Quick off the mark for such a new market, Marina Del Rey, California-based American International Devices Inc is tweaking IBM’s tail recklessly by offering immediate delivery of 4Mb, 8Mb and 16Mb add-on memory modules for users of the AS/400 Models B 30, B-40, B-50 and B-60 hungry for more memory to get the things to perform to spec. The Ai/400 Uniboard uses 1M RAMs and surface-mounted, front-end circuitry to create a module with 4Mb, 8Mb or 16Mb on one side of a multi-layer board. Purchase prices are pitched about 20% below IBM’s prices, and users get an unbeatable no-cost trade-in of two Uniboards for one of twice the capacity – IBM now offers a trade-in deal too. The firm also promises it has done extensive testing and burn-in under Statistical Process Control to increase the chances of long, reliable service – and it offers the grand-sounding American International transferable Lifetime Warranty. What’s more, the boards can go twice as fast as IBM AS/400 memory while drawing only half the power and are ful ly electronically and mech anically compatible with the host. US pricing is $4,800 for 4Mb, $9,600 for 8Mb, and $19,200 for 16Mb.
