Price monitoring inside the nation’s IT market over the weekend have yet again given indications that the downward plunge witnessed in the last few weeks in prices of computers and laptops may not end soon as latest information from published price listings inside the market show that the price of mini laptops have yet again dropped further; from forty five thousand to forty thousand naira.

Like a story too good to be true, this new trend is putting the laptop into the hands of more and more people across the country. Early last year, mini laptop devices have been priced at a whopping N80,000 to N90,000. It’s zigzag downward is following the hopeful predictions of IT pro-awareness campaigners and stakeholders who have during speeches at several IT occasions reiterated their hopes that by the year 2020 every house hold in the country will have an internet-enabled computer device.

It is still uncertain what the exact reasons for the price crash are as even dealers in IT wares who spoke to this reporter are unsure of their answers. They have indicated that these changes are coming from the computer makers themselves but then, they as well as other external market observers are not ruling out extremely powerful market share competition which has been a battle for all in the market in the last two months.

However, refurbished computers and laptops which have for years stood as a major and very formidable competition for brand new computers and laptops in the market is already fast disappearing from sales locations in the market.

However, a few remain and do not seem willing to back down quite easily. CyberLIFE’s investigations have revealed that these adulterated laptops have also had huge price chunks removed from it’s tags and now strike low at an outrageously suspicious N25,000 for a mini computer.

Market observers, however are not surprised and have rather noted it as clever as this had always been the strategy. But then, they note that it may never be enough to once again to reclaim a market that they had once held bound for months.

Refurbished computers are synonymous with extremely low price tags and this massive price slashes from brand new computer models is a dark threat to it. Already, refurbished phone version have literarily been obliterated from the market.

— Charles Mgbolu