eMachines
- This article refers to the manufacturer of budget-priced personal computers, not the marque of SuperMac, called "EMachines" which produced Trinitron monitors and networking peripherals compatible with Apple Computers in the late 1980s and early 1990s. See UMAX.
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eMachines was a maker of low-cost PCs based in Irvine, California. It employed about 135 employees and sold between 1 to 2 million computers per year before its purchase on January 30, 2004, by rival Gateway Computers. Gateway was purchased by Acer in October 2007, and eMachines is still used as a brand for low-cost PCs.
History
The company appeared in September 1998, as a joint venture between Korean monitor maker Korea Data Systems (KDS) and Korean computer manufacturer TriGem, announcing models at price points of $399, $499, and $599, all without a monitor. At the time, few PCs sold for less than $699, and $999 was a more common price point for entry-level PCs. The first units shipped in November of the same year. eMachines PCs quickly became common in retail stores and touched off a ruinous price war involving Compaq, HP, IBM, and Packard Bell. eMachines PCs were frequently offered with large rebates, provided the consumer signed a long-term contract with an internet service provider, driving down the price further.
By early 2000, eMachines was the fifth-largest seller of PCs, in terms of volume, in the world, and had helped drive Packard Bell and IBM, as well as several smaller value-oriented vendors, from the US retail market.
In March 2000, hoping to further cash in on the dot-com boom, eMachines filed an Initial Public Offering with its share price set at $9. But with thin profit margins and declining sales due to a souring economy, the company quickly started losing money and received a threat of being delisted by NASDAQ in late December 2000. Its stock price, which had peaked at $10, had fallen as low as 14 cents. The company went private in December 2001.
Continuing price pressure from eMachines, along with Dell's aggressive pursuit of the home computer market, contributed to the merger between HP and Compaq[citation needed]. At the end of 2003, eMachines was the #3 personal computer maker in the world, in terms of sales figures, behind Dell and HP.
Before the company went private in 2001, eMachines' desktop components were generally considered of poor quality.[citation needed] However, after the private buy-out, eMachines began using decent quality, off-the-shelf components in its desktops. As a result, hardware would last longer, and individual components could be replaced with ease. Over the past few years, eMachines desktops and laptops are generally considered to have come a long way in value and reliability[citation needed],
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offering several high-end models and plenty of value for the money in today's market.
In December 2003, eMachines released the T6000 desktop, the world's first mass-marketed AMD Athlon 64-based system. The systems were primarily sold through Best Buy stores, but were also available online. At $1,150US retail, the T6000 was more expensive than the average eMachines desktop, but was still affordable, given the specifications: AMD Athlon 64 3200+, 512MB RAM, 160GB hard drive, and an ATI Radeon 9600 graphics card. The T6000 sold well, but was forced into obscurity in 2004, as the AMD64 market quickly heated up and Intel's EM64T implementation was released in 2004. They were also the first company to sell notebooks based on the AMD Mobile Athlon 64, with the launch of its M6000 series in January of 2004.
By July of 2004, Emachines computers were some of the most reliable. PC Magazine report: "Among systems less than a year old, eMachines users report the fewest serious problems. eMachines' low-cost PCs are less likely to need repairs than systems from any other vendor. Whereas only 9 percent of eMachines desktops less than a year old didn't need repairs, according to readers, the rates of comparably new systems from Dell and Gateway needing repairs were 11 and 15 percent, respectively. Only 1 percent of all eMachines systems needed to be replaced.
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This translates into a lower cost of doing business, which helps keep prices down."[1]
eMachines was acquired by Gateway, Inc. in March 2004 for $262 million in cash and shares. It remains a stand-alone brand that is sold through retailers, catalog and online merchandisers.
Controversies
- eMachines m68xx brands.
Brands, such as the eMachines m6811 (released in 2005), have been reported to have faulty hinges and power adapters. eMachines has admitted to these factory faults, and has been good in replacing the parts. Despite that fact, the replaced parts tend to break as before, thus making many users think the hinges were only replaced with the faulty, previous parts, which eMachines decided not to recall. Power adapters have been known to break off into the laptop's power port. Other times, the power adapters have been known to break and be a fire hazard. Like the hinges, eMachines has attempted to replace the power adapters, but users report that the power adapters have seemed like the others, because they have continued to break like the others. Eventually, eMachines began to change the way the power adapters used connections, by having the plug detach from the main power cord. The idea behind this was to prevent the plug from breaking off into the laptop's power port.[2]