(Update 14Feb07) SeekingAlpha has a consumer survey on Dell, HP and Gateway.
Gateway computer? What’s that? We all know Dell, HP, IBM or Lenovo thinkpad, but not Gateway. Well, I remember Gateway computer because around 1997 and 1998, the PCs in my school are all Gateway branded. Gateway is a PC maker started in Iowa farms in 1985 and got big in 90s. Its consumer PC and laptop are sold in Best Buy and Circuity City nowadays. The company did not do well in recent years because of its own mistakes and the intense competition of PC industry. Now with the release of Windows Vista, it get a chance to turn around. I am summerizing some of the plus for Gateway:
1) It has more products for consumers (than business). The expectation is consumer will adopt Vista faster than the Business.
2) In last Friday’s Q4 result it announced additional cost cutting measures (bad for employees), saving additional $25 m. Good for investors.
3) Last but not least, it did pretty bad lately. I am not sure if it hit bottom yet but its 06 Revenue only slightly exceeded 05. And its Q4 06 revenue is light compared to same Q 05. At this moment, any positive will be good news.