🚀 go-pugleaf

23:11:38
28-Aug-1992

Author:	Leigh Webster
Date:	27-Aug-1992
Posted-date: 27-Aug-1992

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PRESS RELEASE..........PRESS RELEASE........PRESS RELEASE.....!!

Released by Noble & Asociates on behalf of Digital Equipment
Corporation New Zealand Ltd.  For more information please contact
Tony Noble on Wellington (04) 473-3404, or Stuart Le Gros on
Auckland (09) 307-5555


Digital launches new technology PC range backed by three-year
warranty


Digital has announced a three-year warranty with its new range of
board-upgradeable 'Tiger II' PC's.  The range includes the first
66Mhz 'chip-doubled' 486DX2-based system available in New
Zealand, and new bus technology which allows Windows applications
to run 40 percent faster.

Digital's New Zealand PC sales and marketing manager, Stuart Le
Gros, said the roll-out of the new range combined leading
technology and warranty features which would give Digital market
leadership in both technology and overall cost of ownership.

"First, a three-year warranty means that - because PC's are
typically depreciated over three years - the sale price
represents the total cost of ownership, " Le Gros said.  "This is
something that all large buyers have been asking for."  He said
the warranty would be for on-site service during the first 12
months.  After that the defective component would be shipped to
the nearest Digital service centre and returned free of charge.
Low cost 'DECservice' on site maintenance packages could be
negotiated for the second and third years if required.

"Second," he said, "Digital has introduced daughter board
upgradeability right through its range from 386 to 486.  This
upgrade is a simple, modular operation that can be done in
minutes and can - for example - transform a humble 386 into the
hottest 66Mhz 486 by simply replacing a single circuit board.
This is a feature that will eventually be adopted by all
major PC manufacturers."

Our systems can be upgraded in three ways:  The 386 40Mhz model
can be upgraded to any of the 486 models, 486 models can be
upgraded to faster 486 processor speeds, and the speed of the 486
models can be doubled through the addition of a clock-doubing
chip.

He said the third important feature was new local bus video and
GUI accelerator technology which was designed to enable the new
PC's to run Windows applications 40 percent faster than an
equivalent system without the 'video accelerator' components.

"These new systems have dramatically faster video speed.  We've
achieved this with two separate hardware systems:  one is the
32-bit local bus video which bypasses the ISA channel to connect
directly to the processor - this increases speed up to 33Mhz,
instead of 8Mhz on conventional machines:  the other is a GUI
accelerator, a dedicated chip from S3 that recognises commands
used by Microsoft Windows and runs them faster.  When you combine
the two technologies you get a dramatic improvement in the speed
that applications such as Windows will run.  It's an extremely
important, practical, advance," he said.

He said that in total, seven new models had been announced:  two
386 based systems - a 33 Mhz 386SX which will now be the
entry-level system in Digital's PC range (the only model not
board upgradeable), and a 40Mhz 386DX:  plus five 486 systems;  a
25Mhz 486SX, a 33Mhz 486DX a 50Mhz 486DX2, a 50Mhz 486DX and a
66Mhz 486DX2.

To follow during the year will be P5-ready deskside mini-towers
and a range of portables including a laptop.

Digital's pricing strategy would acknowledge the technology and
quality advances made, Le Gros said.  But would still be less
than competitors such as Compaq's new desktop range.

"Our pricing guide will position each Tiger II PC just under the
equivalent Compaq system based on processor speed, memory, etc.
However, when you take into account the three-year warranty, the
additional video performance, the full-range board-upgradeability
and the fact that each system comes with DOS and Windows already
loaded, then you have a combined package which delivers a
considerable price/performance advantage over any of the quality
brand PC's available today," Le Gros said.  "It should also be
noted that our pricing guide is just that - a guide.  Our Digital
Business Partners will have their own aggressive pricing
strategies, and Digital itself will be offering favourable deals
to its large corporate and government customers."

Digital's Tiger II products are all manufactured at Digital's own
Taiwan PC plant.  Le Gros said the plant was a purpose-built MRP
II facility with the required quality manufacturing processes
required to support the three-year warranty.

With the Taiwan plant gearing up to full output, and other
manufacturing arrangements in the United States and Europe,
Digital is fast shaping up as a major competitor in the worldwide
PC market.  For the last two months Digital has been the fastest
growing supplier in the United States and in the New Zealand
market has posted 400 percent growth in the past 12 months.

Digital's serious intent is further signalled by the appointment
of Taiwanese James Liu as international Vice Presdient in charge
of the PC business, reporting directly to Digital's new CEO
Robert Palmer.

As the brand name vendors take on the clones, Le Gros said,
Digital's ability to ship direct to New Zealand from its own
Taiwan plant give it considerably more control over quality, and
greater pricing flexibility than other suppliers working through
a chain of agencies.

Pricing Guide

Digital's new Tiger II Range

Note:  All prices quoted are for working systems with 4MB of
internal memory, medium-sized hard drive, mouse, keyboard, SVGA
monitor, delivered with Windows already loaded.

DECpc 333sx	33Mhz 386SX processor		$2,956
DECpc 340dx	40Mhz 386DX processor		$4,588
DECpc 425sx	25Mhz 486SX processor		$5,099
DECpc 433dx	33Mhz 486DX processor		$6,070
DECpc 450dx2	50Mhz 'chip doubled'
		486DX processor			$6,588
DECpc 450DX	50Mhz 486DX processor		$TBA
DEC 450dx2	66Mhz 'chip doubled' 486DX2	$TBA



--
rich@tosh.wcc.govt.nz (Richard Naylor )