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29 March 2024

Why are popular Chromebooks still missing from UAE market?

Published
By Joseph George

Chromebook sales are on the rise. The popularity of the netbook that runs on Google’s Chrome OS has been increasing, especially in those markets with deeper internet connectivity.

Latest research points out that in 2014 alone Chromebook sales are expected to go up to 5.2 million, a 79 per cent increase, compared to last year, mainly driven by the North American market. By 2017, sales of Chromebooks are set to nearly triple to reach 14.4 million units.

But the trend is exactly opposite in the UAE or the whole of the Middle East. In fact, Chromebooks are yet to be officially launched here in the UAE. The ones that are there are limited to a few university campuses and corporate environments.

A Chromebook mainly uses the cloud for storage and, therefore, needs to be connected to a WiFi network. Although the UAE has the distinction of being one of the best connected cities in the whole of the Middle East, it is still not effectively viable for the Chromebook to operate.

As Kenneth Chen, Country Product Manager of NoteBooks at Asus Middle East points out, the key supporting element of success to Chromebook is connectivity and mobile service and content.

“Though WiFi/3G and even 4G is available here in the UAE, limited transmission package combined with relatively high fare of internet connection continues to remain a challenge for individual users,” says Chen.

David Drummond, Vice-President, Middle East & Africa at Acer, told Emirates 24|7 that although the product is not yet officially launched here in the UAE, there were a few units during last year’s Gitex Shopper.

“It is currently selectively available in the UAE - mainly used in educational institutions and corporate environment,” he says.

According to him, Google has a very stringent requirement on wireless broadband. Acer almost holds 40 per cent of market share globally when it comes to Chromebook sales.

Priced between Dh800 and Dh1,500, Chromebooks are turning out to be quite popular among users looking simple everyday computing.

According to Gartner, demand for Chromebooks is currently mainly driven by the education sector in the US. Gartner estimates that the education sector accounted for nearly 85 per cent of Chromebook sales in 2013. In addition, of the 2.9 million Chromebooks sold during 2013, 82 per cent were sold in North America, making it the major market for Chromebooks globally.

“Now that the PC market is no longer growing strongly, vendors are searching for new business opportunities,” says Isabelle Durand, principal analyst at Gartner.

According to her, although Chromebooks are primarily used by the education sector, they will also have a place in businesses for specific workers, such as staff in banking, financial services, estate agents and hotel receptionists. “So far, businesses have looked at Chromebooks, but not bought many,” she said.

In 2011, Samsung and Acer were the first vendors to invest in Chromebooks.