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HP ready for battle with tablet-laptop hybrids, says Whitman

Hewlett-Packard is ready to take on all comers with a couple of hybrid devices and a business tablet, the company's CEO says during an earnings call.

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
In addition to the Windows 8 business tablet above, HP will bring out two consumer laptop-tablet hybrids, CEO Whitman said today.
In addition to the Windows 8 business tablet above, HP will bring out two consumer laptop-tablet hybrids, CEO Whitman said today. Hewlett-Packard

Hewlett-Packard CEO Meg Whitman came out swinging in today's earnings conference call.

"We are under attack by very strong competitive pressures and we are going to respond," Whitman said when asked by an analyst about the PC business.

The company will respond with "two tablets, if you will, combined with laptops for the consumer space," according to Whitman.

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This is in addition to the Windows 8 business tablet that HP has already discussed (see photo above).

She added that HP has "one of the best product lineups we've had in the PC business for a long time," referring to the company's swelling ultrabook lineup.

HP reported today that revenue declined 5 percent to $29.7 billion last year, compared with $31.2 billion last year. Adjusted profit was a $1 share.

The company's results included one-time charges of $10.8 billion, or $5.49 a share.

Analysts were expecting an adjusted profit of 98 cents a share on revenue of $30.2 billion.

HP Envy XT Spectre ultrabook.
HP Envy XT Spectre ultrabook. Hewlett-Packard