Microsoft to up hardware shipment

The world's largest software vendor, Microsoft, is poised to increase its shipment of hardware items to India by 25 per cent this year. While it had shipped close to 800,000 units in the previous years, it plans to ship one million units "� peripherals comprising computer mouse, keyboards, web cameras, and headsets excluding the Xbox "� to India by the end of the financial year. While Microsoft does not disclose country sales for the Xbox, globally it has sold 12.5 million units so far.

Targeting a growth rate of 50 per cent for the next year, Mohit Anand, country manager, Microsoft Entertainment & Devices Division, said, "Microsoft India is among the top 5 global destinations, with a huge potential. We are currently among the top three computer peripheral providers in the country in terms of revenue, with around 18-20 per cent market share. However, in terms of units shipped, a fair assessment cannot be given as over 50 per cent of the goods are through the Chinese market. As the number of PCs shipped rises, the peripherals market increases too since it is directly correlated to it. Thus, we perform better as India is poised towards shipping 8 million PC units by 2008. This despite the fact that the computer peripherals' market is fragmented."