Sunday, Mar 01, 2009
Gulf News
Dubai: Shipments of interactive whiteboards for classrooms in the Middle East are expected to touch 12,000 this year, an increase of 20 per cent over the 10,000 units in 2008, an official said.
"Both educators and businesses are examining their spending more closely in the current economic downturn. But both groups are also aware that technology is an investment. Despite the economic uncertainty, globalisation initiatives are expected to increase, and this fuels the demand for skilled knowledge workers ," said Rahim Habib, area manager for Smart Technologies Middle East.
"The proper use of Information and Communications Technology [ICT], such as interactive whiteboards, in schools helps countries develop tech-savvy knowledge workers who will contribute to knowledge economies."
According to Futuresource Consulting, the interactive whiteboard industry is growing. The worldwide interactive whiteboard product category continues to exhibit rapid growth, and forecasts that the annual number of units shipped will double over the next three to four years, with global classroom market penetration increasing from 5.4 per cent in 2008 to 16.2 per cent, or approximately one in six classrooms, by 2012.
Smart, a company based in Canada, currently has a 57 per cent share of the interactive whiteboard product category, selling more interactive whiteboards than all its competitors combined, according to Futuresource.
He said currently most interactive whiteboard sales in the Gulf region are in the UAE and Saudi Arabia and they are also the fastest growing and most matured markets for us. Globally, classroom market penetration is led by the UK at 72 per cent, followed by Mexico at 26.7 per cent and the US at 22.4 per cent in 2008.
The company recently launched Touch Recognition in the Middle East. It is an interactive whiteboard which will have the ability to automatically detect the difference between a finger, a pen, and the palm of the hand.
For example, someone at the board can draw a shape with a pen (in digital ink), touch it with his finger to move it around the board, and then use his palm to erase the drawing - all without having to return the pen to the pen tray. This new feature mimics how someone would use a 'dry-erase' whiteboard.
"Smart's interactive whiteboards have always been the most widely installed interactive whiteboards in the world, largely because they are the easiest to use," said Nancy Knowlton, Smart's CEO. "Touch Recognition builds on that legacy and makes the SMART Board interactive whiteboard even better."
"This year we will launch another new product - Smart Table - the first interactive learning centre designed specifically for primary school students. The new product is a brightly coloured table with a touch-sensitive surface where groups of students can simultaneously interact with digital content," Habib said.
Gulf News 2009. All rights reserved.
