In his recent column in Barron’s Technology Trader Eric J. Savitz writes that PC sales are yet to pick up the rush despite Microsoft Corporation's (NASDAQ: MSFT) recent launch of Windows 7. Microsoft claimed that Windows 7 was a runaway success. However, the rush does not seem to be visible in PC sales.
The recent 3rd quarter results of Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) seems to indicate that. Dell’s 3rd quarter results were much below the Wall Street’s expectations. Dell’s margins are under pressure and it seems to be falling behind in notebooks sales.
While Savitz feels that IT buyers may rush back to purchase PC in the second half of 2010, he still has a caveat. The evidence of economic pickup must be clearer. Savitz is of the opinion that those investors who want to take positions based on PC sales rebound may also look at Hewlett-Packard Company (NASDAQ: HPQ) and Microsoft Corporation.
On “Pixi” – a lower price offering by Palm, Inc. (NASDAQ: PALM), Savitz wonders why anyone should buy it, when its predecessor “Pre” is available at low prices. Palm’s Pixi is being offered by Sprint Nextel Corporation (NYSE: S) – through a 2 year contract. Savitz writes that, Pixi’s price is too steep. For instance, Research In Motion's (NASDAQ: RIMM) BlackBerry Bold offered by AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) can be purchased for a small price on Amazon.com, Inc.(NASDAQ: AMZN).
On “post - transaction marketing”, Savitz writes that the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation has recently released a report on this phenomenon. Three Connecticut companies - Affinion, Vertrue and Webloyalty – were behind the spread of this marketing strategy. Buyers ordering through the Internet are offered a bait. Those who fall for it, find that they were enrolled for services which they do not need.
The report indicates that these 3 companies and the retailers have garnered $1.4 billion through this way. The retailers list includes United Online, Inc.’s (NASDAQ: UNTD) Classmate.com which collected more than $ 70 million in revenue using this strategy.
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