The visiting chairman and CEO of major South Dakota-based PC maker Gateway2000 Inc. announced the launch Tuesday in Tokyo of a new sales program that the company claims is Japan's first PC trade-up service.Theodore Waitt, who established the leading computer maker in 1985, said the "Your Ware" program that started in the U.S. in late May has already won more than 300,000 users. In Japan, the new program consists of several sales campaigns, including a tieup with Citibank, which issues a credit card that earns discounts on Gateway computers.In a period from 24 months to 49 months after receiving a PC, a user can trade their old PC in for a new one. The new PC will be discounted based on the current used market price of the old machine, the company said.In the age of rapidly evolving technologies, a new PC soon becomes obsolete, discouraging some from making purchases or upgrading. Waitt said the new program will benefit such users and expand roles of a PC maker "in the PC life cycle."
