Good summary, Ed. But, I have read a WSJ article about PC mkt in China, and American PC makers have an uphill battle there. The Chinese people don't have the disposable income Americans have, so 40% penetration rate enjoyed here in the US isn't going to be achieved in China anytime soon. So for those in China who can afford to buy, they buy the very cheapest. The domestic PC mfrs is very competitive, with multitudes of individual players using cut-throat pricing and VERY slim profit margins to capture business. I'm sure CPQ, IBM, Dell, HWP etc will continue to try to sell PCs there, but it's a rough business environment.
Right now I think CPQ is doing the right things by concentrating most in the markets that have the most potential, for example Europe.
India: While you say the PC market is rapidly growing, I hope people realize that the vast majority of the population in India is dirt poor. I've heard talks by missionaries who have spent time there, and let me tell you, Americans would be shocked to realize the depth of poverty there. It's common for buildings even in populated areas to not even have indoor plumbing. There's just an open ditch out back of the buildings. The PC is a great business tool, and I'm sure that the business community in India is indeed upgrading and taking advantage of the new processor power for business tasks. But it's not a market like US, Canada, Europe, etc. It will be decades before Indian economy can support avg household incomes with disposable income to buy PCs.
I just wanted to make these points so people realize that while India has a huge population without PCs, the vast majority simply are too poor to even think of being able to afford such a thing.
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