Hitachi is slashing selected notebook prices by up to 20 percent. The cost reductions affect its VisionBook Pro, VisionBook Plus,
Hitachi price reductions | ||
Model | Old price | New price |
VisionBook Pro 7580 | $4,199 | $3,799 |
VisionBook Pro 7590 | $4,799 | $4,199 |
VisionBook Plus 5260 | $1,699 | $1,599 |
VisionBook Plus 5280 | $2,999 | $2,199 |
VisionBook Traveler | $2,499 | $1,999 |
The pricing action follows cuts by notebook leaders Compaq, Digital, IBM, and Toshiba, who previously announced deep reductions to their Armada, HiNote, ThinkPad, and Satellite lines, respectively. In Compaq's case, the discounts pushed the price of a notebook with a 12.1-inch active-matrix LCD under $1,000 for the first time.
Although Hitachi's discounts do not send a model into the sub-$1,000 range, they do drop the VisionBook Plus to $1,599. The low-end portable, cut by $100, comes with 166-MHz Pentium MMX processor, a 2.1GB hard drive, and a 12.1-inch active-matrix display.
On the high end, the VisionBook Pro with a 233-MHz Pentium MMX processor and a 13.3 active-matrix display is being discounted from $4,799 to $4,199.
Hitachi also announced that it is expanding distribution for the VisionBook Traveler, its smallest notebook offering. The 2.7 pound mini-notebook with an 8.4-inch active-matrix display will now be available at Best Buy, DataVision, Fry's Electronics, and other retailers for $1,999, discounted $500 from the original $2,499 price tag.
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