HP symbolizes next wave of low-cost PCs
Wonder if they will have DVD
By Michael Kanellos
Staff Writer, CNET NEWS.COM
February 25, 1998, 6:00 p.m. PT
news.com
A second wave of low-cost PCs, this time targeted at business and built around the powerful Pentium II processor, will debut on Monday when Hewlett-Packard rolls out a new generation of business PCs.
The new HP systems in many ways symbolize the second generation of low-cost computers, because they use the more powerful Pentium II processor and are designed for corporate America. This differs from the first wave : a tsunami of sub-$1,000 Pentium-class machines which has crashed onto the consumer computer market over the last 12 months.
The new Vectra VLs, which are HP's upscale corporate computers, will start at $1,260 for a system with a 233-MHz Pentium II and a 3.2GB hard drive.
Other major PC manufacturers, such as Compaq and IBM, are beginning to discount existing Pentium II business models to prices below $1,500, fueling the low-cost trend.
The Vectra VLs will also support Intel's Accelerated Graphics Port (AGP), a technology for improved graphics performance, as well as HP's latest version of its TopTools PC management software, said Achim Kuttler, product marketing manager for the commercial desktop division at HP. Until now, only HP's Kayak workstations have supported AGP.
To be sure, low-priced corporate PCs are an inevitability. The hard drives, processors, and memory modules that go into corporate systems have suffered the same sort of price declines, which in turn has lead to lower prices on boxes. Competition has also remained notoriously tight among the major vendors.
Pentium II processor prices also continue to nose dive, opening the door for aggressive pricing of systems that only six months ago were considered high end.
And, although many observers have said that the performance demanded by corporate buyers mean that corporate boxes will cost more, HP's Kuttler said that large scale buyers can see the advantage of lower cost machines.
"We're seeing pretty good volumes" in low cost corporate computers, he said, and the volume is growing.
Intel is also focusing its attention on bringing down the price of business systems. Earlier this month, Intel released a "Basic PC" specification for sub-$1,000 Pentium II PCs for businesses.
Price declines will likely continue for the first half of the year, said Michael Takemura, product marketing manager for desktops for Compaq. Prices will then likely track upward with the release of the next generation of Pentium II processors, code-named "Deschutes" which will run at faster speeds and, in many instances, contain a faster system "bus," which increases the overall performance of a PC.
Along with the new systems, HP is readying a new version of TopTools, its management software. The 3.0 version of the software uses a Web-based interface, said Kuttler. As a result, information system administrators at large businesses can monitor fleets of corporate computers from remote locations. On previous versions, administrators had to use a dedicated computer terminal.
Using the software, administrators can turn desktops off and on, update system features, and view hard disk capacity, among other functions. The system, like other management software from other major vendors, reduces overall computing costs by giving administrators power to control several desktops simultaneously without leaving their office.
The new Vectra VLs are the seventh generation for HP. The new models will replace Vectra VLs introduced last Summer. |
