Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Technology Stocks : Qualcomm Incorporated (QCOM) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Ruffian who wrote (40863)	9/14/1999 9:50:00 AM
From: slacker711	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 152472

Wireless PC's.....Compaq looking for alliances. news.cnet.com Compaq aims for simpler, wireless PC By Reuters Special to CNET News.com September 14, 1999, 4:30 a.m. PT PARIS--Compaq Computer is gearing up for a complete redefinition of the PC and working on alliances to produce simpler, redesigned devices with wireless links, its chief executive said today. "Our goal should be to build really cool stuff," Michael Capellas, the computer maker's newly hired president and chief executive, told a news briefing as he completed a European tour aimed at outlining strategy for the company. Houston-based Compaq's direction has been blurred since predecessor CEO Eckhard Pfeiffer was forced out in April by a board unhappy with repeated sales problems and slow progress in expanding beyond PCs. Capellas told a conference organized by research group International Data Corporation that he believed one key outcome from the Internet explosion would be a dramatic change in what the PC is. "The new wave says how do we make these machines simpler and simpler--with specialized functions. Wireless connectivity becomes the actual baseline," he said. Asked if this focus meant fresh alliances, he said: "You can assume we are aggressively pursuing that, and no, I won't say who." He added that Compaq aimed to have established "close relations with somebody before the end of the year." Capellas, facing faster-growing rivals like Dell Computer, which sells direct to customers via telephone and increasingly through the Internet, said Compaq was already making considerable use of Internet distribution channels in its dealings with large corporate account customers. Compaq is also exploiting the Internet to sell networked data storage, an area set to be a focus for dramatic growth, he said. "Inventory is the enemy," he added, referring to a key competitive advantage grabbed by Dell in its advance. While direct-selling's benefit in eliminating stocks from the supply chain was clear, he also highlighted the Internet's potential to simplify product design, noting that Apple had ''established that there is great appeal in industrial design." In selling to large businesses, Compaq should "go back to our roots and really create an Internet infrastructure," with a focus on offering "nonstop capabilities," Capellas said. Nonstop is Compaq's catchphrase for a range of high-volume, fail-safe computer systems capable of running the largest business operations, including Internet-based ones. An innovative advertising campaign was due to start in the next quarter, he added. Shares of Compaq, which earlier announced price cuts on its entire line of commercial desktop PCs in a bid to regain sales momentum, lost 0.38 of a point to 24.81 in composite trading yesterday on the New York Stock Exchange. The stock was the second most actively traded issue on the NYSE on volume of 12.6 million shares. Story Copyright © 1999 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. FREE Newsletter sample >