OQO in Singapore?

[Guest]

[xarope]

As a resident of Singapore, it's frustrating to read that the OQO factory is in singapore, but there's no sales presence here, and the other two choices for buying one are Dynamism and Expansys, where RMAs require one to ship the unit back to the USA or Hong Kong respectively.

Does anybody know if there are any plans to start selling OQOs directly in Singapore?  Barring the uselessness of the WWAN versions here, I'm not sure why OQO can't actually do it.  And if you consider that Singapore hosts a major airport in the region, and has a very large expat community in the IT, finance and banking industries, surely this results in a rich market environment for OQO's target audience (executive and other frequent travellers who want to be able to access email through a rich client, and also work on presentations)?

After all, look at the Fujitsu U1010 launch in Singapore; it was sold out in advance, and to this day you still can't buy one "off-the-shelf".

[Dennis Moore]

As a resident of Singapore, it's frustrating to read that the OQO factory is in singapore, but there's no sales presence here, and the other two choices for buying one are Dynamism and Expansys, where RMAs require one to ship the unit back to the USA or Hong Kong respectively.

Does anybody know if there are any plans to start selling OQOs directly in Singapore?  Barring the uselessness of the WWAN versions here, I'm not sure why OQO can't actually do it.  And if you consider that Singapore hosts a major airport in the region, and has a very large expat community in the IT, finance and banking industries, surely this results in a rich market environment for OQO's target audience (executive and other frequent travellers who want to be able to access email through a rich client, and also work on presentations)?

After all, look at the Fujitsu U1010 launch in Singapore; it was sold out in advance, and to this day you still can't buy one "off-the-shelf".

xarope --

If we are to enter Singapore, it would probably be via partnering with a retail partner (or several) who know the local market and have popular retail stores.  Please let us know which retailers you think we should be in touch with in Singapore, and I will make sure they get on our list.

There are several reasons we are not yet in <insert country name here>.  It requires some significant effort to begin selling in any specific country:

• Certification: it takes engineering, QA, and management time to get certification from the government of any country we'd like to ship to (e.g. local Communications Commission, compliance with RoHS/WEEE proof)
• Partnering: we must find a local partner to do business on our behalf, which means we must find a partner that has the right capabilities, reputation, low margins, etc.
• Customization: to be successful, we generally have to customize the product for each country (e.g. different Windows language, possibly different radio/antenna design), which takes substantial time and effort
• Marketing: as we consider entering countries, we have market research to do, then a launch plan and demand creation programs, ...

This is a partial list, but one that requires substantial resources for a company.  We will get to many countries, but it will take time.

Thanks for thinking of us!

-- Dennis Moore, OQO

[xarope]

Thanks for the candor, Dennis.  I can see several routes where you could go:
- notebook specific chains e.g. AAAs, P.A. mart
- boutique shops e.g. one of my favourite, Eastgear (they specialize in camera and PDA equipment though. they have yet to sell laptops)
- If a 3G version of the OQO is available, you could market directly through the Telcos e.g. Singtel, M1, Starhub (implicit advantage being they could then push the certification of the 3G module with IDA directly - IDA being the equivalent of the telco watchdog in Singapore).  As an example, M1's advertising for their 3G services includes a version of the Fujitsu P1610 and Q1010 with embedded 3G being demo'd in their bricks & mortar (Have a look at their website, http://m1.com.sg/broadband/m1bb.htm; unfortunately it is flash, so you have to click on broandband devices at the bottom right, then scroll down to the Q1010 image in the middle to get the verbiage about their partnership with Fujitsu).
- Even if a 3G version is not available, the Telco(s) are already marketing USB or bluetooth 3G modems (M1 is pushing the Vodaphone Mobile Connect USB modem for their 3G package, whilst Singtel is pushing the Huawei E220 equivalent).   I'm certainly already toying with the idea of an OQO without WWAN, and using bluetooth  to connect to a bluetooth enabled 3G modem,  or USB, with the 3G modem stuck to the case of the OQO somewhere (if the USB device is small enough to be unobstrusive).
 
Of course, low margins will always be a problem... 

WRT certification, for non-3G/WWAN versions, what sort of certification have you needed in each of the countries so far, for the inbuilt wireless features, i.e. WiFi, bluetooth?

WRT retail presence, Singapore's Funan Centre and Sim Lim Square are famous for being THE places to go for computer equipment, there are even websites like hardwarezone and vr-zone regularly have price lists, and walkthroughs of stores at Sim Lim Square.

These retailers will not normally handle e.g. RMAs etc directly, so you would still need a service centre presence.