Notebooks with non-Cyrillic keyboard appeared in Russia

More and more often computers are being imported into Russia, the keyboard of which does not have a Russian layout. It is reported by “Kommersant”.

Market participants said that the share of laptops with keyboards without a Cyrillic layout is growing due to parallel imports. Experts explained that such equipment was not produced for the Russian market, so it may not have the usual option.

According to Andrey Latyshev, Head of Laptops and PCs at Marvel Distribution, the total number of laptops and keyboards imported into Russia without the Russian layout could reach 10 percent by the end of the year. Moreover, such products appear both in large retailers and in small Chinese companies.

“If laptops or keyboards are intended for the Russian market or the EAEU, the products have a Russian layout. In other cases, there is the possibility of engraving, including in the Russian Federation, ”the Ministry of Industry and Trade said. Representatives of a major laptop manufacturer noted that the cost of engraving is up to 2 thousand rubles, but such a procedure may lead to the termination of the manufacturer’s warranty.

According to Kommersant’s sources in the government, the lack of keyboards with the Russian layout also affects the execution of a number of government contracts. The interlocutors said that the contractor cannot supply workstations (workstation) without a keyboard or with an English layout. “Suppliers are now looking for ways to buy Russian keyboards,” the source said.

At the end of July, it became known that Apple had agreed to compensate $50 million to owners of laptops with defective keyboards. Payouts are eligible for customers who purchased a MacBook, MacBook Air, and most MacBook Pro models between 2015 and 2019 in select US states.