56% of India’s Gen Y buy their first laptop on basis of looks: Survey

A survey says a majority of India’s Generation Y buys their first laptop depending on looks and design rather usability and performance.

The survey, commissioned by PCQuest, says 56 percent of them go for design and other factors like internal DVD drive more than long use or stability and processing speed that determines performance.

Durability is last on their minds. However, when it comes to their second laptop purchase, they are more conscious and tables are reversed. Durability along with long use and stability becomes their first demand. Internal DVD drive and design etc. come last.

The study focussed on laptop users in the 18-27 age bracket, across seven major cities including Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Delhi, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai & Pune, primarily in second year of graduation from engineering, economics, law and other colleges, of which half of them were using their first laptop and the other half were seasoned users i.e. they had ‘graduated’ to their second machine, and in a few cases their third or more.

Survey highlights:

• 56% of first laptop-buyers decide on looks and most regret it later, durability becomes their first demand in second purchase
• ‘Delhiites’ love to collect information, Banglaoreans love to create information, Kolkata students love to socialize, Ahmedabad is mad about games while ‘Mumbaikars’ love to watch cinema on their laptops
• Average daily laptop usage time is 3 hours 40 minutes, students in the East use it longer than students in other regions
• Durability was the top priority for those working in Bangalore – India’s Silicon Valley such that the laptop survives the vagaries of long use
• 78% still prefer laptops over tablets, tablets are not eating away the laptop market pie as fast as perceived
• 81% of the respondents did not know about the Toshiba being the first to introduce commercial consumer-grade laptops. The brand users were also found to be significantly less troubled by breakdowns