One-two punch for PC makers: market pummeled at top and bottom

Article Abstract:

The microcomputer industry, once vital and growing, is experiencing difficulty. The industry, and especially its leaders - IBM, Apple Computer and Compaq - are being squeezed at both the low- and the high ends of their markets, and profits are falling. Microcomputers now are selling like 'commodity' products, which means that buyers often pass up name brands, buying less expensive machines instead. This forces name-brand manufacturers to slash their prices, squeezing profit margins. According to one industry observer, Roger McNamee with T. Rowe Price, the industry is mature, and the only areas that are growing now are portable computers, graphical interfaces and networks. A manufacturer must have, he adds, at least two out of three of these. At the high end, the Intel 80486 microprocessor now makes it possible for a desktop computer to compete with a workstation, but desktops are not doing well because workstations tend to have better operating systems and software. Microcomputer manufacturers need a new strategy if they are to generate the kinds of growth and profits that are currently memories out of the past.

Profits, Distribution channels, Industry Analysis, Outlook, Market Analysis, Retail/Reseller Channel, Profit

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Silicon Valley is changing programs

Article Abstract:

Growth in Silicon Valley's microcomputer industry is slowing, partly because of Japanese competition and partly because - despite early visionaries' predictions, which imagined computers everywhere - for many people, computers still are simply an expensive toy. Some industry observers say that if the computer industry is to revitalize itself, the industry must come up with ways to appeal to people who have not previously needed to own such a device or come up with good reasons why people should upgrade the microcomputers they already have. A possible cause for optimism is the continuing advance of technology, which soon will make notebook-sized and pocket-sized computers actual possibilities.

Silicon Valley, Product development, Strategic Planning

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Contemplating a PC Market Without I.B.M

Article Abstract:

IBM's possible decision to sell its personal computer business to Chinese company Lenovo was greeted with optimism by insiders at rivals Dell and Hewlett Packard, but an expansion of the Asian industry might not bode well for future sales.

United States, Acquisitions & mergers, Marketing procedures, Management dynamics, Management, Mergers, acquisitions and divestments, Microcomputer industry, Company acquisition/merger, International Business Machines Corp., IBM, Hewlett-Packard Co., Dell Inc., Company marketing practices, Company business management, HPQ

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