Gene - IBM to Introduce 300 MHz Intel Pentium II Notebook PCs
Intel looks like it is accelerating its lead in the Mobile Processor "space".
You can read about IBM's upcoming 300 MHz Notebook PCs as well as 300 MHz machines from Gateway and NEC.
Paul
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infoworld.com
Back to desktops: IT managers rethink
notebook plans
By Ephraim Schwartz and Andy Santoni
InfoWorld Electric
Posted at 6:55 AM PT, Jul 20, 1998
IBM expects to be one of the first major system vendors out of the chute with 300-MHz Pentium II notebooks beginning this fall. Close on IBM's heels will be vendors such as NEC, Gateway, and Acer, but every major vendor in this category will probably encounter more resistance to notebook adoption from increasingly cost-conscious IT managers.
Many IT managers have begun rethinking their notebook purchasing strategies due to the unbeatable price and performance of desktop systems.
"It's been happening in the last six months, or maybe a year. Because of the rapid decline in desktop pricing and consistent increase in performance, desktops have increased in their attractiveness vis-a-vis portables," said Roger Kay, a senior analyst at International Data Corp., in Framingham, Mass.
According to industry sources, IBM will announce a complete refresh of its Pentium II ThinkPad notebook line on Sept. 8 -- the same day Intel will introduce its mobile 300-MHz Pentium II processor.
The IBM highlights will include the first Pentium II in an ultraportable, 1.2-inch form factor. In addition to the 300-MHz Pentium II chip, the ThinkPad 560 will include a 12.1-inch active matrix display, 64MB of RAM, and a 6.4GB hard drive. Both Windows NT 4.0 and Windows 98 will be offered.
The ThinkPad 770 will feature a 13.7-inch thin-film transistor (TFT) display, an 8.1GB drive, and a digital video disc (DVD) drive.
However, just as vendors get ready to flood the market with new Pentium II notebook models, IT managers appear to be changing their buying strategies.
"We were pushing more notebooks for a while, and now we are going back to desktops," said Gregory Kinman, manager of enterprise information at John Deere Insurance Group, in Moline, Ill., and a member of the InfoWorld Corporate Advisory Board.
As notebooks come to the end of their life cycle, the company will replace them with desktops if mobility is not essential, Kinman said. Instead, a pool of notebooks will be created for occasional use.
Most IT managers contacted either were reconsidering their purchasing strategy or have maintained a policy of buying notebooks only when essential. Some cited that notebooks are costlier and harder to configure, support, and maintain.
"The permutations and degree of difficulty in your loads for laptops are much more difficult," said an IS manager at a Fortune 50 oil company.
Price differentials between desktops and notebooks can be as much as $1,000 for a notebook system with a 266-MHz Pentium II chip. In every case, the less expensive desktop will also have a larger hard drive, more memory, and built-in LAN connectivity.
"The Marine Corp. is a business employing 200,000 civilians, and we have to consider the total cost of ownership issues, and that means the cheapest with the best performance," said Maj. James C. Cummiskey, a technical advisor for the Marines, in Camp Pendleton, Calif.
In September, NEC will also introduce a new line of Versa systems with the 300-MHz Pentium II chip.
Meanwhile, Gateway will freshen its notebook lines, adding 300-MHz Mobile Module CPUs to its 2500, 5100, and 9100 series portables, according to sources close to the company. Prices have not yet been set.
IBM Corp., in Armonk, N.Y., can be reached at ibm.com. NEC Computer Systems Inc., in Mountain View, Calif., is at nec.com. Gateway 2000 Inc., in North Sioux City, S.D. is at
gateway.com.
InfoWorld editor at large, Ephraim Schwartz is based in San Mateo, Calif. Andy Santoni is a senior writer for InfoWorld.
Related articles:
"Intel begins Mobile Pentium II rollout in Taiwan"
"Vendors to unveil Mobile Pentium II notebooks"
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