IBM yesterday duly launched the PS/1 home computer in Europe, pitching it at the small business market, and says that the key features are essentially the same as the US version. Which they are, apart from price and lack of a modem. IBM UK will not be selling the PS/1 directly, but only through dealers, and consequently, pricing will be set by the likes of Dixons and Wilder Systems, which is quoting UKP1,300 – $2,430 at the current rate of exchange – for the top of the range – though in France, IBM has firmly set the price at the equivalent of $1,600 to $3,200; it’s $1,000 to $2,000 in the US. There are four models to the PS/1 family, each with 512Kb or 1Mb 80286 CPU and 1.44Mb floppy, plus 30Mb hard disk on the top model. It is bundled with preloaded MS-DOS 4.01, Microsoft Works, a mouse, keyboard and either colour or black and white screen. It has no slots, and an add-on adaptor card unit is needed to raise memory beyond 1Mb or add a modem or whatever. The PS/1 is manufactured for Europe at Greenock in Scotland, and the PS/1 Printer is made by IBM’s soon-to-be divested Lexington, Kentucky plant (CI No 1,481).
