Wednesday, September 10, 2008

HP UNVEILS PC WITH 24-HOUR BATTERY LIFE

The Hindu Business Line

Hewlett-Packard Co., the world's largest personal-computer maker, has introduced a notebook PC that can run for as long as 24 hours on a single battery charge.

Customers need to buy an optional battery, a special display and a so-called solid-state hard-disk drive to get the extended running time, Hewlett-Packard said today in a statement. With those options, the EliteBook 6930p costs $2,200. After an online discount, the price will be $1,816.

Hewlett-Packard has added new PCs over the past two months to capture consumer demand for notebooks and extend its lead over Dell. The notebook will compete with Dell's Latitude E6400, introduced in August, which can run for as long as 19 hours on a single charge.

Hewlett-Packard's notebook sales rose 26 percent in the quarter ended July 31, while desktop revenue increased 6 percent. PCs account for a third of the company's revenue.

Customers wanting the 24-hour battery life will also need to download additional graphics and system software, Hewlett- Packard said. The machine will be available in October.

A basic version of the PC costs $1,199, Hewlett Packard spokesman, Mike Hockey, said. The additional battery costs $150, while the solid-state hard-disk, which stores information on chips rather than a magnetic disk, is an extra $900.

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