Karel Felipe Owner of Lotus Computers and Lotuspc.net Interview

Laptop Tester on Blogger Interviews Karel Felipe Owner of Lotus Computers and Lotuspc.net, an American Company of high standards and great products.

First of all, this is a pure pleasure to be able to do this. I emailed Karel Felipe not too long ago looking to possibly do an review on one of his laptop products. Unlike 90% of the other emails I receive from his competitors, who basically send me automated replies, Karel actually took the time to respond personally. That is to me the number one reason for doing this interview and that response also reflects the quality of Lotus Computers.

Interviewer Jeff A Kaufman Owner of Laptop Tester on Blogger (JAK)
Interviewee Karel Felipe Owner of Lotus Computers and Lotuspc.net(KF)

HISTORY OF LOTUS COMPUTERS  

JAK: How long have you been in business?

KF: Lotus has been in business since 2007. We started out building custom desktops, then shortly after we began to make our own line of desktops, which is a business model we kept as-is until around early 2010. At that point, we introduced our first laptops: the Solstice 13 and Solstice 15. The Solstice 13 model is about the same as always, though it has received many technical improvements. The Solstice 15 has since changed, and is now based on the same family as the Eclipse 15, which has also been around for a while.

JAK: How big is your company today?

KF: We are a small company with a small staff. Surprisingly though, we have enormous production capacity, thanks to our partnerships with the world’s top suppliers. Our small size allows us to get a little more personal with our customers, which everyone really loves. As we grow though (and we’re sure growing!), our priorities are and always will be top quality products and a commitment to service and the overall experience.

JAK: Can you give us a brief history on you yourself?

KF: I founded Lotus when I was just 18 years old, using nothing more than a website I built myself. In my earlier years, I always had an interest in business but also design. I ended up studying marketing, which is a bit of a mix of both. It’s worked out, as I’ve been able to use that knowledge to create and build a brand that works and people are proud of. The brand became bigger than me, and it’s now recognized nationally and globally for quality, service, and stylish design.

GET TO KNOW LOTUS COMPUTERS                              

JAK: What is your number one seller in your laptop systems?

KF: All our laptop models generate about an equal amount of interest and sales, but our new Eclipse 15 is especially popular. Although it’s marketed mainly as a gaming laptop, it turns out professional users who do things like design and engineering really love the Eclipse 15. Our Solstice line is also really great, and that one’s popular with a wide range of people like business users, everyday consumers, and even gamers.

JAK: What Platforms do you use in your production?

KF: Our Solstice 13 is based on a platform built by Gigabyte, which is well known for making some of the best PC components on the market. They do a really superb job on the Solstice 13, and our job is to ensure it’s customized to order, perfectly built, setup properly, and exceeds expectations. I’m happy to say this is all true; our customers absolutely love their laptops. The same goes for the Solstice 15 and Eclipse 15. Those are built on a different but equally high quality platform by Clevo. The same process goes into them as far as customization, quality control, and the assurance that the customer will love the computer for years. In regards to where they are built, the base platform for all the laptops are built in Asia, but a really big part of the work, customization, setup, etc. is done right here in the USA. Every single laptop goes through a testing process and thorough inspection to ensure everything works exactly as designed. We also never include any bloatware; just what’s needed to make the laptops run as designed, whether using Windows or Ubuntu Linux.

JAK: Those are great platforms, being that you are an American company, does that help drive sales?

KF: Being an American company that builds in America, it absolutely boosts sales. There are tons of American computer companies, but most of the computers people buy from other brands are assembled entirely overseas. I was aware of this back in 2007, and that’s one of the reasons I started Lotus. I knew people wanted good quality computers, built by hand in the USA by an American workforce. Although our footprint on the economy and job market is small right now, I have promised to keep as many jobs here as possible, even if that means less profit. We see what has happened to the job market and our economy due in part to outsourcing, and we want to do whatever we can to create jobs and tax revenue here in the USA. Maybe some would think I’m a bad businessman, but it’s the only right thing to do. We all want to give back to the country that gave us this opportunity in the first place.

JAK: What is your best gaming laptop, and business styled laptop?

KF: Our best gaming laptop is absolutely the Eclipse 15. It has enormous power and can handle just about anything, really. I think we have two excellent business laptops: The Solstice 13 is great as a lightweight, compact travel companion. It has a good amount of power, though it’s not exactly powerful enough for serious number crunching, 3D graphics, design, etc. However for most “office” tasks, it’s an excellent, very professional looking laptop. The Solstice 15 is also great, and it comes upgradable all the way to a quad core Intel Core i7, and comes with dedicated NVIDIA graphics (with Optimus) standard. The finish isn’t quite as professional as the 13″ laptop, but it’s still a great business PC for those who need something bigger and more powerful.

JAK: Has your company or products won any awards?

KF: We haven’t won any awards (yet), probably because we are still not very widely known. However, a large number of the components we use have won several awards, so I guess by extension we have. We only use the best, and I think when given the opportunity we will really shine.

JAK: Sitting at your desk right now, what is sitting in front of you as we speak?

KF: I use and have used a number of different computers. I’ve owned or used computers from Dell, Apple, even custom systems, but today I use the newest Lotus Solstice 15+, which is just about ready to be revealed to the world. I believe in my own products!

 LAPTOP TESTER REMARKS                                              

We were lucky to manage to get this interview with Karel Felipe and equally proud to be able to display the laptop product lines from Lotuspc.net. We truly believe that Karel’s personality seems to radiate directly into his own company.

We will continue to do more interviews on Laptop Tester and hope to continue having the opportunity to showcase companies just like Karel’s Lotus Brand, that are part of the American economy and computer business that we have managed to take part of as a resource for consumers looking for their next purchase.

As always, here at Laptop Tester, we only blog about products that we believe are worth blogging about. Lotus did not give us a single penny to do this interview, Karel however did give us his time and appreciation, which maybe some of you other companies should learn to do.So therefor we have decided to give Lotus their first Award, and our first award handout. Congratulations Lotus Computers!!

We look forward to Karel’s next new releases and the new Lotus Solstice 15+, and we will keep his products updated here as much as possible. Lotus is a true American Company that we are proud to showcase here on Laptop Tester.

If you would like to check out Lotus Computers and see for yourself what they are all about, visit their site at Lotuspc.net and if you buy one, don’t forget to tell them you found them on here.

Jeffrey A Kaufman

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