What, no fanfare, nothing? Just a Facebook ad? Okay then.
Updated: We found evidence about Nagatech which they answered. To reiterate, this post is merely our opinion we gathered from our research about Nagatech, and whatever testimony we receive, be it personal or professional, should not be taken 100% as fact. This article is constantly being updated, especially if we find new information.
The Philippines has long yearned for international recognition when it comes to technological innovation, be it with laptops, phones, vehicles, and appliances. It’s the Filipino resilience that makes them strive for more in the vast space. A startup called NagaTech, has shared in its Facebook page, their new laptop without any fanfare, announcement, or any kind of invitation for that matter. It just… popped up, seemingly out of nowhere too.
After a while, the media seemed to have picked it up too, hence why we’re making an article about it. As of this writing, only about five big players in the tech industry have reported on it. It would be nice if ours appeared on top of Google’s search results as well. Unlike the others, where they are celebrating about this new startup, we are skeptical of it, for a few reasons.
Disclaimer: This is purely our opinion, and we do not claim that any of it are 100% factual.
NO FANFARE:
Naga is a tech company, describing itself as a local assembler of laptops, according to their LinkedIn. However, they have a VERY FEW follower count, and if they are going to be this “revolutionary brand”, at least there would be some sort of invitation, right? In addition, their Facebook page was only created very recently, since January 31, and they have not shared posts about them assembling laptops from other brands like Lenovo, Asus, or Acer.
The post appeared in our Facebook timeline with the caption “The first-ever LOCALLY assembled high-performance productivity laptop!”. Its name is called “Naga Sipag”. The name comes from the city of Naga, where the founder is from, and “Sipag”, which, in English, means “productive”. A pretty short and catchy name, we must say.
The boosted post caught the attention of many Facebook users, and the page ballooned to 2,000 likes and 2.5K likes in a matter of days. Although, the first appearance of this laptop was not on Facebook but rather on Reddit, where we were able to contact them to share information about themselves.
Reddit: Where We Found Them
Nagatech posted about the laptop in r/tech_philippines. The company goes by the username “Nagatek”, which is probably their old name before they changed it recently, that, or it’s the founder’s personal account. Here, the founder, Justin Kahlil, who also is the CEO, stated his goals and plans why he assembled his first-ever laptop. The post got viral immediately after being posted. We are also surprised and pleased to see that he answers many of the inquiries and concerns many users have about the brand.
Underneath the post, Nagatech’s goal is ” to import and fabricate parts from Taiwan (staying away from China for now as they are causing a lot of trouble for our waters over at spratleys) (sic), assemble the products locally, and launch them as our very own locally-made electronics and eventually export to other countries as well.” The company probably won’t import parts from China soon, due to geopolitical reasons, mainly, the issue the Philippines have with the West Philippine Sea.
In addition, they stated that, in their long-term goals they may become a local “chipset manufacturer”. What we like about Nagatech is that they never claimed to have designed the laptop from scratch and are completely honest that they sourced the parts from Taiwan. We’ve seen so many Filipino brands using the country’s misguided nationalism as a way to market themselves, rather than just being who they are.
A user, MassDestructorXD on Reddit, asked about the laptop itself, whether it is an original design or an OEM model. This is the answer we’ve been looking for and we’re surprised to see that Nagatech actually responded. They mentioned that the OEM is TongFang and what they’re doing is simply “white-labeling”. This is a practice common for startups, and even bigger brands.
“White labeling” is a term used in retailing wherein brands adds their own logo or branding from a product made by a third party. Although, just like with Cherry Mobile, the retailer (in this case, Nagatech), can make a few adjustments to the product they already have, such as replacing parts, and adding customization, to suit their needs.
In addition, Nagatech is planning to outsource from big names such as Foxconn (known for assembling iPhones), Pegatron (Asus’ OEM brand), and Quanta, known for assembling computers for Apple, Acer, Alienware, and other big brands. In the same reply, Nagatech also mentioned that aftersales is their main focus and have been in talks to different high-rated repair shops in Parañaque for example.
When we searched about “TongFang”, it led us to a Chinese website and a business called “Tongfang Co., Ltd. On the contrary to Nagatech’s claims, they are based in China, not Taiwan, as their address leads to Beijing, the capital of China. Although, the aforementioned OEM brands “Pegatron”, “Quanta”, and “Foxconn” are all based in Taiwan. We made sure this was the correct business so we cross-checked their internet presence.
There is a subreddit called r/tongfang that may not be related or affiliated to the company. When you browse, you will find users inquiring about different computer peripherals and laptop chassis, GPUs/CPUs, and the like. We’ll speculate that budget concerns are why they went with this brand instead of the aforementioned three. Although, this contradicts Nagatech’s claims of outsourcing to Taiwan instead of China due to geopolitical issues.
