Windows 98, price drops lure buyers
PC sales climb a whopping 37 percent in June, while the average selling price hit a new low of $1,123.
In mixed news for retailers, PC sales
June's top vendors | ||
PC vendor | Market share | |
Compaq | 25.4 | |
IBM | 15.9 | |
Hewlett-Packard | 12.9 | |
Packard Bell NEC | 10.5 | |
Apple | 9.4 | |
Source: PC Data |
In addition to boosting overall sales, Microsoft's new operating system appeared to play an important role in determining last month's market share. Vendors like Compaq and IBM which promptly introduced Windows 98 computers saw their share rise significantly, while competitors such as Hewlett-Packard that waited to release Windows 98 systems slipped in the rankings.
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Compaq's new consumer "Internet PCs" provided a shot in the arm for the Houston-based vendor, which had slipped to the No. 2 spot in May. The company today announced price cuts on these systems, which promote home Internet access by means of fast modems and a strategic tie-up with GTE. The price action is expected to cement Compaq's leading position for July and further drive down PC prices.
"It will only stoke the fire a little more," Baker said.
IBM, one of the few vendors unaffected by May's downturn, retained the No. 2 spot in June on the strength of its low-end systems with processors from AMD. "Their sales were up substantially, because they had good Windows 98 products, priced aggressively with AMD processors," said Baker. "They're consistently the No. 1 or 2, along with Compaq."
Packard Bell NEC continued its yearlong disappointing performance. "They still haven't shown any sales growth," Baker noted. "They always positioned themselves as a price leader, but that's not the position they've been in the last few months. Other manufacturers are getting more aggressive about getting products out there with nice configurations and lower price points."
Apple rounded out the top five, with a little under 10 percent of the retail market. But Baker was skeptical of that standing.