Target markets
HP makes so many types of products that it must be tough for their marketing people to come up with catchy themes to encompass each new clump of launches. One safe bet for consumer devices is "entertainment" and that is the category chosen for this latest batch.
There are two notebooks: the HDX16 and HDX18, a new TouchSmart PC: the IQ800, and a bunch of accessories including picture frames and a handy backup solution.
HP didn't say much about the notebooks, but a quick look at the HP site revealed this. The HDX16 has a 16-inch screen so it seems a reasonable bet that the HDX18 will have a similar spec and an 18-inch screen.
The HP TouchSmart IQ800 series PC is the bigger version of the already-launched TouchSmart PC; sporting a 25.5-inch screen as opposed to its 22-inch predecessor. There are two models: the IQ804 comes in at $1,899 while, for a couple of hundred dollars more you can get the Blu-ray drive and Pocket Media external drive unique to the IQ816.
A quick look at the digital picture frames reveals HP is finding it no easier to separate its offerings in this sector than anyone else. However, SimpleSave appears to be a rewritable DVD that automatically finds all your photos and videos when you put it into your PC and backs them up onto itself. Nice idea.
"HP's new consumer notebooks and TouchSmart PC deliver smart and creative ways to engage the wealth of photos, videos, music and entertainment that was previously stuck on our PCs gathering digital dust," said Stephen DeWitt, senior VP, Personal Systems Group at HP.
