Huawei's Matebook X is a fanless notebook with splash-proof screen and combined fingerprint sign-on and power button, priced
between EUR 1,399 and 1,699 ($1,570-$1,900 or roughly Rs. 1,01,400-Rs. 1,23,200).
Its Matebook E 2-in-1 hybrid will run from EUR
999 to 1,299 (roughly Rs. 72,400-Rs. 94,200) while the Matebook D with 15.6-inch display is priced at EUR 799 to 999 (roughly Rs.
58,000-Rs. 72,400), it said.
Overall, PC market sales volumes dropped 8.3 percent in 2015 and a further 3.7 percent in 2016, according to research firm Gartner,
which has predicted a flat outcome this year and increasing market consolidation through 2020.
"From Huawei's perspective, we see opportunities in the PC market's decline," Cheng Lei, senior marketing manager for the PC
business, said in a phone interview of the cost-savings and design and manufacturing benefits it gets from its smartphone business.
Huawei, the world's top maker of wireless and fixed-line telecom equipment, emerged two years ago as the world's No. 3 smartphone
maker after Samsung and Apple, displacing Lenovo, which remains focused on its computer business.
Huawei's new PCs all run seventh generation Intel microprocessors, Microsoft Windows 10 software and in-house developed software
to automate data transfers between Huawei smartphones and its new computer models, Lei said.
Huawei said it aimed to offer the new PCs in 12 countries in Europe, North America, Asia, and the Middle East in early June.
On Monday, HP, the No.2 PC maker behind China's Lenovo and ahead of No.3 Dell, introduced three new consumer models with mostly
similar hardware specifications that boasted short-term pricing discounts and a bundle of popular third-party software.
Long-term play
In recent years, the big three PC makers have grabbed most of the growth and market share at the expense other, declining brands,
thanks to their diversification and strong position in the commercial PC market. Lenovo and HP each hold around 20 percent while Dell
has a 15 percent share globally.
Business PC replacement demand remains stable, Gartner data shows, offsetting shrivelling consumer PC demand in recent years as
users rely on bigger-screen smartphones and tablets and cloud data storage instead of new PCs for their basic computing needs.
"If you are in a good position in the business market, you will have more opportunities to increase share," said Gartner consumer and
small business devices analyst Mikako Kitagawa.
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