IBM Japan has introduced its first lap-top computer, the 5535, jointly developed with IBM in the US. The machine, which sounds like a variant of the Convertible, comes 1Mb of memory expandable to 2Mb, a 20Mb Winchester and 3.5 floppy, an LCD display forming characters from a 16 by 16 dot matrix, selling for the equivalent of $4,165. It measures 13.8 by 12.2 by 3.9 and weighs 17.8 lbs. It will be jointly manufactured by IBM and by Matsushita Electric Industrialco. The company also announced two new models in the Japanese Persenormous volumes of known as the System/55 there: the 5540-M/P sells for $4,830, and the 5530-G1 for $3,465. 1M-bit memory chips being manufactured by IBM in-house, industry observers in Japan also believe that IBM Corp has been buying large numbers of 1M-bit memory chips and power supply controller chips, from several Japanese makers. The parts are for use in 32-bit personal computers and engineering workstations, and the spending spree is said to have been occasioned by unexpectedly rapidly improving demand. Our Tokyo correspondent notes that although no figure has been given, the orders were apparently big enough to alter market relationships.
