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

To: PCSS who wrote (36803)	11/18/1998 8:33:00 AM
From: rupert1	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 97611

Tuesday November 17 5:58 PM ET Large computer makers worry over low-cost PC By Robert Lemos, ZDNet LAS VEGAS -- While PC maker and price leader Emachines Inc. showed off its $399 and $499 computers here at Comdex, established PC makers worried over how the rock-bottom prices will effect their bottom line. "From a component standpoint, we are below where we can go," said Mal Ransom, senior vice president of PC maker Packard Bell NEC Inc. "I don't know where the bottom is, but a year ago, I couldn't have imagined this." Major PC makers are looking for ways to finance their foray into PCs that cost less than $500, low enough to compete with the price set by newcomer Emachines. The result of an alliance between two Korean companies, monitor manufacturer Korean Data Systems and systems maker U.S. Trigem, Emachines burst onto the scene in September, with a family of PCs that cost as little as $399. By the end of the month, the PC maker had sold all of its initial lot of 250,000 computers. Major PC makers are gunning for the company. "I think you are going to see machines in the $599 price range from most manufacturers," said Mike Winkler, senior vice president at Compaq Computer Corp. (NYSE:CPQ). Super (cheap) PC At the same time, carving dollars off the price of a PC. Low-cost x86 chip maker Cyrix Corp., a subsidiary of National Semiconductor Inc. (NYSE:NSC), believes that a primary way to get the cost down is with an integrated processor. Its newest product, the PC-on-a-chip, will bring graphics, video and networking functions onto the core processors, saving PC makers on the cost of separate chips. "A PC that can do DVD, browse the Internet and play 3-D games will be available at the sub-$500 level by this time next year," said Steve Tobak, vice president of marketing for National Semiconductor. Cyrix will be introducing the PC-on-a-chip, codenamed Panterra, in the first quarter of 1999. Will PCs be free? PC makers are also looking for ways to get hardware makers and Internet service providers to pay for more of their products. "Internet revenue - the sales of services and goods - could well subsidize the cost of the PC, just like cell phones," said Compaq's Winkler. "We give the customer the computer in expectation of monthly revenue that we would receive." Internet providers and peripheral makers are already signing deals with some computer makers for $50 to $100 rebates. Such deals could become more common as PC makers try to compete for the low end. Dell a skeptic For retailers, the trend also spells problems. "Retailers can sell all the low-cost PCs they want," said Michael Dell, chairman and CEO of Dell Computer Corp. (Nasdaq:DELL). "But they aren't making any money off them." Dell is skeptical that a sub-$500 category of PCs will form. He said that PC prices are dropping due to artificially low component prices. As manufacturers have taken capacity offline, he believes component pricing will rise, and PC prices will stabilize. No surprise, then, that the direct PC maker's lowest priced PC costs $1,199. ZDNN's Margaret Kane and Michael Fitzgerald and ZDTV's Janet Yee contributed to this story.

To: PCSS who wrote (36803)	11/18/1998 8:34:00 AM
From: rupert1	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 97611

Tuesday November 17 12:43 PM ET Dell ready to take on all comers PC Week By Anne Knowles, ZDNet LAS VEGAS -- Dell Computer Corp. isn't feeling threatened by the direct-sales push of Compaq Computer Corp. and other large OEMs, which increasingly are branching out of their traditional indirect sales model. Compaq, IBM and other computer makers are trying a hybrid direct/indirect approach to PC sales that Dell tried years ago and found seriously wanting, said Michael Dell, chairman and CEO of the Round Rock, Texas, direct powerhouse, during a press conference here at Comdex/Fall. "They go to great pains to distinguish between direct and indirect customers," said Dell, adding that such distinctions no longer exist. "The market is going direct." Compaq last week announced a direct program, called DirectPlus, which is targeted at small to midsize businesses. Continue to be aggressive Pursuing the direct approach, Dell expects to continue its aggressive growth. In its third fiscal quarter, Dell recorded $10 million a day in sales at its Web site, or about 20 percent of its total sales. That's double the amount of business it was doing online six months ago, Dell said. The company's server and workstation business grew more than 100 percent for the eighth consecutive quarter, while sales of its mobile PCs jumped 93 percent. As part of its mobile push, Dell has been showing an upcoming 3-pound notebook to customers. Although the company is not exhibiting at Comdex, it is holding a series of customer meetings behind closed doors. Making predictions Dell predicted corporate interest in the sub-$1,000 PC is on the wane and that thin clients won't drum up more than the lackluster interest they've attracted so far. Asked if his company would enter the small-form-factor market now dominated by 3Com Corp.'s PalmPilot and devices based on Microsoft Corp.'s Windows CE, Dell said the computer maker will wait and see. Despite the popularity of such devices, it might not be a market Dell wants to invade, he said. "There's a market for gigapets, too, but not necessarily a very lucrative one," Dell quipped.