At the Flex with HP event taking place at South by South West Sydney (SXSW) two weeks ago, I had the opportunity to interview the Vice President & Category Head of HP's Greater Asia Personal Systems, namely Kong Koh Meng. He is one of the individuals responsible for the marketing of HP products in the Asian region including Malaysia. I had a few questions. ask him and I will share the answer in this article.
Question – First of all, what is the main reason for HP to participate in SXSW Sydney this year as the main sponsor of the Technology & Innovation Expo? Normally SXSW is not a tech event.
Answer – South by South West (SXSW) is an event that focuses on creative creators. It doesn't matter if it's music, film or art. In this day and age, many creative creators become digital content creators whose majority of their work is produced using technology such as smartphones or computers. So by trying to attract the attention of these creative content creators, HP's presence at SXSW Sydney is to encourage them to turn to the HP ecosystem to produce their work.
Question – Four months ago, IDC released a report that the production of personal computers had shrunk by 29% in the first quarter of the year. What is HP's strategy to recover this and seize the top spot in the global market for personal computer products?
Answer - If you look back at the report released by IDC, HP is still one of the largest manufacturers. Among the reasons why the decline occurred is that very high demand has occurred during the pandemic with global PC sales increasing up to 150 million in a very short period of time. Many users have bought a personal computer and each of them in the majority is still satisfied.
Even so, this does not mean that HP continues to give in – in fact, it is still in the process of competing with other manufacturers to be the first in the world. The first is to launch new category products globally such as the HP Specter Fold and the Envy Move mobile AIO desktop. Then for the Malaysian market specifically, HP has worked closely with distributors to offer the most worthwhile laptops in addition to participating in government programs so that more Malaysians can afford to own at least one personal computer.
Question - Will HP come with a laptop powered by an ARM chip to compete with the MacBook with Apple Silicon? Maybe with the Snapdragon X Series chip that will be launched at the end of October?
Answer – True, it is a challenge in the PC world. However, HP still focuses on product categories that people want and listen to existing HP user requests. For now HP cannot reveal new product plans. But to compete with Apple with existing products, HP has come up with its own AI-powered software such as an app that can control the built-in web camera on our existing products.
This software can provide Center Stage-like support regardless of which teleconference service is used and is able to improve the quality of video calls with professional camera mimicry and has been edited by professionals. We are also working with our undisclosed chip partners to prepare new products that will only be revealed at any time.
Question - If OMEN is a premium gaming computer category and Victus is an affordable category, will HP come with an affordable Specter Fold so that more people can afford to buy products in this new category?
Answer – I want to make it clear to everyone in this room that the HP Specter Fold is an expensive product but well worth owning. It combines two premium laptops + premium tablets + mobile monitors + AIO desktops + foldable screen devices in an all-in-one format. If you buy one by one, the price of all these devices can have a total price of over RM28,000. So by buying the Specter Fold you have received a saving of around RM4,000.
Of course HP will always listen to user complaints and requests. If the first generation of this foldable screen laptop receives positive feedback, it is not impossible for us to offer a more affordable version in the future.
Question – Intel has stopped production of NUC products and so far only Asus will use this series name for their desktops. Will HP offer the same product category?
Answer – Why is it necessary to offer a NUC product that requires users to purchase additional components separately, if we already offer the HP Slim Desktop, HP Elite Small Form Factor or HP Pro Small Form Factor as a stand-alone compact desktop. All users regardless of whether they are individuals or for business can choose the best specifications before buying?
After making a selection, we will continue to deliver compact desktops with specifications according to the user's wishes that will surely last for years before upgrading to next-generation specifications.
Question – Omen and Victus are famous brands for gaming laptops under HP. With the advent of Windows mobile gaming consoles like ASUS ROG Ally and Lenovo Legion Go, will HP offer more or less the same product?
Answer – Of course we at HP are aware of the existence of this product to target users who are active in the video game category. However, as I said earlier, HP is currently focusing on what users want. Mobile consoles are still not in our plans in the near future.
Question – Finally, what is the most popular product line in Malaysia offered by HP and what are the main factors driving its sales?
Answer – Based on my personal monitoring, I found that many users in Malaysia prefer gaming laptops in the OMEN series. This is possible due to our competitive prices compared to competitors along with the quality of customer service we provide. This OMEN category is preferred by individual users.