IBM’s New Product Line-Up Powers Consumers for Success at Home, Work and School
It’s Easier to Go Back to School, Back to Work and Home for the Holidays with IBM
Somers, NY (July 15, 1998) – IBM today announced a powerful fall line-up of hardware, software and services that provide consumers with the tools they need to stay connected and be successful at home, work and school.
These new products and services include: new Aptiva® models with prices starting as low as $799*; a new member of the IBM ThinkPad® line; software titles from Crayola®, Edmark and WorldBook; speech recognition software for the home with ViaVoice®; the next phase of IBM’s Owner Privileges® program; and the availability of IBM’s Home Director Professional solution. All of these products demonstrate the breadth of IBM’s consumer offerings for the back-to-school and holiday time frame.
“IBM has a wealth of experience in delivering leading technology solutions that help businesses, enhance education and add value to consumer’s lives,” said Jim Firestone, general manager of IBM Consumer Division. “Only IBM has the technology, the service and support commitment, and the breadth of hardware and software offerings to enable consumers to succeed at home, at work or in school.”
Enhancing Life at Home
IBM Aptiva® PCs Deliver Instant Internet Access and Investment Protection to Consumers
Realizing that consumers want more than just the latest technologies from their PCs, IBM has introduced new Aptiva E Series models that deliver choices in desktop configuration, Internet access and expandability options to the consumer. These models are not only optimally priced for the home office user, student or family, but are also the first Aptiva PCs to support a variety of networking options, including file and printer sharing, when combined with an optional Ethernet networking card. Ranging in price from $799 to $1,999*, the new Aptiva PCs also feature easy and fast ways to access the Internet. Through a selection of ISP providers, including AOL and the IBM Internet Connection, as well as browsers, such as Netscape Navigator and Microsoft Internet Explorer, these new Aptiva systems are loaded with 56K (v.90 compatible) modems and come with easy access to IBM’s Web site via “Aptiva on the Net” at no charge during the warranty period (no ISP account needed)(1).
In addition, IBM is offering its customers special rebates during the back-to-school time frame. Customers can get mail-in rebates of $20 on an IBM scanner, $50 on an IBM monitor and a store check for up to $80 on IBM software titles. Consumers that buy select Aptiva PCs during this time and subscribe as a new member with America Online(2) will also be eligible for a $175 IBM mail-in rebate, providing up to $335 in savings from IBM(3).
IBM Owner Privileges is the PremierSupplier for Reliable Service and Support
IBM Aptiva customers have enjoyed the benefits of membership in the Owner Privileges program since September 1997. To further optimize the home computing experience, IBM has made several enhancements to the program, including new areas targeted at individual customer interests, more content, new product offerings and special discounts, and improved ease-of-use features to navigate around the redesigned Owner Privileges Web site. In addition, Owner Privileges is also extending enrollment to select worldwide geographies.
In the Advisory Privileges section, new articles are posted weekly under easy-to-follow categories – My PC, My Lifestyle, My Money and My Business – and members can easily search through the extensive article archives for past features. Through Protection Privileges, members have exclusive access to information about product compatibility and upgrades for their specific Aptiva, including memory upgrade bundles, power protection products and an in-home connectivity networking solution for file and print sharing. Discount Privileges enables Owner Privileges members to receive special discounts on these solutions, as well as other products and services from IBM and its program partners. Through Service Privileges, members can now access step-by-step guides for installing featured networking solutions, and memory and hard drive upgrades available at IBM’s “e-support” Web site. Members also continue to enjoy preferred call handling and on-line support.
Taking the program one step higher, IBM has added Owner Privileges Editions, which offers content and product information customized to meet the unique needs of customers such as business professionals, college and graduate students, parents and children.
Stay Connected with Home Director Professional
IBM’s Home Director Professional provides consumers with an intelligent link between commonly used home systems, such as security, lighting and HVAC systems. By using the power of a dedicated controller to connect the various systems, consumers will enjoy the connectivity, convenience and enhanced security of a home network. Currently being installed in model homes, the Home Director Professional solution provides homeowners with the peace of mind of knowing their home is safe and ready for the future. IBM Home Director Professional is also backed by IBM’s Authorized Home Systems Integrator program, which trains and qualifies existing service providers to install and support the Home Director Professional solution, thus ensuring that homeowners receive superior installation and reliable service and support for the coming years.
