Intel’s making hardware sales more lucrative for resellers and system
builders again, working together with a handful of ODMs on a family of notebook
products called “Spring Peak”
that can be white-labeled and resold to business end customers at a margins estimated
to be above 10 percent.
ODMs such as ASI, Equus and Seneca Data have
introduced to the channel two notebooks and a docking station that works with
both notebooks. A 13.3-inch notebook is based on Intel’s previous generation of
processor chips, the Core 2 Duo. The 15.6-inch notebook features the processor
chips Intel unveiled today, the 2010 Intel Core family.
Intel’s Bill Davidson, mobile marketing manager, told Channel Insider that the
13.3-inch notebook is ultra-low voltage (ULV) and is less than an inch thick.
The docking station features an optical drive that can be used when either
notebook is docked.
Both notebooks support Intel’s Anti-Theft technology, but the 13.3-inch
notebook does not support the vPro technology announced by Intel today.
“Customers have been asking for notebooks that support the channel,” Davidson
told Channel Insider. These notebooks do because of the margin opportunity and
because of their business-required features, such as the docking station.
Previously, said Davidson, if an RFP specified a docking station, the channel
and system builders couldn’t pursue it. Now they can.
Today’s pricing marks a difference, too.
“Whitebooks have been priced at a disadvantage when compared to notebooks,”
Davidson said. These new notebooks are configured with features businesses want
and are priced in such a way so that resellers and system builders can earn a
healthy margin—above 10 percent—when sold into businesses and priced
competitive to other business PCs. Davidson says they will be “very
competitive” when compared with other notebooks for business. They are not
priced to compete with consumer PCs, however.
“This is about the fact that the channel has historically had a difficult time
competing with the really aggressive price points advertised in the Sunday
circular, but have been more successful with the slightly higher price points
for business notebooks,” Davidson told Channel Insider.
Intel’s Anti-Theft technology, sold with software, support and service, provides
channel partners with additional revenue opportunities.
Davidson acknowledges that in North America there aren’t
many of these whitebook PCs sold through the reseller channel when compared
with those sold by branded manufacturers such as Dell and HP.
The business features in the Spring Peak
lineup will help system builders make more of a dent, Davidson believes.
“Our primary goal is to help local OEMs and channel be more successful,” he
said. “System builders and the channel be successful with a channel-friendly
and channel-branded notebook.”
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