IBM May Enter the Macintosh Laptop Market

IBM (NYSE: IBM) may enter the $1 billion Macintosh-compatible laptop market with a high-powered system that will run Apple Computer's (NASDAQ: AAPL) MacOS operating system, but nevertheless bear Big Blue's logo.

The new laptop would use IBM technology and the newest release of MacOS running on the 240 MHz PowerPC 603e that powers Apple's new PowerBook3400 series or a faster version now under development, a source close to the project told CMP's TechWire™ -- http://www.techwire.com/.

The market for MacOS laptops is ripe for the picking, James Staten, an analyst for Dataquest in San Jose, Calif., told TechWire. "IBM could easily take 30 to 40 percent of market share away from Apple because Apple can't meet the demand," Staten said. "This is a prime time to do it."

According to Dataquest figures, last year's MacOS notebook market generated $1 billion, down from $1.5 billion in 1995.

The dip in revenue was a result of the troubles Apple had with its PowerBook 5300, Staten said. The notebook was pulled off the shelves for problems ranging from defective battery packs that caught fire to faulty electric power adapters and cracked plastic casings.

The MacOS community has long wanted IBM to jump into this market, Staten said. "This is IBM's chance to do it right."

IBM Microelectronics makes PowerPC chips for Apple and licenses the Cupertino, Calif.-based company's MacOS. IBM and Apple are working together on an Apple-branded MacOS sub-notebook -- code-named Comet -- for the Japanese market, an Apple spokesman told TechWire. The spokesman could not confirm, however, whether the deal allowed IBM to produce its own version of the MacOS machine.

IBM Microelectronics is the sole licensee of Apple's laptop version of MacOS, the spokesman said. "We're investigating licensing it out to people in addition to IBM."

IBM would not comment on its intention to place its own moniker on a MacOS laptop. "There has been no decision made," an IBM spokeswoman said. "That's not a product that we've announced."

Meanwhile, the source close to the project told TechWire that IBM is waiting and watching Apple's financial progress closely, scrutinizing MacOS development efforts before making public its own offering for the MacOS laptop market.

The company is still investigating what would be needed for such a move. If Big Blue does make the jump into the MacOS laptop arena, it would need to develop the necessary infrastructure for MacOS marketing, support and maintenance before it committed itself to the platform, the source said.

TechWire's exclusive report can be found on the Web at http://www.techweb.com/wire/news/mar/0324ibmapple.html.

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