Thread, here is the IBM commentary on AMD and ViaVoice. They say the AMD chips can easily run the software, but do not specify why they are not shipping it (my guess is simply cost)...
John
IBM adds ViaVoice to more
PCs
By Stephanie Miles
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
September 23, 1998, 2:20 p.m. PT
IBM refreshed its line of Aptiva consumer
PCs today, introducing new models featuring
Big Blue's ViaVoice speech recognition
software.
IBM is hoping that the new systems, which
range from $899 basic systems with AMD
processors, to $1,799 Pentium II 400-MHz
multimedia powerhouses, cover the range of
home users, from families with children to
telecommuters.
"One of the things
that's been fairly
consistent [for IBM] is
our spread of
products," said Brian
Connors, vice
president of the
Aptiva group. "If you
look at the range of products, the spread
doesn't change much. The average selling
price moves down over time, but the range is
consistent."
IBM today has expanded the number of
systems shipping with its ViaVoice speech
recognition software. Speech recognition
has been targeted by analysts as a
consumer-friendly application that actually
uses the power and memory that the PC
industry is cranking out at rapidly decreasing
prices.
"It's kind of a chicken-and-egg thing,"
Connors said. "You plant the seed to create
the need."
Speech recognition applications such as
ViaVoice are fairly taxing on system
requirements, demanding at least a
166-MHz processor and 32MB of memory
for bare-bones performance, with studies
indicating that the accuracy of these
programs actually increases with processor
speed and memory. That's why ViaVoice
was previously only included on IBM's
priciest and most powerful consumer
systems.
"The high-end
technology has come
down in price so that
more people can
exploit this more
natural way of
computing," Connors
said. Today's
lower-price
computers, such as IBM's $1,099 Aptiva
E3U, with an AMD K6-2/350 MHz processor
and 64MB of memory, should easily handle
the system requirements of these
applications.
In fact, Connors acknowledged that the new
$899 Aptiva E2U, with an AMD
K6-2/333-MHz processor and 48MB of
memory, could adequately handle ViaVoice,
although the application is not included.
ViaVoice "definitely creates a level of
differentiation between the base level and
the step up," Connors said. "Clearly things
migrate with time. I wouldn't discount seeing
it migrate over time (to the lower end
systems)."
IBM also introduced the Aptiva E5U for
$1,399, with a 350-MHz Pentium II
processor, 96MB of memory, 8GB hard
drive, DVD-ROM drive, and ViaVoice. The
priciest system introduced today, the $1,799
Aptiva E6U, features a 400- MHz Pentium II,
128MB of memory, 13.5GB hard drive,
DVD-ROM, and Via Voice.
Big Blue only recently reentered the high end
of the consumer market. In July, it introduced
the 400-MHz Aptiva E5D, and then in August
rolled out the Cobra, a sleek high-end box for
$2,399.
"We (PC makers) had been in the doldrums
for the last year, on price," Connors said.
"But I think there's a level of disappointment
there [for consumers] with base-price
systems. Now it's about going above the
base-price attributes, while not paying a
premium, but helping to create a platform
and solution for different lifestyles.People
aren't only buying $799 and $999 systems,
that's for sure."
Related news stories
IBM hits 350 MHz with K6 box August 27, 1998
New IBM PCs aim high and low August 25, 1998
New Pentium II, Celeron PCs here August 24, 1998
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