In a monumental update of its personal computing portfolio, HP today introduced new media relationships and products that feature enduringly elegant design for everyone from consumers to IT professionals.

Among the announcements are a new category of gaming PCs, an unprecedented expansion of the HP iPAQ handheld lineup and joint programs with media partners MTV and Condé Nast.

The launch took place at an evening gala on the eve of New York's illustrious Fashion Week, where the company hosted an audience of nearly 1,000 industry influencers, partners, customers and other notable personalities.

"A new energy at HP is creating an ever more personal experience in computing," said Todd Bradley, executive vice president, Personal Systems Group, HP. "The concept of 'personal' takes many forms. It can be a more natural user interface using touch - as easy as an airline kiosk - or a piano-black finish that personifies elegance and looks great in an office or living room. Our new design approach is also good business. Standardizing on beautiful materials and consistent icons means we can speed products to market and offer them at a great value."

At the event, tennis champion Serena Williams was highlighted as the latest "Achiever" in HP's award-winning "The Computer is Personal Again" marketing campaign. Her commercial began airing nationally Aug. 27 and is available for viewing online at http://www.hp.com/go/serena [1].

One of the highlights of the launch is the HP Blackbird 002, a personalized powerhouse of a gaming PC that features breakthrough design attributes ranging from optimized air-flow dynamics to a striking aluminum chassis. The HP Blackbird 002 welcomes PC enthusiasts to indulge in personalization and performance tuning with its use of industry-standard components that can be upgraded without tools.

The company's largest-ever expansion of its iPAQ handheld portfolio - more than 55 products in all - is the result of having invested millions of dollars in strategic acquisitions, technologies, services and talent. This comprehensive lineup of new mobility products, services and solutions is aimed at mobile professionals and IT managers.

HP also announced the expanded availability of HP MediaSmart TVs and servers, a holiday lineup of home desktop and notebook PCs, and sleek new business computers that have the features and design needed for optimal performance in virtually any business environment.

"HP has what we believe to be the most complete and compelling lines of PC products in the commercial, consumer and digital home segments," said Rob Enderle, principal analyst, The Enderle Group. "From the standpoints of user experience, industrial design and performance, they bracket these markets with attractive products that make it fun to shop for technology again."

Serena Williams, Microsoft, MTV and Condé Nast

From battling illiteracy as her superhero alter ego to playing her favorite card games online, tennis pro Serena Williams joins the ranks of "Achievers" to share how her PC is a personal expression in HP's award-winning PC marketing campaign. The spot also marks the entrance of Microsoft as a joint advertising partner in the campaign, which now will also highlight the personal and ease-of-use features of Microsoft Windows Vista®.

HP and MTV unveiled a global competition - called "Take Action. Make Art." - that challenges young people around the world to create graphics that are personal to them for a chance to have their design become the next HP Imprint finish for an HP consumer notebook.

The contest winner's personal graphic design will join HP's other sleek and stylish Imprint finishes, such as Radiance and Verve, on a special-edition, Intel® processor-based, 14-inch consumer notebook available worldwide. Winning designs from runners-up in designated regions will have their personal expressions created into adhesive notebook skins available to consumers everywhere. For more information or to submit a design, visit http://www.mtv-tama.com [2].

HP has joined with Condé Nast, Fashion Rocks and design legends Vladimir Kagan, Naeem Khan and Cath Kidston to support the Design Industry Foundation Fighting AIDS organization. Each of the designers has created a limited-edition HP notebook skin, and HP is donating proceeds from the sales of these skins to the nonprofit group.

At HP's event, Khan was joined on stage by Williams and other HP "Achievers" professional snowboarder and skateboarder Shaun White, supermodel Petra Nemcova, custom motorcycle designers Orange County Choppers and others to showcase the new skins. Designer skins can be viewed or purchased at http://www.hp.skinit.com [3].

HP Blackbird 002: Designed by gamers, for gamers

The HP Blackbird 002 is the first PC system to combine HP innovation with VoodooPC's award-winning expertise in PC design and architecture, resulting in a desktop that delivers the look, versatility and performance gamers and high-end PC enthusiasts crave.

