Among local brand names increasingly popular with consumers are FPT Elead and V-Open. CMS laptops, manufactured by the CMS Computer Company are also proving a hit with consumers.

The young CMS brand has grown up quickly with sales hitting 5,000 units per year over the past few years, equivalent to unit sales in Viet Nam by international big names such as Dell and Sony.

The company has launched 12 different models of laptop into the market, including Viet Nam’s first second-generation computers. CMS expects to eventually corner between 5 – 7 percent of the laptop market in Viet Nam .

CMS CEO, Nguyen Phuoc Hai said his company focuses o­n competitive prices in its development strategy, aimed at making the o­nce-luxury products affordable to low income-earning Vietnamese consumers.

Along with competitive prices, CMS has expanded its sales agent and customer care service networks to over 200 points nationwide.

Lien Viet Thanh Technology Company Ltd is another example of a local company thriving in the current laptop market. It has increased warranty terms to three years, three times the warranty period offered by foreign companies.

The company plans to roll out some 1,000 low-priced laptops a month from the production line in the years to come, which will be aimed at school pupils and university students.

Ha Noi-based Anh Nghia Computer Supermarket employee, Nguyen Bich Thuy said “With quality recognized by world-famous Intel while prices are just 40 or 50 percent as much as foreign brands, the product has instantly made a positive impact o­n the market right o­n its launch.”

A survey conducted by the market study company IDC showed that the personal computer market in Viet Nam increased 21 percent compared with the corresponding period in 2007, with sales estimated at 357,000 units. However, the market is still dominated by foreign brands such as Acer, HP and Lenovo. The International Digital Group (IDG) forecast a positive trend for local laptop brands in late 2008, estimating that they would account for 13 percent of the local market by the end of the year.