Yesterday, I attended the launching of a new brand that is set to make its debut in the local market this year. Axioo, a Singaporean company, has forged a partnership with Millenium Computers Technology to make their line of notebooks available in the Philippines.

Since they’re a relatively new company, their line-up of products is quite limited. For the 1^st half of this year, they are releasing three laptops that will cater to various users depending on their needs.

Most of you might be familiar with the CMPC which is the identical twin of the Neo Explore X1 albeit the different brand name. This obviously targets the students and tech-savvy youth of today, but don’t expect this to last very long because according to Stephen Lim, Axioo managing director, they are set to launch a new UMPC come 2nd half of 2008.

The Zetta TEN, on the other hand, is their entry level full-sized laptop. Powered by an Intel Dual-Core processor with 120 GB HDD capacity, this Vista-running mobile computer has a 13.3-inch TFT display and is set to make its debut with a variety of colored options available.

Likewise, the more powerful Zetta TEC series comes in varied colors as well. This one has an Intel Core 2 Duo running under the hood with 160 GB storage capacity and a variety of connectivity options available such as Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and modem.

Pricing and availability is yet to be determined, but one thing I’m looking forward to is their after-sales support which sounds very enticing with service such as data recovery and loaner units to be lent to customers who have their laptops repaired for a prolonged period of time. Exclusive software was also reported to be bundled with their laptops which might just give them the edge their looking for over the rest of the pack.

With the  entry of this upstart company into the local scene, 2008 is truly shaping up to be a very competitive year for notebook computers.