New NEC PCs Set Sophisticated Computing to Music … Digitally; New NEC Home Music Studio Empowers Music and Computer Lovers, Leads New NEC Consumer PC Line-up

Business Wire, Oct 14, 1999

Ranging in suggested retail price from $1,349.99 to $1,699.99 (Note 7), the new NEC Home Music Studio PCs bring some of the best music jukebox and music creation technology together with complete PC functionality perfect for any type of computing need.

Full Spectrum of New NEC Consumer PCs

Complementing the introduction of the new NEC Home Music Studio PCs, three new traditional NEC consumer PCs will arrive in retail stores nationwide in October, delivering some of the latest technology and advanced performance to high-end PC users.

In addition to potent processor power from either Intel or AMD(R), a 13.0GB (Note 1) hard drive and 64MB to 96MB of memory, two of these new systems feature a versatile CD-ReWritable (Note 3) (CD-RW) drive that reads all CD media and enables CD rewriting capabilities, allowing for easy data storage and archiving.

With suggested retail prices of $599.99 up to $1,199.99 (Note 7), new NEC consumer PCs also feature powerful multimedia technology including a 40X maximum (17X minimum) variable speed CD-ROM drive or a DVD-ROM drive, a high-performance 3D AGP graphics/video accelerator that produces vibrant, realistic graphics and PCI audio which generates high-quality 3D stereo sound.

NEC consumer PCs put the Internet within easy reach through a variety of advanced Internet tools (Note 4) including NEC Direct Internet Access and NEC Net Media Player Internet Radio as well as Urocket, Packard Bell NEC's own Internet service provider (ISP).

Whether for business or personal use, the premium software package (Note 5) available on all new NEC consumer models enables users to fulfill all of their home computing needs. Each system comes with a Microsoft(R) Windows(R) 98 software bundle that includes a variety of productivity, finance, graphics and entertainment titles.

Additionally, users have access to a recently-enhanced Internet-based technical support Web site that allows NEC consumer PC customers to more quickly and accurately define and answer any computing questions.

About Packard Bell NEC, Inc.

Packard Bell NEC, Inc. is a leading producer and marketer of a broad range of desktop and notebook computers and network servers in the Americas. The company's consumer division serves the retail market through the Packard Bell and NEC brands, and claims the highest installed base of home computers of any producer in the industry.

Its NEC Computer Systems Division serves the commercial market with NEC-branded Versa(R) notebook computers, PowerMate(R) desktop computers, Express5800(TM) servers and MobilePro(TM) handheld personal computers.

With headquarters in Sacramento, Calif., the company is privately held by NEC Corporation and Groupe Bull. Through these shareholders and its alliance with affiliates Packard Bell Europe and NEC PC in Japan, the company offers global reach and capabilities as well as advanced technology. Packard Bell NEC, Inc. and its affiliates comprise the fifth (as consolidated by IDC, April 1999) largest PC vendor in the world.