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To: Dave B who wrote (25580)	7/23/1999 4:46:00 PM
From: kash johal	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 93625

DaveB, Re:" Free PCs and all that" Seems like prices are going downhill for the PC vendors. Fully 70% of sales are below $1K now. I suspect the $2K pc is a very small market these days and getting smaller: June PC Sales Ride "Free" Wave To Strongest Performance of the Year RESTON, VA (July 21, 1999) - Despite appearing at the very end of the month, the "free" PC craze lifted retail PC sales considerably higher in June compared to June 1998, according to PC Data's Retail Hardware report. A surge in ISP rebates and free offers in late June were largely responsible for the 35.4 percent unit increase over June 1998 figures. PC makers and retailers also rode a wave of decreasing prices which reduced average prices to $890 for a Wintel PC, their lowest level to date and the third consecutive month of 20 percent year-over-year selling price declines. "PC sales surged in June propelled by the extensive ISP rebate programs offered at most major retailers and mail order firms at the end of the month," said Stephen Baker, Director of Hardware Analysis at PC Data. "Sales in the last week of the month more than doubled versus the prior week. The strong unit growth was also impressive as the retail PC market contended with the sales bump provided last June by the release of Windows 98." Overall PC unit sales increased 35.4 percent, with Wintel-only sales up by 31.8 percent, both of which are the best gains this year to date. Revenue growth, which had been negative for most of the year turned positive in June with Wintel PC revenue advancing 6.1 percent over last June. Sales in the key sub-$1000 category continue to dominate the PC market, as unit sales advanced by more than 118 percent versus June 1998, and accounted for 70.7 percent of all sales in June 1999 versus only 46.4 percent in June 1998. Within the sub-$1000 price band, sales of PCs priced below $600 were key drivers, with unit sales increasing more than 800 percent and representing more than 26 percent of all Wintel sales during the month. In the processor wars, Intel continued to regain lost territory in June, with its market share rising to 59.1 percent of sales, up from only 44 percent in February and 55.6 percent in May. Intel also flexed its muscles in the sub-$1000 market in June as they passed AMD in unit share for the first time since last July in the overall retail and mail order market with 45.4 percent versus AMD's 43.2 percent. AMD held the lead in retail storefronts, but that margin shrank from a 46 percent lead in February to only 8 percent in June. Celeron-based PCs were the primary weapon for Intel in this category, capturing more than 34 percent of unit sales in June 1999, more than double the market share of Celeron PCs in February. Pricing made a significant difference as Celeron PCs fell by more than $100 during this time frame, from $892 in February to $789 in June. AMD's K6-2 remained the leading processor garnering 32.5 percent of all sales in June and nearly 43 percent of sub-$1000 PC sales. In the overall retail and mail order market Compaq remained the leading OEM in June with market share of 29.1 percent on unit growth of more than 30 percent. Hewlett-Packard continued to pressure Compaq, garnering 24.7 percent of unit sales in June and unit growth above 170 percent. Apple maintained its position as number three in PC Data's sales figures, posting a June market share of 11.2 percent, despite an average price $500 higher than the average Wintel PC. IBM was in fourth place with 9.9 percent market share followed by E-Machines with 9.7 percent. In the narrowly defined retail storefront category, Hewlett-Packard edged out Compaq for market share leadership for the second time in the last three months. Aggressive pricing helped Hewlett-Packard over take Compaq as they posted average selling prices below Compaq's in those months. E-Machines leveraged its strong retail presence, and the aggressive promotions associated with AOL and CompuServe rebates to reach third place in U.S. retail sales with 11.1 percent. The best-selling item in June was the five-flavor combination of the iMac 333Mhz version, selling for an average price of $1,160. The Hewlett-Packard 4530, based on an AMD K6-2 350 Mhz processor was number two, with an average price of $556. The Compaq 5340, with an AMD K6-2 400 Mhz processor and an average selling price of $785 placed third. Based in Reston, VA, PC Data has been providing point-of-sale data since 1991 and has become the only comprehensive source of software and hardware sales information. More than 1,000 industry professionals worldwide currently use PC Data's sales information to maximize their competitive edge and compete in today's marketplace. PC Data tracked approximately $48 billion in hardware and $12 billion in software sales in 1998 in all U.S. distribution channels. The company's latest initiative includes PC Data Online, an Internet monitoring service. In addition to tracking software and hardware sales through retailers, PC Data also tracks sales through educational resellers, corporate resellers and distributors. For more information on this and other retail reports, please contact PC Data via its web site at www.pcdata.com or by phone at (703) 435-1025. Contact: Stephen Baker PC Data Director of Hardware Analysis 703-435-1025 ext. 124 sbaker@pcdata.com