Gateway 2000 Launches Solo 9100 and 5100 Notebooks with Intel Pentium II Processors

Strategic Insights -

Gateway 2000, a global leader in the direct marketing of PCs, has begun sales of two new notebooks, the Solo 9100 and 5100, which are powered by Intel's high-performance mobile Pentium II processors. The launch marks a significant milestone in the mobile market, as it brings faster processing capabilities to consumers. Gateway's introduction of Pentium II technology delivers rich configurations at competitive price points, starting at $2,899 for the Solo 5100SE.

Key Takeaways:

  • Gateway 2000 is the first vendor to ship with Pentium II processors, offering aggressive pricing and rich configurations.
  • The Solo 9100 and 5100 notebooks are powered by Intel's 266MHz and 233MHz mobile Pentium II processors.
  • The Solo 5100SE is configured with a 233 MHz Pentium II processor, 32MB SDRAM, and a 14.1-inch TFT XGA display, selling for $2,899.
  • The Solo 9100XL offers a 266MHz Pentium II processor with MMX technology, 64MB SDRAM, and a 14.1-inch TFT XGA display, selling for $4,699.
  • Gateway allows customers to custom-build their own configurations at no charge, offering standard configurations as well.
  • The company's efficient business model enables quick transition to new processors, allowing for industry-leading transitions.
  • Gateway's common modularity theme within its mobile products enhances fleet manageability, reduces overall support costs, and delivers practical and demonstrable total cost of ownership reductions.
  • The Solo notebooks have the industry-leading advantage of sharing common components such as docking stations, system memory, hard disk drives, power adapters, and other common peripherals.
  • Gateway's build-to-order business model allows customers to customize their notebooks' CPU speed, RAM amount, hard drive capacity, modem and network connectivity, operating system, and applications software.

Statistics:

  • The Solo 5100XL sells for $3,899.
  • The Solo 9100SE is priced at $3,499.
  • The Solo 9100XL's 5GB hard disk drive is one of the largest available in a mobile notebook.
  • Gateway's revenue for the year 1997 was $6.3 billion.
  • The company employs over 13,000 people worldwide.
  • Gateway has manufacturing facilities in the United States, Ireland, and Malaysia.

Sources:

  • Gateway 2000 press release, no date provided
  • Gateway 2000, http://www.gateway.com (accessed on the day the document was published)
  • Intel Corporation, no specific reference provided