Excite Inc. Monday
partnered with IBM Corp. in a deal that
will link the search engine up with users of IBM’s Aptiva computers.
The deal is similar to arrangements IBM cut with Apple Computer Inc., Dell Computer Corp. and Micron Electronics Inc.
Excite will become the preferred Web start page on Aptiva desktops. Aptiva
users will be able to create a customized start page using content from
Excite partners.
Users will be able to get local information, such as TV listings, sports
scores and weather, and specify other topics they wish to follow. Each time
they start the computer, their personal start page will be loaded
automatically.
George Bell, Excite’s chief executive officer, said the arrangement with
IBM builds on the company’s strategy of becoming the consumer’s entry point
to the Internet.
“The IBM relationship rounds our PC hardware strategy among PC manufactures
as a great Internet start page for their customers. We’ve found that the
relationship between the system manufacturer and the portal is powerful
because it provides an immediate relationship with the customer, IBM and
Excite,” he said.