Mark, will AMD be able to continue making earnings gains? I would guess that the surprisingly strong quarter was due, in part at least, to the poor reception of Intel's low-end chip. But supposedly Intel has come out with an improved version of its low-end chip (for the sub $1000 PC market).
As far as the stock market, after reporting the much-stronger than expected earnings, AMD is now trading down over 2 points, at 16 and change, which is a drop of around 14% from yesterday's close.
Trying to predict what these stock prices will do is really a complete guessing game, even if you are able to guess correctly what the company will report on an earnings basis.
The sub $1000 PC market (along with the Asian problems, etc.) has really killed the chip/disk drive markets.
Almost all of what you read about the PC market is the consumer side. But what happens if the commercial side starts to move aggressively into the low-cost PC market as well (business + government accounts)?
And now the sub $500 market could be coming on strong. I know it was already posted before, but here is an update on the sub $500 market, which should be hitting the retail stores this month or next. It's unbelievable what $500 will soon get you--
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
The "eTower" will be priced at $399 and
come with a Cyrix processor from National
Semiconductor, a 2GB hard drive, a
CD-ROM drive, 3D graphics, and a 56-kbps
modem. For an extra $100, a monitor is
included.
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Regards,
Larry
For Personal Use Only
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abcnews.com
Brooke Crothers
CNET NEWS.COM
emachines, a start-up backed by South
Korean PC giant Trigem and display maker
Korean Data Systems, says U.S. based
retailers have taken the first allotment of its
$399 PCs.
The president and CEO, Stephen A. Dukker,
said today that production of the systems has
begun and that the initial allotment of 200,000
units has been allocated to retailers.
The start-up's strategy is predicated on a
conviction that PC penetration of the home
market is now stuck at about 45 percent
because of price. "$799 [PCs] have mostly
served to cannibalize $1,200 [systems], not
add new buyers," according to the company.
The venture, called emachines, made a splash
a few weeks ago when it said it would come
out with an Apple iMac look-alike based on
the Windows-Intel architecture next spring.
This month, the company will begin shipping
its first wave of machines to retailers.
OfficeMax and possibly Circuit City are
expected to begin selling the low-cost boxes,
according to industry sources familiar with the
launch.
The "eTower" will be priced at $399 and
come with a Cyrix processor from National
Semiconductor, a 2GB hard drive, a
CD-ROM drive, 3D graphics, and a 56-kbps
modem. For an extra $100, a monitor is
included.
"It's pretty striking," said Kevin Hause, senior
analyst at International Data Corporation's
consumer devices research group. "Retailers
should go for it."
Hause added, however, that initially the
company will likely have to lose money since
at this price, he estimated, the units would be
selling below cost. He expected the company
to lose money in the fourth quarter. But by
the beginning of the first quarter of next year,
component costs should come down enough
so the company can make money, he noted.
emachines also will come out with a $499 PC
with an Intel Celeron processor and a 3GB
hard drive. The company also will sell a
computer with similar features with a Cyrix
chip that attaches to a TV screen and
features a DVD drive. This will also be
priced at $499.
"We want to be perceived as the people that
created the $399 price point," said Dukker.
emachines is a joint venture between Trigem
and Korean Data Systems. KDS bought out
the assets of Radius, which had trademarked
emachines, when the Macintosh clone vendor
went bankrupt. Trigem recorded more than
$800 million in sales in 1997, and has the
largest share of the Korean PC market.
Microcenter, a computer retailer, is also
offering a $399 PC.
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