AEG Olympia has adopted a canny approach and revealed that its new range of personal computers will feature both Micro Channel and EISA models. The company’s 80386SX machine will use motherboards bought OEM from IBM, to be exhibited at Cebit in March, and initially available in West Germany. The company says that it would be a mistake to launch a Micro Channel machine immediately, since demand for the architecture is still very low, and it acknowledges that it may be seen to be hedging its bets by backing both Micro Channel and EISA. However, despite its reservations on the success of IBM’s architecture, AEG Olympia has signed an OEM agreement with IBM, and is taking the Micro Channel components, PS/2s, and a number of software packages. Its new 80486 machine, due to be launched at the Which Computer? Show in April, will be an EISA bus model, and AEG Olympia sees it fulfilling some sort of server function. The company has also launched its Olystar range of personal computers, and announced the formation of a new wholly owned subsidiary, Innovative Business Technology. The company was established to feed ideas into AEG Olympia and to develop new projects. It is largely autonomous from the parent company, and free to find alternative financing for individual programmes. It is currently working on speech technology, video communications, ISDN applications, and new user interfaces. The Which Computer? Show will be the launching pad for an ISDN Videophone and Form Filling Assistant. AEG’s new personal computers start with the Olystar 20F/012, an 8088 20Mb system costing UKP1,000. The 80286 is UKP938, and an 80286 with 20Mb is UKP1,198. The Olystar/70 80386/SX comes with 40Mb or 100Mb, and costs UKP2,500 or UKP3,118. The Olystar 80T20 range has an 80386 processor with clock speeds rising to 30MHz, and 40Mb, 340Mb, or 140Mb hard disks. They cost UKP4,128, UKP6,286, and UKP6,000.
