Motorola slashes prices

Following recent price cuts by Apple Computer, Motorola Computer Group (MOT) is chiming in with cuts of its own of up to 28 percent.

Motorola currently has two lines under the StarMax brand name of Macintosh-compatible computers: the entry-level 3000 series, which features the 603e PowerPC processor, and the high-performance 4000 series, which features the 604e PowerPC chip. The company says it has shipped over 56,000 units since the introduction of StarMax in mid-November.

All StarMax models will get price cuts. Examples of the price reductions are as follows:

In the StarMax 4000 line, the 4000/160 with 160-MHz 604e PowerPC processor gets the biggest price cut of all. That model was priced at $2,895 but is now at $2,095, a reduction of 28 percent. The 200-MHz versions will get price cuts of $200, with the price of a 4000/200 desktop now at $2,795.

At the low end, the StarMax 3000/160 with 160-MHz 603e processor was priced at $1,495 and is now at $1,249, a reduction of 16 percent. In the middle of the 3000 series, the StarMax 3000/180 with 180-MHz 603e chip was priced at $1,595 and is now at $1,395, a reduction of 13 percent.

The fastest of the entry-level models, the 3000/240 with 240-MHz 603e PowerPC processor and 512K of cache memory, was priced at $2,795, and is now at $2,495, a reduction of 11 percent.

All StarMax desktop models come standard with 16MB of memory and a 1.2GB hard disk drive, while the minitower versions offer larger cache configurations, added memory, and larger hard drives. The company says 8X CD-ROM drives are also standard, and the 3000 series include 28.8-kbps modems. The 3000/240 is available only in a minitower version.

Motorola says the price cuts are effective immediately.