New Media PCs May Find Lukewarm Reception among Holiday Shoppers. Parks Associates latest consumer research indicates that full-featured media-centric PCs are above the threshold for most consumers.

New Media PCs May Find Lukewarm Reception among Holiday Shoppers. Parks Associates latest consumer research indicates that full-featured media-centric PCs are above the pain threshold for most consumers. Although several high-profile companies are gearing up to market new media-center PCs for the holidays, heightened price sensitivity may ultimately keep mainstream shoppers from adopting these new solutions, at least for this year.

Dallas, TX, November 2002 - Although several high-profile companies are gearing up to market new media-center PCs for the holidays, heightened price sensitivity may ultimately keep mainstream shoppers from adopting these new solutions, at least for this year.

This fall, Microsoft and Hewlett-Packard are releasing the Windows® XP Media Center Edition via HP Media Center PCs and planning a strong marketing campaign to coincide with the holiday season. The task to sell these PCs may prove difficult, though, for an October 2002 survey of Internet households, conducted by Parks Associates, found that among consumers likely to purchase a new PC in the next six months, only 6.3% expressed a high-level of interest in buying a media-center PC at what will be its expected price point.
Price sensitivity among new PC buyers is at an all-time high," said Michael Greeson, senior analyst and author of Parks Associates PC-Based Digital Entertainment in the Internet Home. Although Microsoft, Hewlett-Packard, and others will be stoking the pre-holiday media blitz, the majority of new PC buyers will shy away from the $1,600 to $2,000 price tag of these new media-center PCs."

There are some positive factors regarding the future outlook for home networking in entertainment products and services. Parks Associates research found that more than one-third of Internet households are strongly interested in networking audio content from the PC to a home stereo. This interest may spur sales in the long run; however, current economic conditions will likely delay mass adoption of media-center PCs for the present.

Parks Associates PC-Based Digital Entertainment in the Internet Home combines two of the Companys latest primary consumer research projects. The first, a September 2002 survey of 10,700 Internet households, examines issues such as collocation of PCs and entertainment devices, current entertainment-centric uses of the PC, and consumer interest in new applications and services associated with networking PC-based digital entertainment content. The second, an October 2002 survey of 611 Internet households, analyzes consumer interest in purchasing new PCs and gauges likely purchase behavior for media-center PCs at specific price points.
For more information about Parks Associates research services and events, please contact us at 972-490-1113 or sales@parksassociates.com.

About Parks Associates:
Parks Associates is a market research and consulting firm that provides information and analysis to its clients on emerging residential, small office, and light commercial technologies. Founded in 1986, Parks Associates creates research capital for companies ranging from Fortune 500 to small start-ups through market reports, multiclient studies, consumer research, workshops, and custom-tailored client solutions. Its market expertise encompasses the full range of connected-home solutions, including home networks, digital entertainment, broadband and Internet services, and home systems. Parks Associates also hosts two industry events, Forum and CONNECTIONS, each year. www.parksassociates.com.