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Technology Stocks : Compaq -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: PCSS who wrote (96896)	4/8/2002 12:24:07 PM
From: Elwood P. Dowd	Respond to of 97611

Compaq Announces Two New iPAQ Pocket PC Expansion Packs and New Third-Party Options Growing Support for the iPAQ Pocket PC Gives Customers and Developers Greater Flexibility and Expansion Options HOUSTON, April 8 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Compaq Computer Corporation (NYSE: CPQ - news) today announced two new Expansion Packs with removable, rechargeable batteries for the iPAQ Pocket PC Series, plus a host of new third-party options, giving customers even greater flexibility and longer battery life for the world's top-selling Pocket PC. In addition, Compaq announced it is sponsoring a technical event for iPAQ Pocket PC developers in conjunction with the Pocket PC Summit, on May 31st in Philadelphia. The new PC Card Expansion Pack Plus and CompactFlash Expansion Pack Plus accommodate Type II Personal Computer (PC) or CompactFlash (CF) cards. Each Expansion Pack Plus incorporates the new Cover Pack design, with a removable display cover to protect the screen and buttons on the front of the unit. With a PC Card or CF Card Expansion Pack Plus, customers can purchase industry standard cards that increase the file storage space on their iPAQ Pocket PC, access their company's wireless local area network (WLAN) for e-mail and Web browsing, and access the Internet wirelessly through a cellular data network - plus a number of other functions. ``Today's mobile workers are constantly looking for new ways to increase their productivity and flexibility for on-the-go computing and communicating,'' said Cindy Box, Compaq's director of marketing for iPAQ Mobile Solutions. ``These new products allow our customers to make the most out of their iPAQ Pocket PC by giving them added battery life and more creative expansion solutions, enabling them to do more with their iPAQ than ever before.'' In addition to complete compatibility with existing iPAQ Pocket PC products, the new Expansion Packs include a new removable, rechargeable battery for improved productivity when away from the office. This removable 920mAh (milliamp hour) Lithium-Ion battery provides power to the PC or CF card in the Expansion Pack and supplemental power to the iPAQ Pocket PC main battery. An optional 1840mAh Lithium-Ion Extended Battery is also available. About the size of a business card case, the new batteries fit both of the new Expansion Packs. A new battery charger is also available for the Expansion Pack Plus batteries, allowing a customer to simultaneously charge two batteries in approximately two hours, depending on configuration. When a user is on the go, the Battery Charger conveniently converts from a desktop charger to a slim, portable design that can easily be tucked into a briefcase or purse. Suggested Resale Prices(1) are $150 for the PC Card Expansion Pack Plus, $100 for the Compact Flash Expansion Pack Plus, and $50 for the Battery Charger. Optional Slim Batteries are available for $50, and an optional 1840mAh Lithium Polymer Extended Battery is available for $99. iPAQ Pocket PC Developer Event Announced Compaq will be hosting an iPAQ Pocket PC Developer Event in conjunction with the Pocket PC Summit, May 28 - 31 at the Loews Hotel in Philadelphia. Compaq's one-day event on May 31st will be filled with technical presentations and information about designing products and solutions for the iPAQ Pocket PC. Presentations will include information on the iPAQ Pocket PC Expansion Pack interface and driver design, as well as sessions on creating wireless enabled applications for the iPAQ Pocket PC. For more information about the event, please see: csa.compaq.com . Bluetooth Compatibility Grows In support of industry-wide efforts to ensure interoperability among Bluetooth devices, Compaq continues to extend the list of Bluetooth devices that are compatible with the iPAQ Pocket PC. Recent additions to this matrix include: Mobile Phones -- Ericsson T68, GSM/GPRS -- Nokia 6310, GSM/GPRS -- Motorola Timeport 270c, CDMA Printing Solutions -- HP 995c Deskjet Printer -- Windconnect Bluetooth Print Adapter -- Bluetooth Print Adapter from Epson - C1200BT Access Points -- Red-M 1050 AP -- PicoBlue Internet Access Point -- The 3Com Wireless Bluetooth PC Card A complete list of Bluetooth devices compatible with the iPAQ Pocket PC can be found at www.compaq.com/products/wireless/wpan/btcompmatrix.html . Micro Keyboard Now Available for H3700, H3600 and H3100 Series Due to high customer demand for the Micro Keyboard, Compaq today announced a Micro Keyboard for owners of the iPAQ Pocket PC H3700, H3600 and H3100 Series. This remarkably small and lightweight keyboard fits seamlessly and securely onto the iPAQ Pocket PC with or without an Expansion Pack attached. Its streamlined design and standard layout let customers conveniently type quickly and comfortably anywhere. The Suggested Resale Price is $59.99. New Third-Party Options Expand iPAQ Pocket PC Flexibility New options announced today for the iPAQ Pocket PC expand its flexibility even further. Nexian Corporation has released the NexiCam, the first digital camera manufactured exclusively for the iPAQ Pocket PC, and the NexiPak expansion pack. As an expansion pack, the NexiCam integrates nicely with the iPAQ Pocket PC, using its bright, 64,000-color screen for viewing pictures. Hundreds of pictures can be stored or even wirelessly transmitted using wireless LAN card capabilities with an optional CompactFlash card in the available slot of the NexiCam. Customers can quickly upload photos to their desktop or notebook PC and access full-color photographic images (24-bit SVGA at 800x600 resolution). In addition, the NexiCam provides up to 45 seconds of video recording capability, and future versions will include video teleconferencing options. The NexiPak provides two CompactFlash expansion slots allowing for increased memory, connectivity or applications plus more than twice as much power to extend the life of the iPAQ Pocket PC between charges. The unit's detachable and rechargeable battery provides further versatility for the mobile professional. Suggested Resale Prices are $199 and $149, respectively. See www.nexian.com for details. Pocket CoPilot 2.0 GPS Jacket Edition is an all-in-one navigation solution that integrates the latest CoPilot software technology with a GPS Expansion Pack and CompactFlash memory slot. This sleek, highly integrated solution takes perfect advantage of the iPAQ Pocket PC's powerful processor, crisp and clear panel and robust audio capabilities. As a result, Pocket CoPilot 2.0 provides powerful dynamic route guidance to deliver spoken, turn-by-turn directions to any address nationwide. If you miss a turn or get off track, Pocket CoPilot automatically reroutes you. Widely recognized as the experts' choice for in-vehicle navigation, Pocket CoPilot combines with the iPAQ Pocket PC to provide detailed, convenient directions for motorists. For more information, visit www.travroute.com/ipaq .

