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Microcap & Penny Stocks : HITSGALORE.COM (HITT) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: lizardK who wrote (3167)	7/29/1999 11:40:00 AM
From: bob sims	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 7056

Jul. 26 (The Business Press/KRTBN)--Amid all the controversy swirling around its corporate offices, a Rancho Cucamonga company somehow has had time to create an intriguing Web site. Several months back, when Hitsgalore.com Inc. (OTC: HITT) was selling for $20 a share, people perusing the company's Web home (www.hitsgalore.com) could be forgiven for wondering what all the fuss was about. The purported business-to-business search engine had a miniscule database. And the site's design was unimpressive -- even crude by modern standards. Fast-forward to today. Hitsgalore.com's stock is recovering somewhat from its May free-fall to under $4 a share. The company's visionary chief technology officer, Dorian Reed, was reinstated July 8 after stepping down in May when allegations that the company failed to notify the SEC of earlier legal proceedings against Reed sent the company's stock spiraling. In addition, the company's newly renovated online home is a professional- looking site that closely resembles any number of major Web portals. Its search database has grown substantially, and the company is even giving away a handful of useful utilities and perks, including: -- Free real-time stock quotes from the major exchanges. Although you have to repeatedly agree to legalities contained on several screens of fine print before you can take advantage of this goody, the benefit is worth the hassle. -- Lots of portals offer free e-mail accounts, so Hitsgalore.com isn't unique on that front. But the local company is perhaps the first portal host to offer free voice e-mail messages. Using RocketTalk software, you can create voice messages up to two minutes in length that PCs with speakers can play back even if they don't have RocketTalk's software installed: A small playback program accompanies each e-mail. -- You can quickly create a banner ad for your company or enterprise, although the design choices are limited and the text length restricted. The company also offers "free lifetime banner placement," but only after a call to a toll-free phone number (no doubt to hear a sales pitch on other, not-so-free placement choices). Hitsgalore.com derives its revenue by charging companies for a spot in its search engine database. The more a company is willing to pay for each "hit," the higher it appears in the search results. Companies can even buy multiple appearances in the same results. From a consumer standpoint, that makes Hitsgalore.com's search engine the least valuable of its site offerings. In addition, although the database is swelling, most of the companies buying into it are far from industry leaders. For example, a recent search of airlines pulled up 120 travel-related entries but few airlines. Those that did appear: two Mexican airlines you've never heard of (trust me), one Cuban enterprise and one Panamanian company. Still, if you accept the site's business search engine for what it is -- a rapidly growing advertising vehicle -- you can still find some interesting and useful contacts. And the freebie utilities are worth grabbing. NEW SHERIFF IN TOWN: Move over, PE.net. For the first time almost since its 1995 inception, The Press-Enterprise Co.'s Internet service is no longer the Inland Empire's largest local provider. That honor now goes to Ultimate Internet Access Inc. of Claremont, which submitted the winning bid to buy out Enterprise for Economic Excellence, a nonprofit service provider in San Bernardino. The purchase was announced July 16. Combine EEE's 4,500 subscribers with Ultimate's 7,500-subscriber base, and you've got a new No. 1. PE.net has just shy of 10,000 subscribers. Ultimate President Ray Mouton wouldn't disclose the price Ultimate paid for EEE's accounts, which are almost all dial-up, largely education-oriented (teachers and parents of San Bernardino County schoolchildren) and in some cases downright remote (Joshua Tree). Industry sources estimated the price at between $700,000 and $1.34 million. Mouton did say to look for Ultimate, which purchased a financially troubled Cyberg8t Internet Services Inc. last year, to continue "to expand through both acquisition and area expansion" as it tries to hang onto its new top ranking. PE.net, meanwhile, has mounted a counteroffensive to regain the top spot. The Riverside-based service is offering two specials: -- $15.38 per month for individual dial-up access. Customers must be switching from another Internet service and must pay $200 in advance for 12 months of service. The 13th month and installation are free. -- $18.95 per month, with the first month and installation free. Ultimate charges its nonbusiness dial-up customers $19.95 a month. For now, it's also honoring EEE's $16.50 a month rate for existing EEE customers. Paul McAfee may be reached at (909) 980-7330, ext. 19, or via e-mail at paulmac@pe.net By Paul McAfee