News release

HP Rolls Out Sleek Consumer PCs, Digital Entertainment Centers for the Holidays

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HP today introduced a PC and Digital Entertainment Center lineup that offers consumers sleek design and innovative features, all in time for holiday shopping.

Announced at the DigitalLife show, the offerings include the 17-inch HP Pavilion dv8000 series Notebook PC and the company's smallest consumer desktop PC to date – the HP Pavilion s7000 series Slimline PC. Putting the power and performance of a traditional desktop into a small, hip design, the quiet-operating Slimline PC adds to the décor of any home.

Also built with a sharp eye on design, the HP Digital Entertainment Center z556 and z558 series come with the latest version of Microsoft Windows® XP Media Center Edition 2005 with Update Rollup 2 and can record high-definition content over the air.⁽¹⁾ With prices starting at $1,499,⁽²⁾ these HP products are the most affordable Media Center solutions on the market offering HD digital video recording capabilities.⁽³⁾

"No two customers are created equal and HP is demonstrating, with these announcements, the kind of breadth they are capable of and confirming a belief that size does matter," said Rob Enderle, principal analyst, The Enderle Group. "From the best Digital Entertainment Center in the market to the first affordable small form factor desktop PC from one of the top three vendors to a stunning and unique 17-inch notebook that would make a user proud without making them broke, HP is providing the leading-edge products that consumers are looking for this holiday season.

"Along with the new DECs, HP's latest Media Center desktop PCs and select Pavilion desktop PCs also are shipping with Microsoft Windows® XP Media Center Edition 2005 with Update Rollup 2. Consumers can enjoy movies and view photos in rich, crisp color at home or on the go with HP's innovative QuickPlay⁽⁴⁾ for playing DVDs and music without a full system boot up, massive notebook storage capacity with a dual hard drive option, and an extra large 17-inch widescreen display that features HP's BrightView technology.

"As the leader in consumer PCs and with our emerging leadership in digital entertainment, HP understands that innovation within this space is still alive and well," said Todd Bradley, executive vice president, Personal Systems Group, HP. "HP is committed to delivering relevant devices and services that help customers make the most of today's digital lifestyle."

Innovative features complement the latest in design and digital entertainment offerings

At one third the size of a traditional PC, the HP Pavilion s7000 series Slimline PC is designed to fit anywhere in the home. Yet it has the memory, fast processor, hard drive space and functionality of a traditional desktop PC. It even includes a 9-in-1 memory card reader⁽⁵⁾ for easy transfer of video, photos and music directly to the PC. As with HP's entire consumer PC portfolio, the Slimline PC comes standard with HP's one-year limited warranty and award-winning 24x7 phone support.

The HP Pavilion s7000 series Slimline PC starts at a price of $449⁽²⁾ and is expected to be available in November exclusively at Best Buy stores nationwide and direct from HP via www.hpshopping.com.

"Best Buy wants to provide customers with exclusive technology products and services," said Dave Morrish, senior vice president, Merchandising, Best Buy. "HP is an industry leader in consumer PCs and they continue to bring innovative products to the market. The HP Pavilion Slimline PC is a compact, powerful and reliable offering that broadens our assortment of leading PC products."

HP Digital Entertainment Center z556 and z558 series

The features of the HP Digital Entertainment Center z556 and z558 series include "My games," which allows customers to install, play, manage and download favorite games⁽⁶⁾; enhanced zoom for a great viewing experience on any TV; and a new "away mode" that allows the DEC to record TV programs even when the unit appears to be off. Other highlights include:

• HD quality – Two standard-definition and one high-definition television tuners allow consumers to pause, review, program and play over-the-air HD ATSC programming⁽¹⁾ and the ability to create a media library of TV shows, home videos and music.⁽⁷⁾

• Feature packed – High-capacity hard drives, including a Personal Media Drive, provide up to 1/2 terabyte of storage; Super Multi-Drive facilitates burning to practically any DVD disc format,⁽⁸⁾ including DVD+/-RW, DVD-RAM, CD-R, CD-RW; and, HP's LightScribe direct disc labeling technology to burn professional-looking, silkscreen-quality labels on CDs and DVDs. Additionally the HP DECs feature one year of Norton Anti-virus security subscription for virus protection.

