Even as it prepares to spin off its PC unit, Hewlett-Packard continues to pump out new models. The computer maker plans to release over the next two months seven all-in-one PCs with starting prices ranging from $400 to $900.
Two PCs, including a touch-screen model, will be for small businesses, while four others will be for consumers and one for large and midsize companies.
HP and rival Dell have been big on all-in-one PCs for quite awhile. With screen and electronics in a single chassis, the computers take up less space than a standard desktop, which appeals to businesses with tight office space. They are also popular in doctors’ offices and in public places, such as libraries and business centers, HP said. The all-in-one computers with touchscreens are sometimes seen in real estate and travel agencies and other businesses where people share information with clients through customer-facing applications.
The latest small-business systems are the TouchSmart Elite 7320 and the Pro 3420. The TouchSmart has a 21.5-inch touchscreen, while the 3420 has a 20-inch display. The latter is available with Intel’s Core i3 processor, while the former offers a choice of a Core i3, i5 or i7.
Both computers run Windows 7. The TouchSmart starts at $850 and will be available Sept. 21. The Pro 3420 starts at $599 and is expected in stores in October.
With smartphones and Apple’s iPad grabbing the attention of many consumers, the release of a new PC is barely newsworthy these days. In addition, the down economy has also had an impact. In June, market researcher IDC lowered its forecast for worldwide PC shipments this year from 7.1 percent to just 4.2 percent more than last year. Desktop shipments, including all-in-one PCs, are expected to increase by less than 1 percent.
Despite its business-as-usual strategy, analysts say it will be difficult for HP to continue selling to businesses at the same rate as in the past, following the announcement in August that it planned to spin off its Personal Systems Group, which had sales of $40.7 billion last year. HP executives hope that by exiting the low-margin PC business, the company will be able to increase profits, and its stock price, by selling high-margin software and hardware to companies. Basically, HP wants to be like IBM.
In the meantime, HP seems to be a bit disoriented. HP was scheduled to hold a telephone briefing with reporters Wednesday to announce plans to release more than a dozen printers. After first saying the meeting would be rescheduled, the company cancelled it without giving a reason.
What makes this interesting is the fact that HP’s printer business is the one star in the company’s portfolio. The operation is 70 percent more profitable than the company as a whole, according to Bloomberg.
One new printer worth noting is called the TopShot LaserJet Pro M275 (pictured here). The device, which can scan, copy and print, has a camera embedded in a hinged arm that’s elevated over the product. Scanning a small object with the camera produces a 3D image that’s captured in digital format, so it can be printed or inserted in a Web page. For small businesses selling jewelry, collectibles, toys or other small items online, the TopShot could come in handy.
The company will officially unveil the new printers Thursday. According to HP the TopShot will have a retail price of $399 and will be available for purchase Nov. 1.
With so much uncertainty in HP’s PC unit, small businesses will have to decide whether it would be safer to buy their next computer from Dell or Lenova. No one expects HP to abandon its PC customers, even after the spin off. However, one has to wonder whether customer support will suffer, once the PC business leaves the mothership.
