Sharp takes second stab at laptop sales

Hardware Vendor repositions itself to go back in the high end.

Sharp is back in the UK laptop market with the release of its first product since it ceased production of its earlier range in March.

The manufacturer, which was tight-lipped when it pulled out of the market earlier this year amid rumours of poor sales, said the UltraLite notebook was 'part of a refocus on the mobile market'.

James Johnston, product marketing manager for mobile products at Sharp, denied that the manufacturer had pulled out of the laptop market in the first place.

'There was a gap in development while we made the transition from the traditional thick laptop, but the plan was always to go to the smaller machines,' he said.

But one industry source said: 'I think Sharp was worried about catching Asian flu earlier in the year, when you could buy computers two-a-penny.

Although sales were good, it was making more money from selling microwaves.'

Paul Fusi, mobile divisional manager at Sharp, denied that the company's re-entry into the market would confuse the channel. 'Our reseller base was kept informed of our intentions and fully understood our position,' he said.

Andy Brown, analyst at IDC, said: 'Sharp has decided it will go for the niche high-end technology market.'

The PC-A100 UltraLite will be the first in a family of notebooks, which will be distributed in the UK through Interface Systems International (ISI) and Northamber when released in October. John Garside, Sharp product manager at ISI, said there had been great interest in the notebook - which weighs 1.4 kg and is less than 1in thick - from the traditional mail-order routes, specialist Vars and large corporate resellers.