• Convenience – DVD changer support allows up to 50 - 100 movies to be preloaded, then browsed and played conveniently; a zoom feature allows standard-sized TV pictures to be scaled up to widescreen size without image distortion; and a front-panel 9-in-1 memory card reader allows consumers to view digital photos from the comfort of their couches.⁽⁵⁾

The HP Digital Entertainment Center z556 series is expected to be available in the coming weeks at audio/visual and consumer electronics retail locations nationwide and direct from HP via www.hpshopping.com. Pricing starts at $1,499.⁽²⁾

HP Pavilion dv8000 series Notebook PC

The HP Pavilion dv8000 series Notebook PC features include:

• Advanced – ATI RADEON XPRESS 200M Integrated Graphics Processor with 128 megabytes of discrete RAM handles today's graphics-intense applications while also extending battery life. The notebook's dual hard drive⁽⁹⁾ storage system provides additional storage up to 240 gigabytes total, making it easy to store more digital photos, home movies or music.
• Flexible – With HP QuickPlay⁽⁴⁾ and an optional remote control, consumers can enjoy movies on the PC's 17-inch widescreen display featuring BrightView technology, or listen to music without waiting for a full system boot up.
• Secure – AMD Turion™ 64 mobile technology⁽¹⁰⁾ processors that offer increased battery life and built-in Enhanced Virus Protection.(11) The dv8000 series comes standard with HP's one year of support, unlike some competitors' 90-day offerings.

The HP Pavilion dv8000 series Notebook PC is expected to be available in November direct from HP via www.hpshopping.com and select retail locations nationwide. Pricing starts at $1,099, depending on configuration ordered.⁽²⁾

Service and support

HP's consumer PCs come with a full year of support, significantly longer than some competitors' 90-day offerings. The one-year limited warranty includes technical support, parts and labor as part of its HP Total Care portfolio of services. HP Total Care delivers live online chat with support agents, as fast as one-hour email response and toll-free 24x7 technical support.

Customers who want added reassurance beyond the first year of ownership can purchase an extended service plan for an additional one or two years.

More product details and images of HP's newest PC lineup are available in an online press kit at www.hp.com/go/DigitalLife2005.

About HP

HP is a technology solutions provider to consumers, businesses and institutions globally. The company's offerings span IT infrastructure, global services, business and home computing, and imaging and printing. For the four fiscal quarters ended July 31, 2005, HP revenue totaled $85.2 billion. More information about HP (NYSE, Nasdaq: HPQ) is available at www.hpshopping.com.

⁽¹⁾ High-definition (HD) source content varies and will depend on source input, signal, aspect ratio and other factors. HD content may require separately purchased service contract or other fees. HD content may not be available in all service areas, check with service provider. HD (or ATSC) TV tuner sold separately.
⁽²⁾ Estimated U.S. street prices. Actual prices may vary.
⁽³⁾ High Definition (HD) source content varies and will depend on broadcast signal, antenna and other factors. In cities where local off-air HD programs are available, reception may vary based on geographic location. An external over-the-air antenna that receives UHF and VHF signals is required for ATSC reception. Viewing HD content will required a compatible high definition display. Ability to record, edit or transfer broadcast content such as TV programming maybe limited depending on the type of content.
⁽⁴⁾ Approximately 204 MB of hard drive is dedicated for HP QuickPlay and will not be user-accessible.
⁽⁵⁾ Memory Stick Duo Cards and Memory Stick Duo Adapters are not supported. Inserting one of these cards or adapters into your notebook can damage the memory card, adapter and/or notebook.
⁽⁶⁾ Internet access required and sold separately.
⁽⁷⁾ Intended for original content and other lawful uses.
⁽⁸⁾ Note that DVD-RAM cannot read or write to 2.6 GB Single Sided/5.2 GB Double Sided – Version 1.0 media.
⁽⁹⁾ Dual core is a new technology designed to improve performance of certain software products and operating systems and may require appropriate operating system software for full benefit; check with software provider to determine suitability; Not all customers or software applications will necessarily benefit from use of this technology.
⁽¹⁰⁾ 64 bit is a new technology designed to improve performance of software products designed to utilize this feature and also requires 64-bit operating system software for full benefit; check with software provider to determine suitability; Not all customers or software applications will necessarily benefit from use of this technology.
(11) Enhanced Virus Protection (EVP) is only enabled by certain operating systems including the current versions of Microsoft Windows, Linux and BSD Unix. Protection of the OS or applications may not be enabled by default. After properly installing the appropriate operating system release, users must enable the protection of their applications and associated files from buffer overrun attacks. Consult OS documentation for information on enabling EVP. Contact application software vendors for information regarding use of the application in conjunction with EVP. AMD and its partners strongly recommend that users continue to use third-party anti-virus software as part of their security strategy.