A survey by a Chinese research company shows 25% of urban households have a PC at the top of their shopping lists, but less than 1% plan to get internet access via the much-hyped set-top boxes which will soon flood the market. The researchers said the low figure may be because of ignorance of what set-top boxes can do.
Beijing Horizon Market Research Co surveyed more than 3,000 families in 10 top cities including Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, and found 20% of them already have a PC at home. This compares to TV in virtually all homes, telephones in 77% of homes, video compact disc players in 58% and mobile phones in 31%. About 7% of the families polled plan to buy a telephone, a VCD player or a mobile phone in the next year.
The average monthly income of a family was a major factor in deciding whether to buy a computer, which costs at least twice as much a most families make in a month. Those with monthly incomes of between 2,000 yuan ($240) and 3,000 yuan
($360) accounted for the bulk of people planning to buy a PC. The price range they are planning to pay is between 5,000 yuan ($600) and 10,000 yuan ($1,200), with most saying they are looking at a sub-7000 yuan purchase.
