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Politics : Ask Michael Burke -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: BSGrinder who wrote (50627)	3/8/1999 3:48:00 PM
From: Earlie	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 132070

BSG: Some "goose-down" in evidence. Reduced PC prices increase the odds that sales will improve, but the burgeoning economic problems lean against significant sales increases. Why in heaven's name would a Chinese family buy a top line PC for internet work? This is simply dreaming. They are more likely to buy at the bottom of the spectrum (as is the case world-wide) and they have the added impetus (as you accurately point out), which derives from a PC price tag that is a huge fraction of annual income. Incidentally, that 4.0 million PC sales figure doesn't jibe with data we have looked at. I'll comment on this after a check or two. Our Mr. Yu expects the P3 to sell well based on the past solid sales record of its predecessor. Perhaps someone should tell him that - INTC is no longer a monopoly and that - There are a large number of less expensive chips available that will handle China's internet needs. Best, Earlie

To: BSGrinder who wrote (50627)	3/8/1999 3:59:00 PM
From: RealMuLan	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 132070

<<By the way, the internet demand logic is also loony: no credit cards and a connect charge equivalent to $8 an hour where income averages $25,000 a year.>. I think here should be Yuan, instead of $? And in the news, it said it will be slashed in half, although it is still a lot. About that comment "A decent monthly salary in Beijing would be 800-1,000 yuan," I think this is way too conservative. I would say at least 50% of people in Beijing earn twice as much of that figure. Even the retired people, who are on the lowest ladder of salary, earn bet. 700-800 Yuan a month. And remember they don't pay income tax, and the housing price is usually about 5% of the pay. So the key is disposable income. PTIII computers will grab some sales, not a whole lot. Not because Chinese do not want it, but because it is out of reach for most people. Usually government agencies update their computer quite often, but facing the current economic woes, I doubt that will be the case. Not to mention this chip is for the games. So if China is what Intel bets on, I think they will be disappointed. But I think their celery chips sale is not bad in China simply because it is much cheaper. I wish AMD k-6 chips can produce enough to grab some market from China. It is such a good deal for the price. As for the price of computer in general, I have posted on this thread before, and I am repeating it now: all the importers are losing market shares, which are gained by domestic manufactures and those from Hong Kong and Taiwan. Reason is simple: price advantage and good/same performance compared to the imported computers.