UKNM: Gobi Gives Away Computers to New Internet Subscribers

[Paul Douglas]

Press release follws. Not my release, not necessarily my views, usual

disclaimer, blah blah blah


Paul.



Gobi Gives Away Computers to New Internet Subscribers Nationwide


NEW YORK, March 31 -- Gobi Inc. is launching a new national consumer

technology service that provides its subscribers with unlimited Internet

access and a powerful personal computer for about the price of basic cable

TV service.  The company is now shipping the first of over 1,000,000

computers it expects to provide this year.


For only $25.99 monthly, Gobi provides its subscribers with unlimited

Internet access and a new Intel Celeron computer that it keeps up-to-date

by replacing every three years or sooner.  The company also plans to

periodically upgrade components of the service, such as providing cable

modem access to its customers.  Subscribers pay a one-time setup fee of

$29.99 plus shipping and handling and join for a three-year term, but may

cancel at any time and keep the computer by paying a cancellation fee.


"Gobi eliminates the need to buy expensive hardware upfront or have

technical expertise to go online.  You don't need big bucks and you don't

have to speak geek to get Gobi," said CEO Ganesh Ramakrishnan. Gobi

subscribers will be able to access the Internet from over 350 local dial-up

sites across North America.


The Gobi service is available immediately nationwide.  The company is

already shipping to customers in the Toledo, OH area, where it has

conducted field tests.


Gobi computers are fast, powerful PC systems that make Web surfing a

breeze.  They include a 300 MHz Intel Celeron processor, 32 MB of SDRAM, a

3.2GB hard drive, 40X CD-ROM drive, 15" color monitor with speakers, 56k

(v.90) fax/modem, and Windows 98 software.  The Gobi System is made by

Solectron Corp. of Milpitas, CA, a global leader in the electronics

manufacturing industry that produces high-quality products for clients such

as Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Motorola, and Sun Microsystems.


Gobi does not rely on advertising revenue.  Instead, Gobi will leverage its

unique position between its users and the Internet to generate e-commerce

revenue through a business model similar to those used by Amazon.com,

Yahoo! and America Online.


Gobi, located in New York's Silicon Alley, was founded in 1998 by three

former executives of D.E. Shaw & Co., L.P., a prominent global investment

bank.  In addition to Ramakrishnan, the company is headed by President and

Chief Financial Officer Sudhir Shrotri, Ph.D. and Chief Operating &

Technology Officer Jeremy D. Schneider.


Gobi is funded by private investors in the United Kingdom and the United

States, including British industrialist Simon Wolfson.  The company's Board

of Advisors includes Bala Balachandran, the J.L. Kellogg Distinguished

Professor of Accounting, Information Systems and Decision Sciences at the

Northwestern University Graduate School of Management; and Robert Shannon,

the former Chief Information Officer of Aetna Life & Casualty Insurance

Companies.


Gobi is located at 90 John Street, Suite 409, New York, NY 10038.

Additional information is available on the Gobi Web site at

http://www.gobi.com.


# # #


********************

UKNM is sponsored by Excite UK, visit us at http://www.excite.co.uk.

Email Khalil Ibrahimi

khalilexcitecorp [dot] com (mailto:khalilexcitecorp [dot] com)

 to advertise on Excite.

********************

Change your UKNM subscription use http://www.chinwag.com/uknm.html