Far East PCs will flood US market

Far East PCs will flood US market

FarEast PCs will floodUS market ‘Fake’ versions of the IBM PC fron the Eastern hemisphere are about tt flood the market, according to marke researcher...

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FarEast PCs will floodUS market ‘Fake’ versions of the IBM PC fron the Eastern hemisphere are about tt flood the market, according to marke researchers IRD. These will come first from Taiwan, from companie: such as Mycomp, Multitech and Mi tat, and later from Hong Kong ant 1 Singapore. Authors of the report think thal t IBM will license some of these manu facturers, rat.her than taking lega 1 action against them as Apple attemp, ted to do. Such a compromise woulc 1 not harm IBM, as demand for the PC far exceeds supply, but it coulc 1 affect US PC lookalike manufac turers, such as Compaq, Columbia. , TI, Apple and Radio Shack. In addition to being cheaper thar I US products (Taiwan PC lookalike , are less than half the IBM PC price), the Eastern products have been found ; to be more reliable, says the report, at least as far as Apples are concerned. Even if Western buyers do not go fot the lookalikes, they may well end up ) buying a Far Eastern product as more and more US suppliers manufacture in the East. For example, it is expected that the IBM portable will be nade there, possibly in Japan. ’ However, Japanese vendors have lot so far been very successful in the JSA, possibly with the exception of \rippon Electric and Fujitsu. Lost ‘apanese investment is due to an pverrehance on office equipment deal:rs for distribution, software deficien:ies and the lack of 16 bit micros to :ompete with the IBM PC. According o the report, office equipment dealers iave refused to invest in stock and ‘upport facilities, thereby losing the nicro markets. The situation began to change with

the adoption of the MSX standard for microcomputer software in Japan, and the report predicts a takeover of the US market, starting at home computer and video games and spreading upwards. Other US companies are expected to go offshore to secure cheaper

manufacturing facilities. Gold Sta r Company Ltd of Korea is reported tc3 be making 16 bit minis in conjunction n with Honeywell, and telephone e switching equipment for Westerr 1 Electric. It may also have plans fo r making a 32 bit supermicro fo r AT&T at a new plant in Kumi, it1 South Korea. The report also sees thee possibility of an extension of thee AT&T/Coleco deal to involve Sony o r Mitsubishi in teledelivery of game S and information to home terminal: s and computers. (Far-Eastern vendo r strategies for US microcomputer mar kets. IRD, 30 High St, Norwalk, C1r 06851, USA.)

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may 1984

The uses of automatic teller machines (ATMs) outside banks and financial institutions will grow in the next five years, but home banking has potential for even greater growth, says a report from Frost & Sullivan on the European market. ATMs are likely to be found in bus and railway stations, shopping centres and factories by 1988 when the European market is predicted to be worth $14M, compared to $4M currently. Following this phase, retailers and other nonfinancial institutions may start installing their own ATMs. This is likely to be particularly popular in supermarkets and stores, says the 1report, so that users can get cash 1where they spend it. Apart from in West Germany and 1:he UK there has been very little (development in the European home Ibanking hardware market. Now only 1worth $6M it is estimated to rise to ( b287M by 1988. Development deFends on the right communications : Facilities being available, so in coun1:ries like Ireland and Belgium, where :here is no public videotex service, ;lome banking can not expect to 1Jrogress very far.

In larger countries there are factors which will also slow the growth of home banking, such as the CEPT talks on microchip standardization in West Germany, and the involvement of the French government in electronit funds transfer and the use of the ‘smart card’. On the hardware side, kits are being developed to convert home computers into videotex consoles. There is expected to be a $120M market for software applications packages for home banking by 1988, which can be taken up by software houses. The growth of ATMs will lead to a relaxation of usage restrictions, so that customers of any bank in a network may use any ATM within that network. Potential markets for ATMs are seen as West Germany, the UK and to a lesser extent, France. Italy is two years behind in the development of remote ATMs, but is deemed to be a good potential market due to its large population. (The retail and home banking market in Europe, Frost & Sullivan, Inc., 106 Fulton Street, Nm York. NY 10038. USA.)

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