Toshiba Corp has launched itself into the UK desktop computer arena in a bid to haul itself up to third place in the overall personal computer market. Although the company claims to be number one in the notebook market, it has never released a desktop product in the UK, but says the time is now right to grab customers from rivals Compaq Computer Corp, IBM Corp, Dell Computer Corp and Packard Bell NEC Inc. Toshiba has released four Pentium II-based desktop systems in its new Equium range designed for the business sector. The Equium 5160D runs on a 166MHz processor and the 5200D on a 200MHz processor, both have MMX technology and the option of dual-installing Windows 95 and 3.11. The 6200D is based on the Pentium Pro 200MHz processor running on Windows NT 4.0. The fourth product in the range is a mini-tower, the 6269M which runs on a Pentium II 266MHz processor and will be primarily aimed at memory intensive program users. Toshiba’s desktop business manager in the UK, Howard Seebrook said the company has been examining the market for some 18-months and combined with what he described as its unique reputation through our notebooks will be able to make a definite impression on the desktop market. The company launched its first desktop products in the US last year (CI No 2,996) and will launch the Equium range there too, as it will in France and Germany. The 5160D is priced at 1,150 pounds, the 5200D at 1,425 pounds, the 6200D at 1,715 pounds and the 6260M at 2,000 pounds.
