Packard Bell NEC Inc, which currently claims the number three spot in PC vendors in the US, has upped the stakes in the PC price war by announcing what it says is the first $699, full- featured, brand-name consumer PC. The company also takes credit for having been the first to offer a machine based in the sub- $1,000 category in January 1997. It says its latest move will push it further ahead in the battle for home computer market share. The new price tag will buy consumers the Packard Bell 550, which features a Cyrix Corp 233 MHz MMX Enhanced MediaGX processor, 24Mb of RAM and 2.1Gb hard drive. According to International Data Corp, sub-$1,000 systems will account for 35% of US consumer desktop shipments in 1998, and Packard Bell reckons it can expand that market segment with even cheaper price points.
