More on E-Machine, Intel, and iMac

Yesterday's story about the E-Machine and other iMac killers generated abunch of email, so I figured the story was worth expanding. In the wake ofApple's iMac release in August, PC makers are readying PC-compatible systems that are designed to out-perform and out-price the iMac. Thesesystems, which in many cases will offer similar designs to the iMac, willinstead offer Pentium II-class 333 MHz Celeron processors running Windows 98. Many of these systems will be ready by Christmas.

E-Machines, in particular, will offer a sub-$600 system that borrows heavily from the iMac design. Aside from the obvious differences between aPC and a Mac, the E-Machines system will also offer a floppy drive, serialand parallel ports, and, unlike the iMac, be easily upgradeable. Alsounlike the iMac, the E-Machines box will be compatible with all existingPC-compatible hardware.

For the very low-end, E-Machines will offer a Cyrix-based system that willsell for under $500. This system will feature 32 MB RAM, a 3.2 GB hard drive, a 56KBps modem, and an integrated 14" monitor.

Yesterday's story stated that Intel and Korean PC manufacturer TriGem werecollaborating on the system, which is false: Actually, TriGem is workingwith Korean Data Systems to create E-Machine. Intel, of course, does supplythe Celeron CPU in the higher-end E-Machine system, but it is working ona separate future PC design that resembles a terraced pyramid. PCs based onthis design are still at least a year away and will likely be fairly radical in their design.

The upcoming Intel PC, and the E-Machines boxes, fill a gap at the low-endthat isn't addressed by iMac: a survey of iMac buyers shows that only 16%of the purchasers were first-time computer buyers, and over 82% of the buyers were existing Macintosh owners. An E-Machines computer--coming inat less than half the price of an iMac--is expected to be particularly appealing to a far larger group of consumers: First time PC buyers andexisting PC users that want a second machine. What's amazing about thesemachines, however, is that even the $500 model is powerful enough to runtoday's demanding business applications while underpricing any NetworkComputer