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Technology Stocks : Atmel - the trend is about to change -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Dan Spillane who wrote (11164)	7/6/2000 7:09:19 PM
From: Dan Spillane	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 13565

Software Cos. Latch on to Wireless [Another driver of growth.] Jul 6 2000 12:20PM International Business Machines Corp. {IBM}, Oracle Corp. {ORCL}, Microsoft Corp. {MSFT}, Sybase Inc. {SYBS} and other software companies have made a good living selling the back-end software that runs companies' computer networks, from e-commerce software used for building and running Web sites to database software that collects and stores corporate information. But as more consumers and workers use cell phones and other handheld devices to connect to the Internet, the software makers are revamping their business strategies and parlaying their software expertise to target the burgeoning wireless industry. ... Mobile devices are "becoming central to the future of computing," says Gerry Purdy, president of wireless-industry researcher Mobile Insights. Mobile computing is "becoming mainstream when it used to be fringe. We're finally seeing applications that give people defined benefits. cnbc.com

To: Dan Spillane who wrote (11164)	7/6/2000 8:08:52 PM
From: Steve Lee	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 13565

Dan, careful with those VOD figures. Many of those 6.6 million "new" subscribers came from acquisitions and were already subscribers of the acquired companies. I agree with your general comments that there is no slowdown in cellphone handset sales, either now or in the future. Subscriber figures don't take into account the fact that many existing subscribers upgrade their handsets often without appearing on the new subscribers figures. In Europe, cellphones are often free or less than free (they pay you to take one) as the providers are interested in acquiring customers at almost any price. Even the new Nokia 7110 WAP phones are being given away with no connection charge and free calls right now, so many with non WAP phones are upgrading. If you look at the figure paid for Orange, and divide by the number of subscribers, you will see just how much subscribers are valued at. From memory it is around $10,000 per subscriber !!! I buy 1 or 2 cellphones each year to take advantage of new features, services etc. This is typical. Many people will have 2 cellphones because you need to sign for a year's service to get the discounts, and people normally want to upgrade more than once a year, so sign for a second contract. You will also find people carrying a work phone provided by their employer and a personal phone for private use. In general, it is cheaper for me to make calls on my cellphone than to use the land line.