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To: Crzy Joe who wrote (15465)	5/7/1998 12:08:00 AM
From: Shroder Wertheim (Hijacked)	Respond to of 45548

Good article : Can Intel have it all? -- Microprocessor giant finds trouble duplicating success in other markets (http://www.techweb.com/se/techsearch.cgi?action=View&VdkVgwKey=%2E%2E%2F%2E%2E%2Fdata%2Ftechsearch%2F1997%5F%5F%5B48145%5D&DocOffset=2&DocsFound=5&QueryZip=Intel+flash&SourceQueryZip=&Collection=techwebnews&Collection=techinvestor&Collection=coll1997&SortField=issuedate&SortOrder=DESC&ViewTemplate=cmpview%2Ehts&&publication=$$publication) Silicon Valley- With the possible exception of Microsoft, no high-tech company is more feared in the marketplace than Intel. Its dominance in microprocessors is unquestioned, and its expansion into new markets has triggered waves of panic among nervous competitors. ..... Since entering the chip set arena 10 years ago, Intel has captured 90% of the market. Its 1997 announcement that it would make graphics ICs - and its subsequent purchase of Chips & Technologies Inc. - had some analysts forecasting certain victory and helped trigger the FTC's probe. Yet, the company's motherboard business is far less robust, while its success in flash-memory storage and networking products has been decidedly mixed. All of which raises a question: If Intel is truly trying to take over the computer hardware universe, just how well is it doing? As the following review shows, for all the dread its name inspires, Intel's reach can sometimes exceed its grasp. Graphics and multimedia From the reaction that greeted Intel's introduction of a graphics chip, one might have thought Armageddon was nigh. Press reports characterized the company as a rampaging monster bent on the industry's destruction. Established graphics makers such as S3 Inc. were thought to be doomed to the farthest corners of the market. In fact, the story of Intel's multimedia efforts is largely one of failure. ...... Flash cards ..... To date, SanDisk has about a 60% market share in the digital-camera market, which is expected to see a 37% annual growth rate, according to Tussy. Toshiba's SmartMedia card, by contrast, occupies about 20% of the market, while Intel brings up the rear with a 10% share. .... Networking In the spring of 1997, Intel rolled out a new line of Fast Ethernet-based chips and LAN cards, along with hubs and switches for use in small offices. The company sparked a furor by bringing out its products at much lower prices. Wall Street promptly battered the stock of 3Com, Cisco Systems Inc., and other LAN equipment makers. Although Intel stimulated demand for Fast Ethernet-based products in the market, its moves cut into its own margins as well as into its competitors', according to Scott Randall, a senior analyst at Soundview Financial Group, Stamford, Conn. Its pricing strategy quickly made Intel the world's second-largest maker of LAN cards, behind 3Com. In total, the company realized about $500 million or so in sales from its networking business. But those numbers don't tell the entire story, Randall said. "Frankly, I think they are struggling a little bit in networking," he said. "It's not one of their most profitable units. . . . If Intel is making money, it's not by much." Nevertheless, Intel pressed on last week, entering the 1-Gbit Ethernet market with a line of chips, modules, and switches. Later this year, the company plans to join the home networking market with a new line of products, said Dan Sweeny, business manager at Intel's newly formed Home Networking Operation, based in Hillsboro, Ore. Motherboards .... Even so, Intel shipped 7.3 million motherboards last year, giving it a 10% market share, according to the government-sponsored Market Intelligence Center in Taipei. Meanwhile, Taiwan shipped 43.5 million boards, giving it a 59.7% share. "It's difficult to say who's taking market share away from whom," said one analyst in Taiwan. Chip sets One area where Intel has clearly become the dominant player is chip sets. .....