Looks like Intel feels left out of the party.
From TechInvestor:
(11/03/97; 3:05 p.m. EST)
By Mark Hachman,
This week, Intel will unveil plans to attack the low-end consumer market with a low-cost Pentium II designed around yet another new interface, a financial securities analyst said.
The Santa Clara, Calif., company is expected to unveil a low-cost Pentium II built upon a "Slit 1" interface that eliminates the cache SRAM from the Pentium II module, said Charles Boucher, a San Francisco-based analyst for UBS Securities Equity Research
The new Pentium II will eliminate the cache SRAM and "some of the costly mechanical components" to bring the Pentium II subsystem cost down to levels that are compatible with PC system price points in the $1,000 to $2,000 range, he said. The so-called "Slit 1" interface would be bus-compatible with the Slot 1 interface in use by the Pentium II
In downgrading Intel's stock rating from a buy to a hold, Boucher raised concerns about the dilution of Intel ASPs caused by Intel's revised product focus, as well as the lower-than-expected price cuts on its processor lineup. These factors, combined with a lack of improvement in PC and motherboard build rates, should pressure Intel's gross margins downwards, Boucher reported.
In addition, Boucher questioned whether the combination of devalued southeast Asian currencies, combined with a depressed Japanese economy, could be offset by healthy demand for PCs and semiconductors in China and the Americas. |