Empowering Work at Home
New IBM ThinkPad Enhances the Mobile Experience
The ThinkPad 385XD is the first ThinkPad preloaded with Windows 98 that is available now for consumers through retail outlets in the U.S. With its easy-to-use, integrated design, this notebook incorporates a high capacity hard drive, floppy drive and CD-ROM drive into one unit. Priced at only $1,999* and packed with top-of-the-line features such as an Intel® 233MHz(4) Pentium® processor with MMX(TM) technology and a clear 12.1-inch TFT display, the ThinkPad 385XD is an excellent choice for students and small-to-medium business owners needing a powerful notebook at an outstanding price.
IBM Solutions Set ProvidesOne-stop Shoppingfor Maximizing Use of the PC and the Web
Providing families and small business owners with easy and affordable access to a wide variety of IBM’s consumer products and services, the IBM Solutions Set product line combines popular software titles and reliable services to help users take full advantage of the power and potential of their PCs and the Internet.
Solutions Set products for the home and family feature award-winning titles from Crayola, Edmark and World Book. Home office users will benefit from Solutions Set products that include tools to build Web pages, conduct business over the Internet and enhance home office productivity.
Users wanting to get up and running in the world of e-commerce can kickstart their business with Solutions Set for E-business, which offers everything needed to set up an online store, create an online catalog, take credit cards online and enable shopping cart utilities at an affordable price. Solutions Set products offer consumers real value, with prices for these bundled solutions ranging from $69 to $99*. Solutions Set for Parents & Kids, Solutions Set for Home & Office, Solutions Set for an Online World and Solutions Set for E-business are currently available at retail stores nationwide.
Unleashing Learning and Creativity at Home and in School
IBM Software Helps Consumers Learn and Grow
IBM introduces three new Crayola® creativity software titles designed especially for children ages five to 12 to help them learn while they create. Priced at $19.95* and now available at retail outlets nationwide, the new titles include Make A Masterpiece, 3D Castle Creator and Paint ‘n Play Pony. Crayola Make A Masterpiece provides powerful art tools and guidance that inspire children to create dazzling pictures, while they learn about famous artists, artwork, styles and techniques. Crayola 3D Castle Creator enables children to build thousands of 3D castles, explore them using real-time 3D technology and then learn about castle history, architecture and life in the Middle Ages. With Crayola Paint ‘n Play Pony, girls create and care for their very own virtual pony, horse or unicorn, while strengthening their reading and writing skills and knowledge of history. In addition, IBM recently released a line of five impulse-priced Crayola titles for $9.95* that includes 3D coloring, print activity and girls’ titles.
The World Book Multimedia Encyclopedia product line delivers in-depth content and outstanding multimedia features at value price points to families wanting a comprehensive reference tool. New 1999 editions will be available at retail in late August and will not only include the integrated multimedia features consumers have come to expect, but also added ease-of-use features and additional tools for an enhanced interactive experience.
Edmark has also introduced new interactive titles that make the learning experience more enjoyable for children. For children ages eight to 12, ZAP!is the second CD-ROM product in Edmark’s Thinkin’ Science Series and delivers interactive, discovery-based learning on the physical science topics of light, sound, and electricity. The newly released Brain Bytes is a new line of software for children ages 4 to twelve that offers in-depth single-subject titles at prices ranging from $9.95 to $14.95*. This first release of the new Brain Bytes line will be available later this month and will focus on the subject areas of reading, writing, mathematics and telling time. In addition, the recently announced KidDesk® Internet Safe is an Internet and desktop security solution that enables parents and teachers to select and control which Web sites and programs kids can access from their own “personalized” desktops.
ViaVoice 98 Home Allows Users To Talk While The Computer Types
ViaVoice 98 Home Edition, IBM’s entry-level continuous speech dictation product, is ideal for the family to use to create letters, reports or e-mail at home. ViaVoice 98 Home includes the ViaVoice Cuisine Topic to let consumers use their voice to write original recipes or make a keepsake of family recipes. IBM’s ViaVoice 98 also includes many new features not found in other speech recognition software products, including natural language commands in Microsoft Word 97, hands-free editing and correction, the industry’s largest active vocabulary and more assistance to enable users to explore which commands can be executed in any given application that is active on their desktop. Priced at $49.95*, the ViaVoice 98 Home Edition will be available at retail outlets later this month, joining ViaVoice 98 Executive Edition and Office Edition, which are now available.
Source: IBM