RTC launches its own PC brand, Octra

ProCa also plans to develop  Octra brand desktop monitors, MP3 players, memory sticks, and data storage units, Uruc said.

Octra is part of a pilot program, whose goal is to sell 3,000 units in the coming three months. The brand will target mainly teenagers and students, so the PCs are equipped with Windows Vista  Home Basic, several education applications, such as Encarta Encyclopedia, the Maths educational software, and several games. All computers will have AMD processors.

This RTC move comes at a time when Microsoft is pushing to boost sales of Vista OEM, while AMD is trying to meet the market level of its main international competitor, Intel.

Moreover, ProCa's business increased last year due to the sale of some 25,000 computers to major retailers such as Carrefour, Real, Cora and Metro.

According to company estimates, ProCa had a five percent share of the PC market last year, which amounts to a total of 500,000 computers sold. This year the company is targeting an eight percent share, or 40,000 computers sold, at a time when PC sales are not expected to increase significantly.

This is the main reason for the shift of ProCa's strategy from  supplying retailers with "no-name" PCs to producing computers under its own brand.

Increase
ProCa's business increased last year due to the sale of some 25,000 computers to major retailers such as Carrefour, Real, Cora and Metro.