If you’re in the market for a new computer for yourself, or as a gift, here’s a budgetary option to check out. Hewlett-Packard is jump-starting the holiday shopping season with an ultra-affordable laptop with a price point to compete aggressively against netbooks and other computer manufacturers.
HP is reviving the Compaq brand, which has waned in popularity and has primarily been known for basic budget computers. The company is offering a new Compaq laptop for $399 after a $100 instant rebate. The Compaq Presario 4010f desktops start at $309 after a $100 rebate and come with a 250GB hard drive and similar specs, including integrated graphics.
HP is patting itself on the back:
“Everyone deserves access to a high-quality computer, and HP makes that possible with the Compaq brand,” says Steven Hoffman, director of worldwide marketing, Personal Systems Group, HP.
The Compaq Presario CQ61z is 15.6-inches with an AMD Sempron processor, 2 GB of RAM, 160 GB hard drive, a DVD burner and discrete graphics. It runs the new Windows 7 Home Premium.
Compare this to your average netbook, with a smaller screen, smaller hard drive and a low-power CPU. But people by netbooks because they’re small, unlike the new Compaqs. Netboooks are also affordable, starting at around $250, going up to about $500. And their main appeal is the lightweight size, so it remains to be seen if the new full-size Compaqs will snag business from this category.
Still, HP will be giving all other computer manufacturers a run for their money by setting a new low standard for budget laptop pricing. Right now, the only brand making laptops this cheap is Acer, and the specs aren’t quite as good. After Acer, the price point on laptops jumps up about $100 and keeps going into the thousands.
It remains to be seen whether buyers will embrace the Compaq brand, which has traditionally been considered a lower grade model, and fell out of favor in the U.S.
The new line will be available on Windows 7 launch day, October 22.
Filed under: Bargains, Retail, Uncategorized Tagged: | bargain computer gifts, bargain computers, bargain gifts, bargain laptops, budget computers, budget laptop, buy a laptop, cheap computers, cheap laptops, Compaq, Compaq CQ61z, Compaq Presario, Compaq Presario 4010f, computer gifts, find cheap computers, find cheap laptops, Hewlett-Packard, holiday shopping, HP, inexpensive computers, inexpensive laptops, new Compaq laptop
This would be good for the kids as my older ones seem to be needing the computer for school work and projects. We are actally starting to fight over computer time and these days they have legit reasons to be on the computer more than me. They’re not just updating their webkins account… the kids have work to do! Great tip! Thanks Liane.