★ PEOPLES ★ PCW 8256 JOINS 6128 STATESIDE (POPULAR COMPUTING WEEKLY) ★ |
| PCW 8256 joins 6128 stateside (Popular Computing Weekly) |
AMSTRAD has announced it is to sell the PCW 8256 in the US. The machine will join the 6128, which is distributed in the States by Indescomp (see Popular Computing Weekly, December 19). However, the main distributor for the 8256 will be Sears World Trade, part of retail giant Sears Roebuck, although Sears will be using Indescomp for part of the distribution. Deliveries of the 8256 to the US will begin in February. The machine then has to undergo FCC approval tests before it can go on sale. “We will be supplying them with 10,000 units per month to start with,” said Amstrad's Malcolm Miller. “That number will grow, though I don't yet know by how much. To start with, we are putting our feet in the water - more than our toes, you understand.” Miller hopes that the machines will go on sale by early March, even though FCC approval has held the 6128 up considerably; the 6128 was originally intended for sale in September, and is still not in US shops. The 8256 will cost $499 [about £350], which is cheaper than in Britain. “It is cheaper to supply the US from Korea [where the machine is manufactured] than it is to supply to Britain,” Malcolm Miller explained. “Besides, we need to be competitive.” He added that Amstrad's deal with Sears is similar to that with Indescomp for the 6128 in that Amstrad has not invested its own finances in launching the 8256 in the United States. The company hopes to follow the 8256 with other business machines, but Miller declined to confirm that Amstrad would sell an IBM PC compatible in the US. “I've no news on that. Mind you, any office equipment product would be nice to sell on the back of the 8256.” Popular Computing Weekly (1986-10)
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