Life post HP-Compaq merger

Pro

With the dust now settling on the Hewlett Packard and Compaq merger and the formation of the New HP, it’s clear that business PC buyers and handheld shoppers will have fewer choices that other consumers will — at least for now.

The decision on which products would stay and which would go were based on “pure logic”: That’s according to Paul McCord, country manager for the Personal System Group in the New HP. “Any decision made to drop or continue products were based on volumes sold.”

In this product shake out, some existing sub-brands (the least successful ones commercially) will go immediately, some will be phased out within months, others within two years and HP’s printing brands will stay for the long haul.

When it comes to computers, the business-oriented HP Vectra line and Omnibook notebook product lines will be phased out over the next 12 to 18 months in favour of Compaq’s Evo desktop and notebook lines. In the long term, the HP Jornada handheld brand is being discontinued in favour of Compaq’s stronger Ipaq. For the time being, consumers will be able to buy entry level Jornadas in the form of the 565 or 568 models but business users will be encouraged to opt for an Ipaq H3760 or the H3850 or H3870 — these two offer built-in Bluetooth for short distance wireless networking so it will be possible for the user to print directly from the handheld to a Bluetooth-compatible printer.

Handhelds aside, some of the Jornada sub-notebooks (larger handhelds with built-in keyboard and touchscreens) will remain. The 710, 720 and 728 will still be available to order if you want more comfortable typing on your mobile device.

Existing Jornada owners may be duly concerned as to whether or not their machines will be supported under the product re-alignment. Paul McCord says they will be — standard warranties will be honoured and spare parts will be provided for all discontinued units for up to five years.

As for consumer desktop PCs, HP plans to maintain both its Pavilion and the former Compaq Presario lines. The latter is a top seller in the PC bargain basement. The former, despite huge popularity among consumers in the US and in the UK market, hasn’t enjoyed much success in the Irish market but Paul McCord feels that in The New HP that will change.

But it’s the arenas of digital photography and digital imaging, that consumers will see the real delights of the New HP. PhotoRET IV, six ink printing and groundbreaking 4800 dot per inch inkjet printing promise high quality photo printing on an affordable inkjet printer.

In October, the New HP will launch a new multi-function inkjet device called the PSC 2210. With an integrated printer, scanner and copier, and a portable SD storage card slot, users will be able to produce proof sheets of their photos, tick the ones they want to print, scan in the proof sheet and the printer will print the ones selected. Using one of the latest Photosmart digital camera from August will mean getting used of using SD card to transfer images rather than the more traditional Compact Flash card. Due for release this month, the PhotoSmart 320, 620, and 720 models will include SD slots and offer a feature that will allow users to attach individual e-mail addresses to individual photos so once the snaps are uploaded to a PC and the user goes online, the photos can be uploaded to a designated HP photo server. The e-mail recipient gets a low res thumbnail image of the photo and can click on a hyperlink to the server if they want to download the high resolution version. HP representatives describe it as a “more holistic approach to digital photography and imaging in the home.”

HP’s plans
What’s staying: