| |
***** HaHaNET NEWS FLASH !!! *****
Thursday July 16 4:40 PM PT
Are the PRICE WARS over...
or just starting?
By HaHa, BT Family Market Intelligence
Early last year Compaq fires the first salvo in the "Sub $1000" price category. Intel first dismisses this issue when brought up, telling all it is of no significance. Later, they change their tune to ridiculing it by calling it a "SubZero" category with no margins for anyone.
Well folks, something must not have jived with their rap at intel. In the first half of this year they throw out the Celeron to the insatiably technosavy US market only to have it torn to shreds by all pc magazines claiming "Their lack of cache makes a once superior product a middling performer... only suitable for the lightwalleted die hard gamers" Not even daring to label it under the PII family name, it was further hurt by their own Andy Grove critizing its name.
This sub-zero "fad" caught on big. By February of this year it had grown to 49.4 percent of the US retail market. Intel has went so far as to have increased its manufacturing of the Celeron and its new family members going under the code name "Mendecino". Retailers attempts to upgrade their purchases/margins have been mostly fruitless as it proves to be difficult to sell them without being able to demonstrate a significant benefit for the additional mulah. One reseller was quoted "Why would someone want a $2000+ 400 when they know they can run most applications and even DSL or CABLE MODEMS on a low end Pentium (org.) or even a 486! With the internet being such a draw, especially to those who haven't been part of "The 46% saturation of past users" and low end machines handling everything a home user could reasonably expect, it makes it hard to push (the PII lines).
Like the saying goes, "You ain't seen nothing yet!" Prepare for a new onslaught as computer manufacturers start shipping their back-to-school and Christmas models. Word on the street is that there will be "Sub $500" models for this Christmas. Although once known as "last year closeouts" these new model should START in the 300Mhz range with a full feature set that one expects from a pc.
With Intel increasing its "low end" products, AMD pushing its K6-2 & succesors and NSM in the market with the original product that started it all, the MediaGx, soon to be follow by it's rarely publicized succesor the Mxi, with yet still others jumping in the ring, it will be an interesting event to follow. To say the least.
|
|
