Home businesses flocking to low-priced computers.

Today's prices are 50% below those of two years ago

Home office computers are now the fastest-growing segment of the computer industry, mainly because corporate purchasing of computers stalled in the last year due to the recession, said local computer consultants.

And with the dramatic decrease in the price of computers and accessories, working at home has become easier and cheaper than ever before.

Prices of home computers have dropped more than 50 percent from two years ago, said computer retailers and consultants.

Two years ago the average home computer was selling for $3,000 and now, a much stronger computer is going for $1,400, said Marcia Kaplan, director of research at Merrin Information Services, a computer consulting firm in Palo Alto.

Laser printers which retailed for $3,500 three years ago are now selling for $1,300, with twice the resolution, retailers added. And now "fax modems" -- a device that allows the user to transmit and receive faxes within a computer -- have hit the scene for as low as $100.

"Computers are as low as you are going to get them," said Doug Wright, general manager of CompUSA, a computer superstore located in Culver City.

He said he can barely keep in stock the HP 4 laser printer, which retails for $1,350 and has twice the quality of laser printers from just three years ago.

Wright, Kaplan and others said it is a "toss up" as to whether Apple or IBM computers are selling better right now.

"You're talking about two different crowds," said Wright, "the staunch IBM environment and the staunch Apple people who want an Apple because of graphics."

"Both are doing quite well," added Kaplan about sales of Apple and IBM personal computers. Besides price, one of the biggest trends in computers for the home office is the obsolescence of the 386 computer, long a standard in the industry, said computer experts.

For a few hundred dollars more, retailers said, people can buy a 486 computer, an updated model which has the memory to hold popular programs, such as Microsoft Corp.'s Windows, which allows an IBM to run like an Apple.

Steve Mitchell, a salesman at L.A. Tronics in West L.A., said two months ago his store had five different models of 386 computers. Now the store has one 386 model, he said, and that doesn't sell.

A typical 386 computer has two megabytes of random access memory (RAM) and runs at a speed of 16 megahertz, which, according to computer experts, is outdated for today's programs.

"If you don't have (at least) four megabytes of RAM, you are out of luck," said Mitchell.

RAM is the amount of memory a computer has available to operate a program.

Most programs now need four megabytes of RAM to operate, said Mitchell, and the new Windows program calls for 8 megabytes of RAM.

Mitchell said his store sells a 486 computer with four megabytes of RAM, plus a monitor, for as low as $1,300. The computer manufactured by Leading Edge, which makes IBM clones, runs at a speed of 25 megahertz. The computer also includes disk drives for both 5.25-inch and 3.5-inch floppy disks, a keyboard, mouse and the programs DOS 5.0 and Windows 3.1.

Mitchell said the most popular 486 computer, however, is one manufactured by the Japanese company NEC Technologies Inc. That computer sells for close to $2,000, including the monitor. He said the price also includes a fax modem installed in the computer and a number of high-quality features.

Wright said CompUSA's big seller in the 486 computer category is the company's own brand, called Compudyne. He said the better-selling 486 Compudyne comes with four megabytes of RAM, 33 megahertz and a retail price of $1,400, including the monitor. He said that price also includes a mouse and the programs Windows 3.1 and DOS 5.0.

He said he has noticed more people pushing for power and speed between 50 and 60 megahertz.

Over at Personal Support Computers in West L.A., which touts itself as the "Macintosh Super Center," the hot new product for the home office is the Macintosh PowerBook Duo computer, said Rich Reid, assistant manager for the store.

This system, introduced by Apple Computer Inc. last October, allows consumers to insert (or dock) a portable (PowerBook) computer into a desktop system. This system allows consumers to have both a portable computer and a home office computer for the price of one computer, which eliminates the file management problems of working on two separate computers.

The notebook computer weights just over four pounds and it plugs into a desktop system with one simple step.

Both models of the portable computers in this system -- the PowerBook Duo 210 and the PowerBook Duo 230 -- have four megabytes of RAM.

The total price for the system runs close to $4,000, said Reid. The computer itself costs about $2,100, the docking station runs another $1,050, the monitor is slightly more than $500 and the keyboard runs between $100 and $170.

The system also has added features that increase the computer's memory and speed, and its ability to capture video and hook up to a larger monitor.

Just last month, Apple announced a series of new models of computers, including a color computer for under $1,400. The Macintosh Color Classic, with four megabytes of RAM, includes a monitor and disk drive as one unit.