IBM’s PS/2 Model 30-286, DTP CRT and Tape Backup Drive
SUMMARY
Tuesday morning IBM announced several new products including a new version of the Model 30, a 19” monochrome CRT for DTP and engineering applications, a facility for running System 3x applications under OS/2, and a streaming tape backup unit.
Known previously in rumors as the "PC AT Classic” or "Model 35,” the new Model 30-286 employs an 80286 at 10-MHz and includes VGA so it is much closer in power to a Model 50 than it is to a Model 30. At $1995 for a floppy-based unit and $2595 with a 20 MB hard disk, the 30-286 should effectively kill off both the Model 30 and the Model 50. The new machine is now much more competitive with the Macintosh Plus and SE than the old 8086-based Model 30 and will almost certainly grow to be IBM’s best selling PC.
IBM PS/2 Model 30-286
In a controversial move, IBM announced the Model 30-286, a machine based on the 80286 processor which does not use Micro Channel but rather the old AT-bus architecture. IBM introduced two versions of the Model 30-286, a single floppy version and a 20 MB version, and has priced them fairly aggressively at $1,995 and $2,595 respectively. These machines have a 10-MHz 80286 processor with one wait state, 1.44 MB 3.5” floppy, and VGA graphics. These machines are expected to be available in September 1988.
The AT-bus architecture allows these machines to accept the thousands of cards that have been designed for the PC XT and AT. That addresses a key weakness of Micro Channel machines (the PS/2 Models 50, 60, 70, and 80): they did not support any of the XT and AT boards. The introduction of these AT-bus machines, after IBM had so heavily promoted the advantages of Micro Channel over the AT-bus, have caused industry observers to claim that IBM is not satisfied with the acceptance of Micro Channel. However, IBM executives stressed that the use of the original design did not represent a move away from Micro Channel. They claimed Micro Channel wasn’t used because IBM wanted to "participate in the low-end 80286 market” and it could not build Micro Channel machines cheaply enough.
Conspicuous in its absence is any reference to the 30-286 running OS/2. When IBM announced the Models 50, 60, and 80, it stated that they were able to run its next generation operating system, OS/2. However, even though the 30-286 uses the Intel 80286 processor (which is also in the Models 50 and 60), IBM did not mention OS/2. Perhaps IBM is positioning the Micro Channel-based systems as offering sufficient performance to run OS/2, while implying that the old AT-bus architecture should only be used for running DOS.
Comparison to Model 30. The new Model 30-286 is very competitively priced compared to the 8086-based Model 30. The single floppy version and the 20 MB version are only $300 more than the comparable Model 30s. The 30-286 has the advantage of a faster processor, a larger floppy drive (1.44 MB vs. 700 KB), better graphics (VGA vs. MCGA), and more memory expansion on the system board (4 MB vs. 640 KB). We believe that these advantages, plus the perception that the 30-286 may be able to run OS/2, will either cannibalize Model 30 sales or force IBM to lower Model 30 prices. The Model 30’s one advantage is that it offers 640 KB of memory standard, while the 30-286 only comes with 512 KB. See Figure 1 for a look at the PS/2 lineup.
Comparison to Model 50. The 30-286 and the low-end Model 50 are very similar machines. Both have 10-MHz 286 processors with one wait state, VGA graphics, three slots, a 20 MB hard disk with 80 ms access time, and a 1.44 MB floppy. The only differences are that the Model 50 has 512 KB more RAM, and its uses the Micro Channel architecture. However, IBM is charging $1,000 more for the Model 50. Therefore, we believe that unless the pricing of the Model 50 is lowered, the 30-286 will cannibalize many Model 50 sales.
DTP & CAD Monitor introduced
IBM’s Personal System/2 Monochrome Display 8507 is a 19-inch white-phosphor analog monitor with up to 1024 x 768 resolution graphics or 146 columns by 51 rows in text mode. The monitor displays 73 dpi over a 14 x 10.5 inch viewing area. It shows 16 gray scales in the standard mode and up to 64 by expanding memory on the controller card. (It also operates with the standard 640 x 480 VGA controller built into the Models 30-286, 50, 60, 70 and 80.) Two full pages can be displayed by those programs that support side-by-side pages. The unit includes universal power supply, anti-glare surface and tilt-swivel mounting. The 8507 is not available until December.
