Gateway opens door for bargain hunters

Gateway is to offer $100 discounts on its PCs after posting wider than expected quarterly losses.

The offer applies to Gateway's 300SE and 500SE desktops and the Solo 1450SE notebook.

Gateway will also include CD burners and pre-installed Microsoft Office software with the discounted computers for a limited period.

The company is hoping to cash in on the back-to-school buyers and reclaim some of the market share it lost in the last quarter. It has warned shareholders to expect continuing losses over the next few quarters.

The outlook remains poor for all the PC vendors in the US market. IDC has reported a 0.5 per cent year-on-year drop in first half PC sales there, while the Gartner Group said PC sales had dropped 0.6 per cent.