Computer prices continue to drop. Within a few years, most of the revenue and all of the earnings of the box makers will disappear because of this inevitable trend. Relevant articles from EE-Times this week:
a new entry in the low-cost PC market
The PCs are initially expected to carry a suggested retail price of between $499 and $599, but one source in the retail industry said rebates could cut these prices by more than $100. ...
According to a specification sheet obtained by CRW, the EZ-Machine will be available in four configurations. The $499 models will contain a 333-MHz Celeron or a 350-MHz K6-2 CPU and 32 Mbytes of RAM. The $599 models will be based on a 400-MHz Celeron or a 400-MHz K6-2 CPU, 32 Mbytes of RAM, and a 4X DVD-ROM drive.
techweb.com
Emachines eroded PC prices even further on Monday, shipping four new models that will sell for less than $600, including one with a DVD drive.
The eTower 333id is priced at $599 after a manufacturer rebate, and features an Intel Celeron A 333-MHz processor, a 5X DVD drive, 32 megabytes of RAM, and a 4.3-gigabyte hard drive.
The other models sell for less than $500. The eTower 300c costs $399 and features a Cyrix M-II 300-MHz MMX processor; eTower 333c, which costs $499, has a Cyrix M-II 333-MHz MMX processor; and the eTower 333i, also priced at $499, relies on an Intel Celeron A 333-MHz processor. All of the models ship with 32 MBs of RAM, and 2.1-gigabyte or larger hard drives.
techweb.com
Meanwhile, Rambus continues to have price problems. I haven't seen any DDR articles for about a month. Funny that no one is hyping the technology. Maybe that's because there aren't any managers with huge piles of DDR-based stock options that need to pump the price of their stock up...
Die size is still a problem but 'we just have to learn to deal with it'
Die size is the most critical handicap for Rambus parts and is not likely to see improvement soon, panelists said. For Micron, 128-Mbit Rambus parts are 20 to 25 percent larger than their synchronous-DRAM counterparts, said Jeff Mailloux, DRAM marketing manager for Micron Technology Inc. (Boise, Idaho). Samsung Semiconductors Inc. claimed a similar number, while Hyundai Electronics quoted 10 to 15 percent.
techweb.com
One of the more expensive parts of a computer is now the monitor. But microdisplays are exploding right now. PLNR and Colorado Microdisplay just announced a $100 chip set that provides a complete color 800x600 (SVGA) display, compatible with most reasonable signal sources. But that solution would require a head mount. Maybe the cheapest monitor would actually be some form of projector from a microdisplay. On that line:
Growth spurt predicted for ultraportable projectors
The sub-5-pounders, unlike their larger, shared-use brethren, are expected to be marketed primarily as personal peripherals for notebook computers.
techweb.com
One of the techs at work bought a 1024x768 color LCD monitor for $750. Seems it was really $520, but they forced him to buy the insurance and maintenance agreement. It is thin, light, and has an absolutely magnificent display. As I have stated before on this thread, the days of the cathode ray tube as a display device are numbered, and are rapidly dwindling. Soon these old boxes are going to look like 8-inch floppies, or those old dishwasher sized Winchester disk drives...
-- Carl
P.S. Doom! Doom, I say! The box makers are going to be dying breed soon. (Soon as in five years.) |
