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Technology Stocks : Dell Technologies Inc. -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: John Koligman who wrote (23551)	11/29/1997 8:39:00 PM
From: Boplicity	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 176387

John, Re: We seem to talk about a 1K PC as if it's popcorn, but let's face it, for most folks that is still a nice piece of change, and unless there are compelling reasons to do so, I wonder how many are going to be eager to shell out another couple grand to upgrade within a year or two? You point is well taken. I would love see data on income levels, some demographic stats on who is buying the sub 1k computers. Greg

To: John Koligman who wrote (23551)	11/30/1997 6:43:00 AM
From: Doug Fowler	Read Replies (5) \| Respond to of 176387

I think a lot of people are underestimating the size and popularity of cheap PCs, as well as the impact it will have in the coming months (and years). I had always been a high-end user, always buying the latest and greatest and shelling out the bucks for it. Example: I paid $3500 for a Compaq Presario 3020 in October 1996(Pentium-166, all-in-one, 24M RAM, 12.1" TFT LCD display, JBL speakers, and upgraded to 88M of memory.) Four months later, the system was selling for $1999 and I bought another (to average-down!). I have been learning my lesson and will never buy a system new to the market again (unless I just HAVE to have it <grin>). I got a lesson this past weekend from my parents who were visiting from the east coast. I had bought them an IBM Aptiva Stealth system (P166, 16M, 2.5G hard drive, separate floppy and CD-ROM unit) at a computer auction. But we needed to get a monitor and speakers. The IBM 15" multimedia monitor goes for $499, but we knew we could get a different monitor and separate speakers for considerably less. I would have gone for a refurbished Sony 15" monitor for $325, but my mother insisted on a $184 14" monitor from Philips. She also picked up a pair of speakers for $14.95. The cashier said they had been selling the $184 monitor like hotcakes. Micro Center, where we bought this stuff, had oodles of boxes of a $499 system (new) which had the following components: 166 MHz Cyrix processor, 16M RAM, 1G hard drive, 12x CD-ROM, Windows 95 and a 33.6 Kbps modem. (Add in the $184 monitor and you have a $683 complete system.) Not a system that I would buy, but admittedly adequate for those with basic computing needs. Add 32M of memory from Fry's for $57 and you have a decent little performer with 48M RAM for $740. (Two 16M modules for $28.50 each, simply AMAZING.) The lesson: many new buyers put PRICE as their first, second and third most important considerations. Even people buying a second system are concerned primarily with price. And DELL is going to miss this market, which will be where the growth is. By this time next year, we may see complete systems for as little as $500. Many may think that Dell doesn't need this market, and maybe they are right. But if complete entry-level systems are going for $500, what will one be able to get for $1000? For $1500? How many $2000 plus systems will sell in such an environment? The $2000 plus PC has been Dell's bread and butter. I think that within a year, they are going to have a VERY hard time selling into this market.