I think that DataQuest is right, but it is irrelevant
<.."It may be Christmas, but I don't think it will be Christmas 1998," said Lisa
Pelgrim, an analyst for Dataquest, San Jose, Calif. Iain Gillott, director of people
and telecommunications research for International Data Group, Framingham, Mass.,
agreed. "The cynical side of me says there have been lots of announcements, but
little follow-through," he said. "These companies are good at making
announcements."..>
I think that DataQuest is correct (in the general sense, but it is irrelevant). Because the PC companies will start up the PR machine to generate hype for the Christmas and all new PCs will not only come standard with an xDSL modem, but you won't even think of buying one without one. The fact that you can't use it is immaterial. It is like buying a motherboard today without a USB connector. It doesn't do anything right now, but all new PCs have them.
The PC companies desparately need something new and important to justify the purchase of a PC by consumers. They will wrap the whole advertising and exterior design around xDSL. It will all be marketing hype, but everyone will fall for it.
Also remember retailers need a long startup time (that is why swimsuits are now on prominent display at department stores). So if you want to be involved in the Christmas 98 season, you have to have a shippable xDSL modem right now and currently Aware is the only company with a deliverable xDSL splitterless modem. |
