I'm About To Cave In

HEATHER CLANCY

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Can be reached via e-mail at [email protected].

There was one main rationale for his astonishing decision: Customers have been asking him about the platform. But I also sensed a hidden motive: growing concern over which branded vendor to represent in the desktop and notebook segments. Clearly, that market has been thrown wide open with IBM's decision late last year to sell its Personal Computer Division to Lenovo. Whither goes the vaunted ThinkPad brand? So here we are, on the threshold of 2005, with solution provider sales expectations at an all-time high, particularly for notebooks, and VARs are puzzled over which vendor is the best partner. (Visit crn.com for the findings from our latest CRN Monthly Solution Provider Survey.)

The conditions are perfect for a company such as Acer America (the notebook leader in Europe) or Toshiba America (if it plays its channel program cards right) or even Apple Computer (which continues to lead the pack in true, usable innovation) to claim more share. Sure, Dell and Hewlett-Packard are perched there too, but the rule of three means at least one of the leadership spots is in contention.

I believe this will also prove a breakthrough year for whitebooks. As we reported earlier this month, custom-system builders account for at least half of the early designs using Intel's forthcoming Sonoma platform. Provided Microsoft supports that work with reasonable licensing strategies for the smaller OEM, there's no reason whitebooks can't gain the clout custom systems have claimed in the desktop world.

I'm getting closer and closer every day to buying a new system myself, and a notebook is what I want. But whereas three years ago I wouldn't have considered Apple or any of the other aforementioned "second-tier" vendors, I haven't the slightest clue which brand I will buy now. For me, it'll come down to what wireless and peripherals the system supports, and the service I can get from my solution provider. And that, you'll agree, sets the scene for a great year for notebooks in the channel.

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Which hardware vendors intrigue you? HEATHER CLANCY, Editor at CRN, appreciates your comments at [email protected].