Tablet PCs use touch-screen technology.

WITH the popularity of laptop and notebook computers growing in Myanmar, a Yangon-based ICT company has introduced portable tablet PCs to the domestic computer market.

Parami Group Co., Ltd began early this year to assemble the computers at its branch factory in Singapore for distribution in Myanmar.

Tablet PCs feature touch-screen technology that allows users to write notes directly onto the screen using a digital pen or stylus, which are then converted into text that can be edited using word-processing software.

The computers can also be operated like normal laptops using a keyboard and mouse.

The light weight of the tablet PCs mean they can be taken anywhere – such as school or work – and used as a digital notebook, said U Tin Htun Aung, a sales engineer at Parami.

The company has plans to produce the computers domestically in the future because it wants to distribute them at the most reasonable price so that people can afford to use them widely, he said.

Although most people in Myanmar are not yet familiar with tablet PC technology, it is widely used in the US and Europe, he said.

The company produces two models for the Myanmar market: the Para-IT 1000, which comes with a 1 gigahertz processor, and the Para-IT 800, which is equipped with an 800 megahertz processor. Both come with a video camera.

The computers sell for just over K1 million, but the price can vary depending on the accessories and features that are included.

U Tin Htun Aung said that for now the computer cannot recognise Myanmar-language handwriting, but the company plans with the help of another leading IT company to develop software to solve this deficiency.

He said he expected the market for tablet, laptop and notebook PCs to boom as more people became aware of their uses and advantages, and as more ICT companies became interested in distributing such products.