The City IT Fair 2009 is gaining momentum through a grand line-up of simple, but interesting events and contests. In the first three days, the fair saw an average of 10,000 visitors though the turnout of visitors was low at the fair amid BDR mutiny on the opening day.
With a view to using computer as a tool for culturing merit and knowledge, a nine-day City IT Computer fair began at the BCS Computer City at Agar-gaon in the capital on Thursday. This year the slogan of the fair is "IT leads the flow of change." Bangladesh Com-puter Samity (BCS) organised the nine-day mega exposition of IT accessories that will continue till February 6.
In the fair visitors would be able to buy personal computers from the fair at a minimum cost of Tk 17,000 and laptop for Tk 29,500.
At the same time low-priced laptops are set to capture the local market replacing desktop by 2010, according to organisers of the City IT fair, the largest computer fair in Dhaka.
"Laptops are becoming more popular among business people and students as the prices of those portable items have come down in the international markets as well as local markets," said Mohammad Ali, a marketing officer of Miracom Technologies.
Most of the computer vendors echoed his view saying that the visitors this time are showing much interest in laptops.
As many as nine international brands including Asus, HP, Toshiba, BenQ, Samsung, SR, Great Wall and Sony have brought low-priced laptops in the fair.
A sales man of Miracom Technologies, local agent for Chinese laptop Great Wall, said his organisation has already sold a good number of laptops, mainly to several corporate clients, such as real estate and insurance companies as well as students. He said developers are now mulling to gift such laptops to the buyers booking flats or plots.
Great Wall laptops are available at Tk 29,500 with a mobile processor of 1.6 Giga hartz and 10.2 inches monitor, which is considered to be the most competitive price at the fair.
BenQ also sells laptops at Tk 35,000. Besides laptops, other products ranging from clone and brand computers, mouse, CDs, key boards, speakers, CD rom drives, MP-3, MP-4, digital cameras, printers and scanners have been put on display at the fair.
The organisers hope that computers and accessories worth over Tk 100 crore in this year fair is likely to be sold.
A total of 156 stalls along with 10 others IT based non-profitable organisations will showcase their products at the nine-day fair styled 'City IT-2009' organised by BCS that begins on February 26 and will continue till March 6.
The fair will remain open for all with a Tk 10 entry ticket. However, school students and disabled person will enjoy free entrance, which opens from 10:00am to 7:00 pm everyday.