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Technology Stocks : PC Sector Round Table -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Mark Oliver who wrote (977)	10/7/1998 1:58:00 PM
From: LK2	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 2025

Mark, will AMD be able to continue making earnings gains? I would guess that the surprisingly strong quarter was due, in part at least, to the poor reception of Intel's low-end chip. But supposedly Intel has come out with an improved version of its low-end chip (for the sub $1000 PC market). As far as the stock market, after reporting the much-stronger than expected earnings, AMD is now trading down over 2 points, at 16 and change, which is a drop of around 14% from yesterday's close. Trying to predict what these stock prices will do is really a complete guessing game, even if you are able to guess correctly what the company will report on an earnings basis. The sub $1000 PC market (along with the Asian problems, etc.) has really killed the chip/disk drive markets. Almost all of what you read about the PC market is the consumer side. But what happens if the commercial side starts to move aggressively into the low-cost PC market as well (business + government accounts)? And now the sub $500 market could be coming on strong. I know it was already posted before, but here is an update on the sub $500 market, which should be hitting the retail stores this month or next. It's unbelievable what $500 will soon get you-- >>>>>>>>>>>>>>> The "eTower" will be priced at $399 and come with a Cyrix processor from National Semiconductor, a 2GB hard drive, a CD-ROM drive, 3D graphics, and a 56-kbps modem. For an extra $100, a monitor is included. <<<<<<<<<<<<<< Regards, Larry For Personal Use Only >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> abcnews.com Brooke Crothers CNET NEWS.COM emachines, a start-up backed by South Korean PC giant Trigem and display maker Korean Data Systems, says U.S. based retailers have taken the first allotment of its $399 PCs. The president and CEO, Stephen A. Dukker, said today that production of the systems has begun and that the initial allotment of 200,000 units has been allocated to retailers. The start-up's strategy is predicated on a conviction that PC penetration of the home market is now stuck at about 45 percent because of price. "$799 [PCs] have mostly served to cannibalize $1,200 [systems], not add new buyers," according to the company. The venture, called emachines, made a splash a few weeks ago when it said it would come out with an Apple iMac look-alike based on the Windows-Intel architecture next spring. This month, the company will begin shipping its first wave of machines to retailers. OfficeMax and possibly Circuit City are expected to begin selling the low-cost boxes, according to industry sources familiar with the launch. The "eTower" will be priced at $399 and come with a Cyrix processor from National Semiconductor, a 2GB hard drive, a CD-ROM drive, 3D graphics, and a 56-kbps modem. For an extra $100, a monitor is included. "It's pretty striking," said Kevin Hause, senior analyst at International Data Corporation's consumer devices research group. "Retailers should go for it." Hause added, however, that initially the company will likely have to lose money since at this price, he estimated, the units would be selling below cost. He expected the company to lose money in the fourth quarter. But by the beginning of the first quarter of next year, component costs should come down enough so the company can make money, he noted. emachines also will come out with a $499 PC with an Intel Celeron processor and a 3GB hard drive. The company also will sell a computer with similar features with a Cyrix chip that attaches to a TV screen and features a DVD drive. This will also be priced at $499. "We want to be perceived as the people that created the $399 price point," said Dukker. emachines is a joint venture between Trigem and Korean Data Systems. KDS bought out the assets of Radius, which had trademarked emachines, when the Macintosh clone vendor went bankrupt. Trigem recorded more than $800 million in sales in 1997, and has the largest share of the Korean PC market. Microcenter, a computer retailer, is also offering a $399 PC. <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<