Every element of the HP Blackbird 002 - from its aluminum chassis to the cast-aluminum foot - contributes to its stunning look and extreme performance. It features patented, full system liquid-cooling to keep itself running cool in even the most heated head-to-head gaming scenarios.

"Gaming PCs have always been accessible to only a few. By combining our acquisition a year ago of gaming leader Voodoo with innovations from HP Labs, we bringing the gaming experience to the mainstream," said Bradley. "Now more and more people can have a no-compromise computer from HP and, as with our broad lineup of new products, the design is beautiful inside and out."

The system's removable side panel, completely open BIOS, and interior and back panel LED lighting make it convenient for gamers to get inside the machine for performance tuning. More information about HP Blackbird 002 is available at http://www.hp.com/blackbird [4], a highly interactive online experience where users can build, share and order their custom-designed system.

Customers can begin purchasing a limited-edition system called HP Blackbird 002 Dedication Edition starting Sept. 15. The limited-edition system was created to recognize HP's first PC for the gaming market, designed by a small team of dedicated gamers who sought to bring innovation back to the desktop PC. It will feature a pre-set performance configuration, unique side panels, free games and more.

Beginning Oct. 1, customers will also be able to configure their own HP Blackbird 002. Each HP Blackbird 002 will be hand-built in HP's production facility in Calgary, Alberta. Pricing is dependent on configuration and will range from approximately $2,500 to $7,100.⁽¹⁾

Largest-ever iPAQ expansion

Five mobile devices, five mobile software programs, 12 mobile services and almost three dozen handheld accessories are among the 56 handheld-related products HP introduced. Highlights include:

• HP iPAQ 900 Series Business Messenger - 3G phone⁽²⁾ with QWERTY keyboard;
• HP iPAQ 600 Series Business Navigator - A two-in-one 3G phone⁽²⁾ and navigation device;
• HP iPAQ 300 Series Travel Companion - Handheld GPS device for business and personal travel featuring graphics acceleration and available 3D maps⁽³⁾;
• HP iPAQ 200 Series Enterprise Handheld - Powerful, large screen PDA with Wi-Fi⁽⁴⁾ that is well-suited to run a broad range of business applications;
• HP iPAQ 100 Series Classic Handheld - Big screen, simple synchronization with personal content and Wi-Fi connectivity make this sleek, affordable PDA an ideal phone companion⁽⁴⁾;
• HP Enterprise Mobility Suite - Provides mobile device management capabilities that ease device deployments and management within the enterprise;
• HP iPAQ Custom Touch - Small lot iPAQ customization conveniently preloads iPAQ devices with custom applications, themes and settings for enterprise customers⁽⁵⁾;
• HP iPAQ location-based services - A web destination where users can personalize their trip plans, map content and update device software;
• HP Total Care - A suite of services to help iPAQ customers design, manage and implement business mobility, with application mobilization, one-stop help desk, and leasing and lifecycle management;
• HP iPAQ Mobile Broadband Connect - Access the Internet on an HP notebook or PC through a tethered iPAQ 3G phone for high-speed mobile broadband connectivity.(2,6)

Bringing hi-def home for the holidays

HP's MediaSmart TVs and broad assortment of entertainment PCs have helped make the promise of digital entertainment a real, rich and personal experience.

