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

To: hpeace who wrote (11465)	12/16/1997 8:54:00 PM
From: Kenneth R Miller	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 97611

Is this the machine in question? Packard Bell Math: Add Cyrix, Subtract Service (12/15/97; 8:26 p.m. EST) By Roger C. Lanctot, Computer Retail Week As Packard Bell NEC prepares its first entry-level PC line bearing non-Intel processors, the No. 2 PC maker has another surprise for first-time buyers: It plans to eliminate on-site service and trim tech-support hours. The company's 90-day on-site service support for new products will end with the current product line, said retailers and sources close to Packard Bell who confirmed the company will offer only depot, or carry-in, service for one year. A Packard Bell spokesman said the company does not comment on products not yet introduced and had no comment at news deadline time on the changes in its service and support programs. Retail sources said Packard Bell is dropping back its seven-day, 24-hour customer support to 20 hours a day, from 5 a.m. to 1 a.m. Mountain time, and will drop technical support during seven national holidays. Of more significance was a Cyrix-based PC from Packard Bell. Such a system would normally surprise retailers and industry observers who have spent years watching Packard Bell build only Intel-based systems. But retail buyers were unimpressed by the new box, which is set to ship on Jan. 12 and is priced the same as a similar model from Compaq. The new Packard Bell computer closely resembles Compaq's Presario 2240, set to ship Jan. 14. Both models are based on 220-MHz Cyrix MediaGX processors and come with 24 megabytes of RAM, 20X CD-ROM drives, and 56-kilobit-per-second fax modems. Cyrix declined to comment on the existence of a 220-MHz MediaGX processor, and at least one Cyrix OEM customer said the company denied there was such a processor on its "road map" of future microprocessor introductions. But retailers said the $799 Cyrix-based Packard Bell model would shift to a 233-MHz chip at the same price in February. The Packard Bell and Compaq systems offer retailers low single-digit profit margins. A key difference, though, is that the Compaq system is offered on a no-return basis. With the retail margin on the Packard Bell model at 5 percent or less, buyers were unenthusiastic. Sacramento, Calif.-based Packard Bell "is just not very important to my plans any more," said one retailer contacted for this report who asked to remain anonymous. "I can't make enough money on their $999 products."