Computer maker NEC is showing off a new pink Hello Kitty-branded notebook with glittering crystals, aimed at working women. Japanese-animated cat Hello Kitty is hugely successful around the world, particularly among young girls. And it's being branded on more and more electronics gadgets.
The NEC La Vie G Hello Kitty model, available in Japan only for 199,500 Yen (£829), went on sale yesterday. So far it's selling well, company spokesman Shinya Hashizume said this morning. "PC users now tend to be men, but we're hoping to attract women with this product," she added.
The notebook computer has been developed in collaboration with Sanrio , the Tokyo-based company behind Hello Kitty. It uses 299 Swarovski crystals to depict four hearts, as well as Hello Kitty wearing a pink bow and crown.
NEC is hoping to sell several hundred of the Hello Kitty notebooks in the next few months. It's targeting Japanese workers in the summertime as this is when they receive their twice-a-year bonuses, Hashizume said.
The machine comes with Windows Vista Home Premium, 100GB hard drive and 1GB memory. And it's being advertised as a notebook that's "dazzling and gorgeous like a jewellery box". It also has a 15.4-inch screen, a 1.6GHz AMD Sempron processor and an ATI Radeon Xpress 1100 graphics chip.
