Canon Inc is currently doing only $136m a year in computers so its decision to invest $100m in NeXT Inc is a very substantial commitment indeed, but is seen in Tokyo in part as a means of ensuring that NeXT remains true to its magneto-optical erasable disk drives and its laser printer engines: as well as Japan, where it will be available in September, Canon will market the NeXT Computer System in South Korea, Hong Kong and Taiwan, at the pricey equivalent of $13,500, and will aim it at computer-aided instruction and development applications; Canon hopes to have a Japanese langauge version out in a year.
