Tench, good morning,
re: <I wonder how Timna (sp?) will fit in later this year? At retail, right now you have the lower image brand staking out the higher end (perceived) performance, and the higher image brand working the lower price points. Not the best situation, and I imagine confusing for the consumer.>
"Can you explain a little further?"
The consumer benchmark for performance is MHz. It appears that in retail stores, AMD has a higher MHz offering to the consumer than Intel. Let's say Intel is the Mercedes Benz of MP's; AMD the Ford, from a consumer brand viewpoint. Suddenly the consumer is offered high performance $60K Fords, and only cheaper, slower Mercedes for $25K. The consumers brand assumptions and loyalties become confused, he doesn't want a cheap Mercedes or an expensive Ford, so he probably delays his purchase decision. Ford is certainly capable of manufacturing an auto that would sell for $60K, they don't do it because they have a carefully honed brand image and space. Mercedes is capable of making a $20K auto, they don't do it for the same reason.
RE: "By the way, I can forsee Timna possibly replacing the entire Celeron line in short order, leaving Pentium III to fill the gap between Timna and Willamette."
Timna - Pentium III - Willamette would be the clasic good - better - best market strategy. For an example of this, go to any gas pump. You have regular - premium - super premium. You have clear differentiation with the octane rating. They even differentiate with the color scheme - usually blue - silver - gold. Good marketing communication. Regardless of the advantages or lack thereof, some folks will always buy super premium, primarily because of their self image (only the best). Other see themselves as middle type people, they don't want the cheap stuff but they certainly won't spend for the expensive stuff. Others will always buy the low end for various reasons.
On Timna. I understood that it was intended to enable a $500 (OEM profitable) computer. If it comes out high octane, say 1 gig, the consumer will be confused, and a confused consumer almost always delays making a purchase.
Sorry for the long note, I probably still did not answer your question.
John |
