By Sarah Falson
SYDNEY: NEC Computers’ latest range of high-performance Versa P8210 notebook computers — introduced to Australia earlier this week – will retail in NEC Diamond Dealer stores, instead through its new retail partner -Retravision.
NEC Computers announced in August that it had formed an agreement with Retravision to promote and sell its range of desktop and notebook computers nationally. However, previous models in the P8210 range of NEC computers had already been sold through NEC Diamond Dealers, due to an exclusive deal signed with the chain before Retravision and NEC shook hands.
Therefore, the powerful, business-oriented notebook range – including the P8210-1609DR (RRP $2199), P8210-1810DR (RRP $2699) and P8210-2002DR (RRO $3299) – will continue to retail through NEC Diamond Dealer stores, which are smaller but sell direct to both public and business buyers (see www.nec-computers.com.au for a full retail listing).
NEC Computers general manager – sales and marketing, Tim Falinski told Current.com.au: “The Versa P8210 range is one that’s very particular to our Diamond group. It’s only available to buy from them. What we supplied to Retravision was a Versa P7200 range, which has Core 2 Mobile Processors inside.
“We wanted to supply different ranges to different marketplaces. We could have done it the other way around and supplied the P7200 range to our Diamond group, and the P8210 to Retravision, but we didn’t.
“There’s nothing particular about them [that made them better-suited to a particular reseller] at all, but we try to differentiate the marketplace to give a sense of exclusivity to different retail market groups.”
Retravision Australia IT manager, Peter Brown told Current.com.au that the company’s deal with NEC Computers didn’t mean that they were exclusive resellers of NEC computer products, but rather they had signed on as another retailer of NEC computer products.
The notebook computers are fuelled by Intel Centrino Duo Mobile Technology and include Intel Core 2 Duo Processors, providing enough power for users to take advantage of the full gamut of multimedia and business applications on offer.
A 15.4-inch, 1280 x 800 pixels widescreen Super Shine View LCD adorns each model, making them perfect for entertainment; an ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 HyperMemory provides 3D graphics for extreme gaming.
Built-in active stereo speakers (with a subwoofer) and a remote control are included, allowing users to watch films and listen to music without having to control the media from their computer keyboards.
Connectivity systems include an integrated DVD Super Multi – Dual Layer and DVD RAM player and recorder, Intel Pro/Wireless 3945ABG technology, Bluetooth and DDR II Dual Channel Memory Support for up to 4GB of RAM. Users can also choose between 80, 100 and 120GB of hard-drive memory (1609DR, 1810DR and 2002DR respectively).