More on the competition, IBM is expected to introduce a $599 PC with a 300mhz IBM built chip for the Xmas season...
John
IBM Plans to Unveil Aptiva
For $599 by Late November
By a WALL STREET JOURNAL Staff Reporter
ARMONK, N.Y. -- International Business Machines Corp. is getting
ready to unveil a $599 personal computer, a pre-emptive strike to position
its Aptiva brand at the low end of the sub-$1,000 market for home
computers.
IBM, which came late to the sub-$1,000 market and lost significant
opportunity to boost its Aptiva sales, plans to start selling the new model in
late November with an eye to the coming holiday shopping season. The
new Aptiva D1N comes with a 300-megahertz IBM processor chip,
based on a design from National Semiconductor Corp.'s Cyrix unit, and a
3.2-gigabyte hard disk drive. Customers will have to pay extra for a
monitor.
While IBM isn't the first company to start selling powerful PCs for under
$600, it is the first major brand to enter the segment. Compaq Computer
Corp. is selling its new Presario 2266 for $799, though customers who
sign up for Compaq's Internet service get a $100 rebate. IBM's
least-expensive Aptiva currently sells for $799.
IBM's early move to tap into a new sub-$600 market suggests the
computer giant continues to believe in its chances in the hotly contested
consumer-PC business. Third-quarter industry data, which are expected to
come out next week, are likely to show that the Aptiva brand is picking up
some market share, albeit off a small base, industry executives said.
The new Aptiva, code-named Key West, is being manufactured for IBM
in Taiwan and other low-cost markets by third parties.
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