21.   Software sales were hit by slower hardware sales and by heavy turnover in the sales force.

22.   Some analysts have said Palm may eventually abandon hardware sales to focus purely on software sales to become the Microsoft of hand-held computing.

23.   Still, lagging hardware sales prompted Merrill Lynch to lower its earnings estimate for the company.

24.   That overshadowed hardware sales that were little changed this quarter and fell sharply the quarter before.

25.   The company said other terms of the hardware business sale were unchanged.

26.   The computer company blamed lower hardware sales that were made worse by product delays and component shortages.

27.   The idea is that they will make money on hardware sales and consulting fees.

28.   The Japanese company was counting on recouping its investment through increased hardware sales and licensing fees from game designers.

29.   To a much greater degree than Staples, Office Depot is dependent on computer hardware sales, which have been poor for nearly all retailers for the last year.

30.   Analysts predicted the celebration will be short-lived because of continued struggles in the tech sector, including weak hardware sales and brutal price wars.