SAN FRANCISCO (02/28/2000) - Toshiba Corp. targets corporate desktop PC buyers with its announcement Monday of the build-to-order Equium 7350 product line.
You'll have a wide range of options, from processors (433-MHz Intel Corp.
Celerons to 733-MHz Pentium IIIs) to chassis types (slimline, desktop, or minitower). Toshiba is also introducing its TekBright 60A 15-inch flat-panel monitor; both products begin shipping in March.
The company announced sample configurations with the launch (all prices are without a monitor). A 533-MHz Celeron Equium 7350S with a slimline chassis, 128MB of memory, a 15GB hard drive, a 40X CD-ROM drive, an Intel 10/100 Ethernet card, and Windows NT 4.0 will sell for $1209. You can also choose Windows 95 or Windows 98 SE; Toshiba is still compliance-testing Windows 2000 and will offer it at the end of March.
The Equium 7350D with a desktop chassis, running on a 733-MHz PIII with 128MB of memory, a 15GB hard drive, a 40X CD-ROM drive, an Intel 10/100 Ethernet card, and Windows NT 4.0 will sell for $1566.
The Equium 7350M with the minitower chassis, a 667-MHz PIII, 256MB of memory, a 20GB hard drive, a DVD-ROM drive, an Intel 10/100 Ethernet card, and Windows NT 4.0 will sell for $1755.
Options Plus Stability
The different chassis options are important because each business has to fit the PC into its own environment, says Mona Pal, senior product manager for commercial desktop systems at Toshiba. For example, offices with limited space can position the slimline model vertically or horizontally on the desktop, or can even mount it on the wall.
Regardless of which chassis design you select, each includes tools for easy maintenance and upgrades, Pal says. A rack and pinion design lets you easily switch out even the motherboard, and most hardware upgrades don't require tools. All three chassis styles use the same internal components.
In addition to plenty of options and easy expandability, the 7350 line also offers stability, which is very important to corporate buyers, Pal says. The new line follows Toshiba's 7100 line, which it kept in production for 22 months. The company will keep the 7350 line around for at least 18 months, she says.
Toshiba also launches its versatile new 15-inch flat-panel TekBright 60A display Monday, Pal says. You can rotate the analog display from landscape to portrait, and you can also remove it from its stand for additional mounting options. The unit will sell for $1149.
The 7350 line includes a new three-year, on-site service warranty including next-business-day service, she says. The display has a three-year parts and labor warranty.