Crowds drawn to impressive items & prices
Manisha Gangopadhyay
The fourth annual City IT Computer fair is a marked contrast from the BCS fair held earlier last month, where people flocked to stalls attracted by the flashy and for the most part, gadgets beyond their buying capacity. At City IT Fair going on at IDB Bhaban, emphasis is laid on sales rather than show, an attribute reflected in the relatively calm shopping experience during the day and the accessible pricing. "The prices and range of products here are more impressive," said Tareq, a visitor. To quote some prices of the more popular items, the Sony mp3 players with voice recording are going for Tk. 3,400 while 128 MB pen-drives are sold at Tk. 1,500. For executives, the fast-selling Blue Tooth infrared cable that connects various office electronic items mobile phones, fax machines, printers and computers -- are found in the range of Tk 2,000 to 2,500. IRDA's wireless connection is strikingly lower at Tk. 1,500 to1,800. A center stage erected on the ground floor by the fair sponsors -- Asus, Gigabyte and Daffodil International University -- to attract customers to various offers and provide a ground for gaming and graphics competitions held at the fair daily. Today's schedule includes a graphic design competition at 11 am, a gaming competition at 1pm, followed by a raffle draw at 2:30. Each evening, when the fair is in full swing, 3D animation movies are shown on an Intel projection screen. Perhaps the most exciting attribute of the fair is the prizes. The simple purchase of a Tk 10 entry ticket will enter the purchaser to a lottery for a Gigabyte multimedia computer. A single winner is selected daily. So far, no one has claimed the prizes, though the fair is well into its sixth day. Winning ticket numbers can be found on the computer city website: www.cityfair.com "Our goal is to promote sales in the computer city complex and build awareness of the range of products available here," said Azimuddin Ahmed, President of the Computer City Executive Committee. With 15 temporary stalls added to the existing 150, the organisers of the event hope to meet demands of the visitors, as well as rake in profits for vendors. Alongside computer-related products, consumers can also purchase music equipment, CDs and DVDs, and office furniture. The fair, which began December 30, will go on till January 7, giving little ones a chance to get involved in a Shishu Art Competition on the last day.
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. PHOTO: STAR |
