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Compaq offers $999 notebook

New pricing sends an Armada notebook PC with a high-quality screen that was once more than $3,500 to the popular sub-$1,000 realm.

Brooke Crothers Former CNET contributor
Brooke Crothers writes about mobile computer systems, including laptops, tablets, smartphones: how they define the computing experience and the hardware that makes them tick. He has served as an editor at large at CNET News and a contributing reporter to The New York Times' Bits and Technology sections. His interest in things small began when living in Tokyo in a very small apartment for a very long time.
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Brooke Crothers
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Compaq Computer (CPQ) cut prices across its entire Armada notebook PC line, in one instance pushing what was once a high-end model into the sub-$1,000 category.

The new pricing sends an Armada model with a high-quality active-matrix screen that once cost more than $3,500 into the popular sub-$1,000 realm. One of the first notebooks of this caliber to break this barrier, the $999 4131T comes with a 133-MHz Pentium processor and 12.1-inch active-matrix LCD screen.

Compaq Armada price cuts
Model Processor Old price New price
1530DM 133-MHz Pentium MMX $1,999 $1,499
1590DMT 166-MHz Pentium MMX $3,299 $2,499
4131T 133-MHz Pentium $1,699 $999
7330T 150-MHz Pentium MMX $1,899 $1,499
7792DMT* 266-MHz Pentium MMX $5,699 $5,299
* 13.3-inch screen. All others are
12.1 inches.

The lowest-priced 133-MHz notebook equipped with a 12.1-inch active-matrix screen from a top-tier manufacturer to date is an offering from Hewlett-Packard. HP's 2000 series model costs just below $1,600.

Market researcher Stanford Resources says that low-cost 12.1-inch active-matrix displays--the highest quality LCDs--will fuel a drive by some notebook manufacturers to offer new models at the $1,000 level. Meanwhile, notebooks with larger 13.3- and 14-inch displays will take the mid-range and high-end of the market.

Compaq also announced several promotional programs, including free memory upgrades, discounts on the Compaq ArmadaStation desktop expansion bases when purchased with select Armada 7000 models, and free mobile CD units with the purchase of select Armada products.

Other price reduction highlights include the Armada 1530DM model, which drops from $1,999 to $1,499. This comes with a 133-MHz Pentium MMX processor and 12.1-inch dual-scan LCD screen.

The 1590DMT drops in price from $3,299 to $2,699. This model comes with a 166-MHz Pentium MMX processor and a 12.1-inch active-matrix LCD screen.