can go cheaper because we have a low overhead. We don’t compete head-on with the foreign brands because we have accepted the fact that we can’t compete with them. That is why our target customers are those first-time laptop users (who still do not want to invest much.) But when they buy Neo, and experience the quality, then they will be willing to invest more,” Syling said on the sidelines of Neo’s launch of the Basic B4105 laptop on Thursday at the Crown Regency Crest.

Neo’s sales performance in the first quarter of this year is five-percent better than in the last quarter of 2009.

Syling said Neo remains aggressive of the country’s laptop market, saying a large percentage of the population still has to try using a laptop. This is why the company’s thrust this year is to provide more quality products at affordable prices. Neo is also set to launch within the year 3D laptops.

“We are still undergoing product development But we also have to test the market and look for ways to optimize its cost because it is really such an expensive development,” she said.

Neo customizes and delivers products to satisfy customer requirements, from home entertainment to business computing. Headquartered in Ortigas Center , Pasig City , Neo employs world-class technology from Intel and Microsoft and cost-effective standards-based processes.

Neo has two showrooms in Metro Manila, and one each in Davao and Cebu to showcase its product offerings and deliver aftersales service or “NEOCare.” 

“Neo is committed in keeping up with the rapid changes in technology, particularly in the mobile computing arena, and develop products that will allow its customers to take ownership of current technology at a price that fits their budget.”

Meanwhile, after the success of its ultra-thin Edge notebooks product line, Neo is offering this year its primary notebook product lines—Basic, Vivid and Elan—called Neo’s Basic series.

Neo’s Basic series, which is composed of the Basic B4105, B2300, B2245 N, and the B 3230, is the company’s targeting marketing strategy this year to attract first-time laptop users,

The B4105 comes in a sleek new black ID with a glossy IMR cover that is thinning than many regular notebooks in the market. It features an energy-efficient 14.0” 16:9 widescreen HD LED LCD, which is ideal for high-definition content. It runs on Windows 7 Home Basic on 2 GB DDR3 of system memory. It also provides WiFi connectivity to keep up with the evolving wireless landscape.

The B2300 on the other hand is powered by a dual-core Intel Pentium T4500 processor and comes pre-installed with Windows 7 Home Basic for multimedia and multi-tasking computing right off the shelf.

Basic 2245N is for no-frills oriented user. It features a dual-core 2.20 GHz Intel Pentium processor and a 250 GB hard drive.