According to their website, Tongfang is funded by the Tsinghua University in 1997 which is a public university in Beijing, China. Currently, SASAC (State-Owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council) is the major shareholder and owner of Tongfang. From these evidences, Tongfang is owned by the Chinese government.
A user asked if they have a physical store and whether they have warranty. To which Nagatek replied. The price of the laptop is projected to be PHP 39,995 (~USD 700) and that warranty is currently only available in Metro Manila. This warranty covers 1 year, including parts and labour. The brand also noted that they are working on an online store. That’s nice of them honestly.
Another user by the name of “kaishea”, shared their two cents about the product. In a nutshell, they suggested to have popular and reliable content creators to take a look at their new laptop because these organic reviews will help the public be more trusting of Nagatech. Nagatech replied saying “Truly an in-depth review of the product as a whole will be important”.
As we mentioned, we reached out to them. To our surprise, they replied quickly. We outright mentioned that we are skeptical because there really is no fanfare about this brand existing. To us, what they’re doing is simply “rebranding”. The page just appeared in users’ Facebook feeds, which seems odd to us. We’re thankful that they are objective about the response. Here’s what they have to say about our skepticism.
“I’ve actually been in the laptop industry for over 7 years now. We’ve been selling branded imported laptops. I’ve built up over 500 5 star reviews on Facebook with over 50,000 followers and countless happy clients, even with our aftersales. I haven’t shown my OG business to the public, as I want to build this from scratch. There is a fine line between “rebrand” and “assembly” and we’re going to go for the assembly route as realistically, we will be contributing to this country by providing jobs, opportunities, and creating high quality devices to be sold locally and internationally. Despite the products being available for any other person to buy or “rebrand”— ideally no one will be able to match our QC, marketing, and support.”
We also emailed them, as per their recommendation. In it, we requested whether we could test the laptop themselves or add us in their pipeline. Currently, the brand is “not looking for more reviewers right now as [they] already have some in the pipeline”. After mailing them, we got ourselves in their pipeline, so we’ll see how far this goes. They did not disclose about the aforementioned Facebook page with “50,000 followers and 500 5-star reviews”.
Some of our colleagues posted about Nagatech already, so we contacted them about the brand. One of them actually responded. They stated that they also only saw the brand pop up in their feed as a sponsored post because he was looking for laptops. They also stated that there is a chance that the owner does truly have their own brand that they are not willing to share yet. Although, this is just speculation. Once they have enough following on Nagatech, they might invite content creators and the media, during which the owner will reveal about their older brand. This connects with Nagatek’s statement to us on Reddit stating that they are not ready to show their OG business until Nagatech has grown.
THE SPECS:
On the sponsored Facebook post, Nagatech shared some key specs the laptop has. They are the following:
- Intel Core Ultra 5
- 512GB PCIe Gen 4 SSD
- 16GB DDR5 RAM
- 14” 2880x1800p 120hz 100% sRGB Display
- 100w PD Charger + 1080p Webcam
Based on the pictures, the ports and the fan are located the back, like the Lenovo LOQ. This is an unusual, but practical decision as the sides are where your hands would rest in, so having the fans at the side might not be ideal unless you like it warm. We also like how the fans are at the back and not at the bottom because having them at the bottom will just cause the internal parts, like the motherboard, battery, and storage, to heat up fast, which can damage them. Although, there are extra fans visible underneath. As seen in the image above, there is a USB-C port, an HDMI port, and the ethernet port, all located at the back frame.
A user on Reddit asked whether the laptop will have a Ryzen version. Nagatech responded that they might have a Ryzen version, and maybe they could sell it for a more affordable price. A user by the name of “KingPowerDog” supported this idea by stating that Intel Core laptops are a dealbreaker to them, and they avoid it for “personal reasons”.
OUR VERDICT? LET’S SEE HOW FAR THIS GOES!
Nagatech is still a new brand, so it just feels right to be skeptical, especially after they suddenly appeared in everyone’s Facebook feed, either as a promotional post or not. However, if you browse outside of Facebook, say through their Reddit, you can find answers about what the brand is about. We’re happy that they are actually responsive to many users’ inquiries and concerns, including those that we need answers to, such as “Is this a rebrand?” “What OEM is this laptop from?” and “What about local warranty and servicing?”. They also frequently reply to our emails and our chat, and they are pretty transparent, too. That is something you BARELY hear from any startup.
Are we skeptics? Well, based on what we found out, we still are, but we are supportive of their growth. Let’s give a chance to them. This is the type of thing Filipinos should be happy about, whether it is the so-called “rebrand” or not. Who knows? They might even get bigger in the future, and be competitive.
We’re not here to destroy Nagatech, we’re just explaining why we are skeptical. Their transparency is what sold us on the brand. We could not have done it without their responses, or the support from the tech community.
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