HP launches notebooks in sub-50K range

NEW DELHI: Hewlett-Packard (HP) has announced the launch of Compaq Presario notebooks at a price of Rs 49,990. According to the company, the product is designed to cater specifically to the needs of segments such as SOHO, SMB, education and sales personnel whose primary requirements are mobility and technology at an affordable price.

The Compaq Presario notebook will be available through HP's large set of retail and micro retail outlets spanning across India.

HP India Pvt Ltd Personal Systems Group (PSG) VP Ravi Swaminathan said, "clearly, the trigger for HP is to grow the market and tap the huge potential that it holds. The notebook market in India is expected to grow by 50 percent- 60 percent and our aim is to have a dominating presence in that market. Consider this-the ratio of desktops to notebooks in India is 1:30, while even Thailand boasts of a ratio of 1:6, with notebook sales outstripping that of desktops. We aim to change the equation in India with this sub-50,000 notebook launch."

With the introduction of the new notebook line, HP's proposition to the mass market is mobility and quality assurance at an affordable price. "As the market leader, we have a duty to grow the market. At the high-end, we are doing that with our wireless initiatives and the Wi-Fi notebook-and there will be more launches soon in this space. At the lower end, we want to bring down the price barrier so that the real drivers in a mass market can benefit and embrace computing on the move," Swaminathan said.

The Compaq Presario 2184AT has a dimension (WxDxH) of 12.96 x 10.72 x 1.51 inches, Mobile Celeron Processor @ 2.4 GHz with Enhanced SpeedStep, 400 MHz System Bus 20KB L1 cache, 128KB L2 cache, 128 MB PC2100 266MHz DDR RAM (Upg:1 GB with discard), two Slots, 20 GB Ultra DMA hard drive (ATA 100), 24X CD ROM drive, 56Kbps ITU V.92 Data/Fax Modem integrated, 10 /100 Base TX Ethernet integrated and Mandrake Linux 9.1 OS.

The Compaq Presario 2183AT has a dimension (WxDxH) of 12.96 x 10.72 x 1.51 inches (3.06 Kg - Unit), Mobile Celeron Processor @ 2.4 GHz with Enhanced SpeedStep, 400 MHz System Bus, 20KB L1 Cache, 128KB L2 Cache,128 MB PC2100 266MHz DDR RAM (Upg:1 GB with discard), Two Slots, 20 GB Ultra DMA hard drive (ATA 100), 3.5-inch 1.44MB diskette drive, 24X CD ROM drive, 56Kbps ITU V.92 Data/Fax Modem integrated and Mandrake Linux 9.1 OS.

(CNS)