IBM Unveils PCjr Personal Computer

Dow Jones News Service

November 1, 1983

BOCA RATON, FLA. -- INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORP. TODAY ANNOUNCED THE PCJR, THE COMPANY'S NEWEST AND MOST AFFORDABLE PERSONAL COMPUTER.

THE PCJR WILL BE DEMONSTRATED AT MORE THAN 1,000 AUTHORIZED IBM PERSONAL COMPUTER DEALERS AND IBM PRODUCT CENTERS IN THE U.S. BEGINNING IN DECEMBER, AND ALSO WILL BE OFFERED BY IBM'S NATIONAL ACCOUNTS AND NATIONAL MARKETING DIVISIONS.

DELIVERIES ARE SCHEDULED TO BEGIN IN THE FIRST QUARTER OF 1984. IBM SAID THAT WHILE IT WILL CONTINUE TO INCREASE PRODUCTION RATES THROUGH 1984, INITIAL SUPPLIES WILL BE LIMITED AND MAY NOT BE SUFFICIENT TO MEET EXPECTED DEMAND.

THE NEW COMPUTER, WHICH IS DESIGNED FOR HOME, CLASSROOM AND OFFICE USE, COMES IN TWO MODELS: -A $669 SYSTEM UNIT AND CORDLESS INFRARED KEYBOARD WHICH USES CARTRIDGE PROGRAMS AND OFFERS 65,536 CHARACTERS, OR 64 KILOBYTES, OF USER MEMORY.

-A $1269 DISKETTE DRIVE MODEL WITH 131,072 CHARACTERS, OR 128 KILOBYTES, OF MEMORY WHICH USES BOTH CARTRIDGE AND DISKETTE APPLICATION PROGRAMS.

ALSO ANNOUNCED WERE A NUMBER OF OPTIONS FOR THE NEW PCJR, INCLUDING AN INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS DEVICE A THERMAL PRINTER, JOYSTICKS AND MORE THAN A DOZEN NEW PROGRAMS. THEY INCLUDE FOUR GAME CARTRIDGES, AN EASY-TO-USE WORD PROCESSOR, A COMMUNICATIONS PROGRAM AND UPDATED VERSIONS OF SEVERAL EXISTING DISKETTE PROGRAMS.

IBM SAID PCJR OFFERS A NUMBER OF ADVANCED FEATURES FOR A COMPUTER IN ITS PRICE RANGE, INCLUDING:

-A 16-BIT MICROPROCESSOR PROVIDING CAPABILITIES GENERALLY FOUND ONLY IN LARGER, MORE EXPENSIVE PERSONAL COMPUTERS.

-MICROCHIP TECHNOLOGY THAT ELIMINATES SOME ADAPTER CARDS AND IMPROVES THE MACHINE'S PRICE PERFORMANCE, SIZE AND WEIGHT.

-A 62-KEY CORDLESS KEYBOARD THAT COMMUNICATES WITH THE SYSTEM UNIT BY AN INFRARED SIGNAL, ALLOWING LINE-OF-SIGHT USE UP TO 20 FEET AWAY.

-INDIVIDUAL PROGRAMMING OF KEYS SO THAT USERS CAN "CUSTOMIZE" THE KEYBOARD FOR INDIVIDUAL APPLICATIONS.

-POWER-ON SELF TEST DIAGNOSTICS.

-ADVANCED GRAPHICS AND SOUND CAPABILITIES.

-AN OPTIONAL INTERNAL DEVICE, KNOWN AS A MODEM, TO COMMUNICATE BY TELEPHONE WITH OTHER COMPUTERS.

AN IBM PCJR EQUIPPED WITH A SLIM-LINE DISKETTE DRIVE, CAPABLE OF STORING 368,640 CHARACTERS OF USER MEMORY, AND THE NEW IBM PERSONAL COMPUTER DISK OPERATING SYSTEM, DOS 2.1, IS COMPATIBLE WITH MANY DISKETTE PROGRAMS WRITTEN FOR OTHER IBM PERSONAL COMPUTERS. USERS MAY THEN ACCESS MORE THAN 30 PROGRAMS OFFERED BY IBM, AS WELL AS HUNDREDS OF OTHER PROGRAMS THAT ARE COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE. IBM SAID TELEDYNE INC. IS DOING THE ASSEMBLY AND TESTING WORK FOR THE NEW COMPUTER UNDER CONTRACT AND TO IBM SPECIFICATIONS AND DESIGN.

ALSO ANNOUNCED BY IBM TODAY WERE TWO NEW IBM PERSONAL COMPUTER PRINTERS. THE IBM PC COMPACT PRINTER IS A LOW-COST TABLE-TOP THERMAL PRINTER FOR USE WITH THE PCJR. IT HAS A PRICE OF $175 AT IBM PRODUCT CENTERS. AN OPTIONAL ADAPTER CONNECTOR ALLOWS THE IBM PC COMPACT PRINTER TO BE USED WITH THE IBM PERSONAL COMPUTER AND PERSONAL COMPUTER XT.

THE IBM PC COLOR PRINTER FOR USE WITH THE IBM PERSONAL COMPUTER AND THE PERSONAL COMPUTER XT, CAN PRODUCE DOCUMENTS AND GRAPHICS IN AS MANY AS EIGHT COLORS. THE COLOR PRINTER'S PRICE AT IBM PRODUCT CENTERS IS $1 995.