Dubai: With the demarcation lines blurring between pure tech and consumer electronics companies, they are united in what they must do to connect with the Middle East consumer.
Localisation is the name of this game and there will be a lot of it at the upcoming Gitex and Computer Shopper events.
"Localism helps in a big way when it comes to content," said Osamu Miura, who heads Sony's regional operations. "As we move from being just a hardware manufacturer into a company that integrates content services and hardware, it opens our world to everyone in the world of content development."
Increasingly such content is lending itself to entertainment themes and apps that can provide such an experience. This is what smartphone makers are working to push to their clients in the region and with as much location as is possible.
"We enable everyone to create and participate in entertainment experiences that blur the lines between communication and entertainment through technology," is how Spyridon Gousetis, head of marketing at Sony Ericsson Middle East, describes the transition. "The confluence of entertainment and technology is important to us."
But even now there is enough room for other technologies far removed from the glitz of a smartphone or a tablet. "There is huge market for cordless and corded phones; for instance, cordless home telephony is an important way of communication at home," said Shahzad Ahmad, regional CEO at Gigaset Communications, which plans to use Gitex to roll out new handsets targeted at small and mid-sized business.
"The telecom industry is witnessing rapid changes with fixed-line subscribers from etisalat and du. The triple-play concept of bringing internet, video and telephony together is boosting growth in this industry." Whatever the technology a company may be showcasing, reception to it is overwhelmingly dictated by whether the customer likes it or not and whether he wants to make it part of his life.
At this year's edition of Gitex and Computer Shopper, the consumers and users of today's technology will have a lot to choose from. If they are still undecided, already the technologies of tomorrow are in sight. The golden age of the tech consumer seems set to last for a long time.
