IBM enters sub-$1000 PC market

International Business Machines (IBM) announced Thursday its entry into thesub-$1000 Personal Computer market, with the introduction of a 166 MHz AMD K6-based Aptiva E16 system. The Aptiva E16 also includes 16 MB of RAM, a2.1 GB hard drive, a 20X CD-ROM drive, a 56 KBps modem, 2 MB of video RAM,and two free drive bays. IBM is coming late to the sub-$1000 market, withother major players already offering similar machines.

"This market is growing fast," said Jim Bartlett, marketing VP for Aptivaat IBM. "Clearly we are late to the party, but I think we're the best dressed."

Though the Aptiva line is clearly aimed at home users, IBM will eventuallyoffer a similar price point on business PCs as well, according to Bartlett.

"It's not a matter of if IBM will reach that price point in commercial PCs,it's a matter of when," he said.