HP slashes notebook prices

Hewlett-Packard (HP) has cut the price of its entry-level notebooks by about 10 per cent as part of what it describes as an aggressive strategy to target the corporate market.

The company's Omnibook XE2 notebook, which is based on a Celeron 433 processor and has 32Mb of Ram, a 4.8Gb hard drive and a 56Kbps modem, now costs £849.

HP executives said the price cuts and other similar moves had boosted sales, with one company quadrupling its order within a month.

Paul Craddock, HP's notebook marketing manager told vnunet.com that he believes notebook PCs will gradually overtake desktops in popularity in the corporate market over the next few years. "The desktop area is continuing to grow, but at a much slower speed," he said.

"Pricing has dropped dramatically. Two to three years ago you had to pay several thousand for a notebook, now we offering one for £849."

Craddock said many companies are trying to cut costs in their working environments, which is fuelling the mobile market.

"Companies are moving to hot-desking to save money and space. People are increasingly carrying their life around with them in their laptop. Sometimes its more productive to work from home," he said.