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AOL opens the curtains on a $299 PC deal
AOL has confirmed that it is offering a $299 bundle of PC, 17-inch monitor and a colour printer to subsribers who sign up for one year of its internet service. The company hopes the offer will help combat the problem of diminishing subscriber numbers.
[blockquote]The Internet service provider launched a Web site, 299pcdeal.com, to promote the offer, which runs through Dec. 31.
The "new AOL Optimized PC" is built by Systemax, a Port Washington, N.Y.-based PC maker. It includes a 1.7GHz Intel Celeron processor, 256MB of RAM and a 40GB hard drive. They come preloaded with Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition and Sun Microsystem's StarOffice software.
An AOL spokesman said the offer is a test program being aimed directly at consumers who have limited or no experience using the Internet. If successful, the company will consider making similar offers in the future, he said.
The move follows AOL's announcement that it plans to launch a new discount Internet access service under its Netscape brand to combat the growing threat from both cheaper alternatives and speedier broadband offers. The stripped-down service is expected to launch in early 2004 for $9.95 a month and to offer fewer of the bells and whistles found on AOL's $23.90 a month service, according to a source close to the company.
For the past two quarters, AOL has watched the number of its core dial-up subscribers slip as members have defected to faster broadband services or to cheaper discount ISPs such as United Online 's NetZero and Juno.
In the last quarter, AOL lost 846,000 members, some of them to broadband or discount dial-up ISPs. The bulk of the lost members were people using AOL at discount prices who were no longer counted as full-paying members.
Gartner analyst Denise Garcia lauded the strategy as a way for AOL to appeal to what remains its strongest target audience, Internet neophytes, but said it was unclear whether a $300 PC would appeal to a large number of people.
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[link=http://news.com.com/2100-1025-5113197.html?tag=nefd_hed]Read more[/link]
[blockquote]The Internet service provider launched a Web site, 299pcdeal.com, to promote the offer, which runs through Dec. 31.
The "new AOL Optimized PC" is built by Systemax, a Port Washington, N.Y.-based PC maker. It includes a 1.7GHz Intel Celeron processor, 256MB of RAM and a 40GB hard drive. They come preloaded with Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition and Sun Microsystem's StarOffice software.
An AOL spokesman said the offer is a test program being aimed directly at consumers who have limited or no experience using the Internet. If successful, the company will consider making similar offers in the future, he said.
The move follows AOL's announcement that it plans to launch a new discount Internet access service under its Netscape brand to combat the growing threat from both cheaper alternatives and speedier broadband offers. The stripped-down service is expected to launch in early 2004 for $9.95 a month and to offer fewer of the bells and whistles found on AOL's $23.90 a month service, according to a source close to the company.
For the past two quarters, AOL has watched the number of its core dial-up subscribers slip as members have defected to faster broadband services or to cheaper discount ISPs such as United Online 's NetZero and Juno.
In the last quarter, AOL lost 846,000 members, some of them to broadband or discount dial-up ISPs. The bulk of the lost members were people using AOL at discount prices who were no longer counted as full-paying members.
Gartner analyst Denise Garcia lauded the strategy as a way for AOL to appeal to what remains its strongest target audience, Internet neophytes, but said it was unclear whether a $300 PC would appeal to a large number of people.
[/blockquote]
[link=http://news.com.com/2100-1025-5113197.html?tag=nefd_hed]Read more[/link]
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WHY... WONT YOU... JUST... DIE!!!
don't u mean Fredrick Krueger