The 8507 is priced very aggressively at $865. It requires the 8514A video adapter card which costs $1290, bringing the total package price to $2155. This is still about 10 to 15% cheaper than some of the leading third-party CRT suppliers and should help bolster IBM’s flagging efforts in the DTP and engineering applications areas.
Tape Backup
The IBM Personal System/2 Internal Tape Backup Unit (ITBU) is a miniature streaming tape drive that holds 80 MB formatted on a DC2000 cartridge. The drive is designed with a 3.5-inch form factor and slides into any open Drive B position. The unit does not require a card slot, but attaches directly into the extra cables coming off the built-in controllers on Models 50, 60, 70 and 80. IBM’s Backup Program is menu-driven, includes online help, error correction and allows timed and automatic start functions.
The drive measures 4 x 5.9 x 1.6 inches, weighs just 1.5 pounds and sells for $765 alone. The ITBU Kit costs $895 and includes the drive itself, a formatted tape and the backup program. Both will be available in mid-October. IBM is purchasing the tape drives from Irwin Magnetics. The performance of the drive is relatively slow since it is operated by the floppy drive controller.
Other Announcements
PS/2 RPG II Application Platform. This product allows applications which were written in RPG II for the System/36 to run under OS/2. These RPG II applications running on an OS/2 system can support up to eight users. IBM is offering this product through an agreement with California Software Products Inc. (CSPI). Customers buying the RPG II Application Platform from IBM will be able to run the thousands of S/36 applications on their OS/2 machines.
CSPI has had a similar product available for DOS systems. However it was not very successful, partly because of MS-DOS’ 640 KB memory limit which did not allow some System/36 applications to operate. Now, without that limitation for OS/2, the RPG II Application Platform might become more popular, especially for vertical market applications (since there are many good vertical applications written for the System/36). This product is priced at $4,500 and is available now.
Expansion Board. IBM also announced the PS/2 Multifunction Adapter, a $445 expansion board specifically for the Model 30-286. It adds a serial port, parallel port and up to 12 MB of RAM supported under OS/2 or LIM EMS 4.0. However, it is not sold with any memory. It will be available in December.
New Models in 9370 Minicomputer Line. IBM introduced three new models in its beleaguered 9370 series of business minis. Prices are from $37,000 to $142,000. This is equivalent to a 30% price reduction for the same general power compared to previous 9370 offerings.
Implications for Apple
More competition for Macintosh Plus and SE. IBM has now brought the power of a 286 machine down into the price range of the Macintosh Plus. This single floppy 30-286 is priced just $195 more than the single floppy Macintosh Plus. Adding an operating system and monitor raises the 30-286 price somewhat, but it still means that IBM offers a powerful, expandable machine which will have a street price well under $2,000. The old Model 30s were not in the same league, but the new versions are more than comparable to a Macintosh Plus or SE in raw computing power. However, they are not strong platforms for OS/2 or Presentation Manager.
Implications for IBM
Micro Channel may be in jeopardy. On the same day that IBM introduced these AT-bus machines (that many industry watchers claimed were developed in response to Micro Channel’s lackluster sales), Compaq and others announced the EISA bus and began promoting it as the industry standard 32-bit bus instead of Micro Channel. These two events may indicate that IBM has lost its fight to make Micro Channel a dominant standard in the industry. This will be more evident if Model 30-286 sells very strongly and displaces the Model 50 as IBM’s best-seller, which we think is very likely. Rumored as an "AT Classic,” the 30-286 may fulfill that prophecy.
Can the Model 50 run OS/2? When IBM announced the Model 50, it claimed it would support OS/2. However, the 30-286 has the same processor and hard disk as the Model 50, and yet IBM did not mention OS/2 support. IBM may be realizing that the requirements to run OS/2 1.1 (with Presentation Manager) Standard Edition or Extended Edition are more substantial than it originally thought. IBM’s customers who invested heavily in the Model 50, planning to run OS/2, would be disappointed if the Model 50s proved to be insufficient.
Implications for Industry
Pricing pressure on AT clones. Since both the 30-286 machines are competitively priced, they may regain some market share that IBM has lost to AT clones. The clone vendors may respond by lowering their prices slightly.