• HP MediaSmart TVs - Available today for $2,099 and $2,499,⁽¹⁾ respectively, the new 42- and 47-inch HP MediaSmart TVs merge the PC and the TV with the ability to wirelessly⁽⁷⁾ stream digital photos, music and videos stored on a PC onto a stylish HP high-definition⁽⁸⁾ LCD display. The latest models feature 1080p performance and the new HP Entertainment Services Portal, which provides access to a variety of online photo, video and music services with the click of a remote.⁽⁹⁾
• HP MediaSmart Server - Powered by the Windows® Home Server platform and AMD LIVE!â„¢, the HP MediaSmart Server provides a central location for more secure, easy access to movies, photos, music and documents through any Internet-connected PC, anytime, anywhere. Expected to be available in time for the holidays this fall, the server is offered in a 500-gigabyte version for $599 and 1-terabyte model for $749.⁽¹⁾
• HP Pavilion Elite m9000 Desktop PC - For high-end home entertainment, the Elite m9000 offers 3D graphics, video playback and the convenience of a true wireless⁽⁷⁾ connection. The PC also features one-touch backup and HP Personal Media Drive bays⁽¹⁰⁾ for unlimited storage, allowing consumers to instantly backup cherished pictures, movies, music and more. For a brilliant picture quality, pair the Elite m9000 with the new HP w2408 Vivid Color 24-inch widescreen flat panel monitor for optimal video and photo viewing, including DVD movies and live or recorded high-definition television.⁽⁸⁾
• Consumer Notebooks - Packed with mobile entertainment features such as the HP Mobile Remote Control and dual headphone jacks, the HP Pavilion dv2500 series notebook is the first HP consumer notebook with integrated wireless WAN,⁽¹¹⁾ while the 15.4-inch HP Pavilion dx6500 notebook features a TV tuner and dual hard drives. In addition, new HP mobile television solutions allow people to enjoy live and recorded TV on their consumer notebook PCs,⁽¹²⁾ extending mobile TV options beyond HP's hardware through relationships with digital entertainment content providers.
• HP Digital Picture Frame - A great holiday gift, this 8-inch LCD panel with 800 x 600 resolution features internal stereo speakers. The frame enables people to combine pictures and music for a personal, multimedia photo display.

Technology designed for business

HP's new business product lineup features eye-catching designs and sheer performance across business desktops, notebooks, workstations and displays.

• HP Compaq dc7800 Business Desktops - HP's most secure and manageable business desktop series features a sleek, zero-footprint design among its three sizes when combined with the company's innovative Integrated Work Center flat panel monitor stand(13) that conceals the PC behind the monitor. The system's environmentally responsible design also offers options such as remote power management for advanced, energy-efficient business computing.
• HP Compaq Business Notebooks - HP expanded its business notebook portfolio with three systems that balance mobility and value and feature a fresh new look. With widescreen displays, the latest processors and multiple wireless technologies,(11,14) the HP Compaq 6520s(15) HP Compaq 6720s and HP Compaq 6820s Notebooks PCs keep small business users productive and connected for an affordable price. The company also announced availability of 64-gigabyte(16) solid-state drives for its high-end business notebooks. A solid state drive's shock resistance helps improve notebook reliability, while its decreased power consumption helps improve battery life. It also offers improved performance over traditional hard disk drives.
• HP xw4000 Series Personal Workstations - The xw4000 series offers an option of processors and a range of graphics, memory and storage choices. Supporting the latest dual-core AMD Opteronâ„¢ processors,(17) the new HP xw4550 Workstation delivers excellent performance and state-of-the-art technology at a price previously unavailable to entry-level and mainstream workstation customers. The workstation delivers sizeable performance gains over previous technology with Intel® Coreâ„¢ 2 Duo(18) and Core 2 Extreme(18,19) processors at a low cost.
• HP Commercial Displays - HP introduced several new 17-, 19- and 22-inch diagonal professional LCD displays, including many in widescreen format. These latest LCDs offer substantial increases in brightness, contrast ratio, viewing angle and response time when compared with previous generation monitors. Business customers can also now enjoy the same industry-leading image quality and world-class support of HP business monitors with the new line of HP LT Series 32- and 37-inch 720p and 42- and 47-inch 1080p Professional LCD HDTVs, which offer exceptional image accuracy, clear pictures and rich connectivity for professional environments.
• HP Total Care for Small Business - HP also expanded its HP Total Care for Small Business portfolio to include services, finance and resources designed specifically with small businesses in mind. This portfolio includes a range of free and premium support, services and programs to help ensure customers receive personalized services for every stage of their computer's life: from choosing, configuring and protecting it, to tuning and, ultimately, recycling it.

Additional information on HP's new personal computing products and solutions is available at http://www.yourlifeistheshow.com [5].

About HP

HP focuses on simplifying technology experiences for all of its customers - from individual consumers to the largest businesses. With a portfolio that spans printing, personal computing, software, services and IT infrastructure, HP is among the world's largest IT companies, with revenue totaling $100.5 billion for the four fiscal quarters ended July 31, 2007. More information about HP (NYSE: HPQ) is available at http://www.hp.com [6].