HP, Toshiba cut PC, notebook prices
Hewlett-Packard cuts prices on desktop, notebook, and workstation computers by up to 20 percent while Toshiba drops $200 from some laptops.
The reductions stem from falling component costs, according to an HP spokesperson. The price cuts cover HP's Vectra line of corporate PCs, the Brio line for small business, Kayak workstations, and OmniBook portables.
Among the cuts, the HP Vectra VE corporate PC with Intel's 333-MHz Celeron processor, a 4.3GB hard disk drive, and 32MB of memory, will drop to $774, a 20 percent discount.
An HP Brio business desktop with a 333-MHz Celeron, a 4.3GB hard drive, and 32MB of memory will sell for an estimated street price of $699, a drop of nearly 15 percent.
Meanwhile, Toshiba reduced prices on selected Satellite and Portege notebooks by $100 to $200. After the cuts, the Satellite 330CDDS with a 266-MHz Pentium MMX processor, 32MB of memory, and a 4.1GB hard drive will sell for an estimated street price of $1,199. A Satellite 4000CDT, which comes with a 233-MHz Pentium II, 32MB of memory, and a 12.1-inch screen, was cut to $1,699.
Further notebook cuts will come next month when Intel rolls out the first Celeron chips for low-cost notebooks. The new chips are expected January 25, said sources.
Last week, Compaq Computer introduced similar discounts on its Prosignia line of small business computers.