I'm nervous about the bullishness of the whole market. But I am not nervous about Legend itself. We have to think of something in which we can increase returns on investment. The Internet will definitely be a way out. Ma maintains, and most analysts seem to agree, that Legend's Internet strategy is low-risk and builds on its existing strengths in hardware and distribution.
Legend also waives access charges for the first year.
Through their hardware, they can capture audiences. I don't really see a tonne of risk here. You have a very powerful player moving into a very complementary business. Legend says it sold 100,000 of the special-button PCs in the first quarter of this year, out of total PC sales of 430,000. Advertising is practically nonexistent, but Ma says the emphasis now is on generating traffic in hopes of reaping revenues in future from on-line sales, stock trades and other commercial activity.