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To: Alf who wrote (1155)	6/24/1998 7:55:00 AM
From: Alf	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 6180

Handhelds To Overtake PCs For Net Access (06/16/98; 7:54 p.m. ET) By Andy Patrizio, TechWeb The desktop PC will be supplanted by cheap devices for mass-market Internet access within the next six years, according to a report released Tuesday by International Data. IDC predicts demand for handheld devices will nearly triple in annual volume from 1997 to 2002, and exceed PC unit sales by 2004 or 2005. The report doesn't go so far as to say the PC will fade away, however. But as prices of simple devices like handheld units, Web-enabled phones, or set-top boxes fall below $100, they will become more popular than PCs. "Even at under $1,000, it's unlikely you'll have three, four, or five PCs around your house," said Frank Gens, senior vice president of Internet research at IDC, in Framingham, Mass. "The idea is that the Web is something you don't want to have go to the PC room to access. You want to use it wherever you are." Much of this growth will be fueled by Web merchants, said Gens, who will be so anxious to bring more customers online that they will subsidize or give away access devices. The model is not unlike the cellular phone market. The biggest challenge for getting cheap devices into the home is that there's no model for use right now. "WebTV is trying to sell into a market they're trying to define at the same time," said Gens. Gens predicts PC vendors will eventually get into the low-cost Internet device market, or risk missing a passing wave. But at least one major vendor, Dell Computer, is not ready to jump. "We don't see our customers moving away from PCs with a smaller form factor," said Neisha Frank, a spokeswoman for Dell, in Round Rock, Texas. Instead, "They are asking for PCs with more functionality." Frank said Dell's customers also want the non-Internet functionality that comes with a PC. She wouldn't speculate on future Dell moves, but pointed out the company hasn't yet entered the sub-$1,000 PC market. Other industry watchers say cheap access devices will proliferate, but not until people find more compelling reasons to browse the Internet. "Acceptance will happen when there's a convergence of entertainment and information media," said Ron Rappaport of Zona Research. "We're starting to see that today, but it will take some time." And Rob Enderle, Giga Information Group senior analyst, thinks the low-cost Internet device will replace the PC simply because PCs these days provide more computer power than most people need.