News release

HP Introduces Partition Pricing for HP Superdome Servers

Pricing Program Provides Customers Low Entry Cost for High-End Servers, Matches Payments with Projected Growth

PALO ALTO, Calif., Dec. 6, 2000

Hewlett-Packard Company (NYSE: HWP) today introduced a new pricing program, available initially for HP 9000 Superdome high-end UNIX® servers. Referred to as partition pricing, this option allows service providers, enterprises and other Internet powerhouses to pay for incremental computing resources in alignment with forecasted growth. The program also offers an attractive entry price for the high-end HP Superdome solution and meets Internet data center needs for flexibility as well as for fast planning and implementation.

The pricing option, aligned with HP Superdome's partitioning capabilities and massive scalability, allows customers to take full advantage of HP's premier high-end system immediately at a price point normally seen only in lower-end systems.

Partition pricing provides a new way for customers to acquire an HP Superdome system. Payments are structured based on the customer's forecasted need for additional HP Superdome partitions. In addition, should business conditions change, the customer can reschedule the activation of the additional pre-installed partitions and adjust the timing of associated payments.

"HP partition pricing allows customers to take advantage of the world's most powerful, flexible and available UNIX computing platform, and pay for it according to their usage forecasts," said Janice Chaffin, general manager and vice president, HP Infrastructure, Solutions and Partner Organization. "No other company is offering this powerful combination of leading-edge partitioning technology and world-class financing solutions."

HP is setting the pace in the move to utility pricing. With its instant-capacity-on-demand (iCOD) offering, on-tap pricing models, pay-per-use financing program, and Superdome's groundbreaking utility pricing, HP leads the market in allowing customers to harness the power of an always-on Internet infrastructure while paying only for the computer resources they use. With the introduction of partition pricing, HP further extends its offering of the most comprehensive set of flexible pricing models in the industry today.

About HP

Hewlett-Packard Company -- a leading global provider of computing and imaging solutions and services -- is focused on making technology and its benefits accessible to individuals and businesses through simple appliances, useful e-services and an Internet infrastructure that's always on.

HP has 88,500 employees worldwide and had total revenue from continuing operations of $48.8 billion in its 2000 fiscal year. Information about HP and its products can be found on the World Wide Web at http://www.hp.com.

This news release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions. All statements other than statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements. Risks, uncertainties and assumptions include the possibility that the market for the sale of certain products and services may not develop as expected; that development of these products and services may not proceed as planned; and other risks that are described from time to time in HP's Securities and Exchange Commission reports, including but not limited to the annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended Oct. 31, 1999, and subsequently filed reports. If any of these risks or uncertainties materializes or any of these assumptions proves incorrect, HP's results could differ materially from HP's expectations in these statements. HP does not intend to update these forward-looking statements.

UNIX is a registered trademark of the Open Group.