To: PCSS who wrote (96896)	4/8/2002 12:26:24 PM
From: Elwood P. Dowd	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 97611

UNFORTUNATELY --- I DO NOT KNOW WHAT THE OLD RATINGS WERE Well, at least we're in good company with the same rating as DELL and GE. El

To: PCSS who wrote (96896)	4/8/2002 12:58:47 PM
From: Elwood P. Dowd	Respond to of 97611

IBM Warns of Sharp Downturn in Earnings By Caroline Humer NEW YORK (Reuters) - International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM - news), the No. 1 computer maker, on Monday warned of a huge first-quarter shortfall, blamed on corporate technology spending cutbacks, spurring a sell-off in its shares and global markets. The warning -- the first in more than a decade for Armonk, New York-based IBM -- quickly sent waves of selling in equity markets around the world, as the U.K. and European stock exchanges fell sharply. IBM shares opened down almost 10 percent in heavy volume. It was trading off $10.95, or 11.3 percent, at $86.30 after closing Friday on the New York Stock Exchange at $97.25. Over 17 million IBM shares traded hands in the first two hours of trade. Even though there have been rumors in the last several quarters that IBM, the latest coming on Friday, the announcement still caught the market unawares. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI - news) fell 86 to 10,185 while the American Stock Exchange Hardware Index (^HWI - news) was off 3.3 percent. The warning comes only a month after IBM Chief Executive Samuel Palmisano took the reins from long-time head Louis Gerstner, who was credited with turning Big Blue around and making it profitable. Gerstner remains chairman through 2002. Merrill Lynch analyst Steven Milunovich said in a research note he wasn't sure what to make of the timing of the warning. ``It is not clear to us as to whether the business is getting that much worse or this announcement reflects the inclinations of the new CEO. We believe that management may be inclined to set the earnings expectations lower going forward,'' Milunovich wrote. IBM reports earnings on April 17. IBM's earnings have come under scrutiny in recent months as investors and analysts questioned the company's accounting methods. In particular, Wall Street has criticized IBM for not providing enough information on their earnings, which may include gains on asset sales that some accountants say should be classified as one-time events. TECH SLOWDOWN The warning follows a year of dismal corporate technology spending that has hurt earnings and revenues at most tech companies. At the same time, Wall Street is looking for signs that a recovery has begun. Given IBM's warning, which followed several warnings from software companies last week, that is not the case, one investor said. ``I think that as far as IT spending, we're still in a clamp-down mode. We're still in a deep recession mode,'' said John Rutledge, portfolio manager for the Evergreen Technology Fund, which holds IBM stock. ``Whether things get better later in the year, we don't know, but clearly the pressure is on IT managers to tighten budgets and IBM is feeling the pain,'' Rutledge said. IBM said the company expected first-quarter revenue in the range of $18.4 billion to $18.6 billion compared with $21.0 billion a year ago. That will translate into earnings per share of 66 cents to 70 cents, down from 98 cents in the first quarter of 2001. Prior to the warning, the consensus among financial analysts was for the company to post earnings per share in the range of 80 cents to 88 cents, with a mean estimate of 85 cents, according to Thomson Financial/First Call. Revenue estimates ranged from $19.3 billion to $20.8 billion. IBM attributed the shortfall in part to its technology group, which makes items such as microchips for other companies. It said it expects that group's revenue to fall 35 percent, hitting its profit by $200 million before taxes, or 8 cents per share. That division has long had issues and prior to the announcement, Rutledge said he had expected revenues to fall by 12 cents per share. ALL ABOUT THE DEMAND Gary Helmig, an analyst for Soundview Technologies, said the issue is one of corporate technology spending being off across the board rather than IBM losing ground to competitors such as Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE:HWP - news) or Compaq Computer Corp. (NYSE:CPQ - news) Those two companies have proposed what would be the largest technology merger ever and are currently waiting for the final tally on a shareholder vote that they believe they won. ``We have no reason to believe they are not continuing to gain share. We think it's a demand issue, a wide demand issue,'' Helmig said. The news hit technology companies' stocks as investors worried about more earnings warnings from other companies. The DJ Stoxx European technology index (.SX8P) sank 4.1 percent to its lowest level since late February. Top name telecom equipment makers like Nokia (NOK1V.HE), Ericsson (ERICb.ST) and Alcatel (CGEP.PA), were all down between four and five percent. The pan-European Eurotop 300 index (.FTEU3) was off 1.6 percent, with declining issues trouncing advancers by nine-to-one.