DOHA: Personal computers have become the craze even among low-income expatriates in Qatar leading to a boom in the sales of computer companies. Industry sources attribute the rise in demand to the internet telephony and the wide-ranging entertainment options available in a multi-media system, coupled with their decreasing prices.
Several low-paid workers and an increasing number of families have now become computer-savvy, which on the other hand, has badly hit the business of the numerous computer coaching centres in the country.
Shabeer Mohammed, an Indian network engineer at the Qatar Computer Technology told The Peninsula yesterday that the sale of computers at his company has reported an increase of up to 100 per cent in the past one year.
"A multi-media system is now available at prices ranging from QR1,400 to QR4,000. A large number of low-paid expatriates are approaching us for a computer mainly for the purpose of making phone calls and for entertainment. The demand from families has also gone up rapidly, both from Qataris and expatriates," he said.
He said many Qatari families are now buying separate computers for each of their children, which has tremendously boosted the demand. Several expatriate families have made it a point to have PC at their home, to keep pace with the changing times and benefit from the educational and entertainment value of the computers.
Net telephony has now emerged as a cheap means of communication for expatriate families as well as bachelors with a wide range of options available in the market.
"Many low-income expatriates, who had earlier relied on the internet cafs and telephone booths that had sprung up in Doha are now buying computers on their own either individually or on a sharing basis. They take some basic lessons in computers with the support of their friends or relatives," said Shabeer.
Several companies are now offering computers on an installment basis to cater to the demand from low and middle income expatriates from different nationalities, he added.
He pointed out that the popularity of personal computers had reduced the demand for basic computer courses offered by the training institutes. Only those seeking specialised courses were now depending on such centres, he added. "Most people are satisfied with a basic knowledge of the computers and their operating systems, for which you don't necessarily have to go to a coaching centre," he said.
Iqbal Chettuva, a Keralite social worker, said he had come across with several low-income expatriates who had sought his advice and assistance in buying a computer.
"Recently a Keralite tailor approached me with such a demand. I helped him buy a computer and gave the contact numbers of some coaching centres, which offer basic computer courses at affordable prices. But he told me that one of his friends had offered him to teach some preliminary lessons," he said.
© The Peninsula 2004
