HP Expands into Digital Consumer Electronics

August 29, 2004

HP offers consumers keys to living digitally -- simple, personalized experiences

HP announced its expansion into multiple new consumer digital entertainment and digital photography categories with a range of offerings aimed at making it easier than ever for people to live digitally. The offerings include new digital cameras and photo printers, home theater projectors, plasma and LCD flat-panel TVs, entertainment-based notebooks and desktop PCs, and the Apple iPod from HP - all in time for the back-to-school and holiday shopping seasons.

HP Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Carly Fiorina unveiled the enhanced digital lineup today during a press conference in South Beach, Fla., where HP is sponsoring the 2004 MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs).

Highlights of today's announcement include:

- New HP Vivera Inks, cartridges, media and printers that take digital photography to new levels of quality and affordability; plus new additions to HP's digital camera line with innovative features that produce professional-quality photos every time.
- The HP Digital Entertainment Center, which allows consumers to manage music, movies and photos from a single device; a suite of new plasma and LCD flat-panel TVs; the HP Instant Cinema Digital Projector ep9010, a boom box-like device for playing and watching movies; and the HP Pavilion dv1000 series Entertainment Notebook PC - all expressly designed to simplify the digital living room experience.
- The Apple iPod from HP along with HP Printable Tattoos that enable music lovers to personalize their iPods with album art from the hottest bands and recording artists, or wrap their iPods in their own printable art and photos.
- New consumer-focused partnerships, go-to-market efforts and advertising.
- At the Consumer Electronics Show in January, we said the real digital revolution was not just about gizmos and gadgets - it was about making the whole system work better together," said Fiorina. "Our customers have told us they want to easily share, enjoy and preserve their personal experiences - whether those experiences are photos, music or video. Today, HP is delivering on the first phase of our vision with solutions that make a consumer's digital lifestyle simple and rewarding."

HP makes it easy to create high-quality, affordable photos at home

HP is taking digital photography to a whole new level by making it easy and affordable for people to click, print and share high-quality photos. HP's new digital cameras and photo printers, which are supported by a new line of branded inks and specialty papers, make it better, faster and cheaper than ever to print at home and even on the go.

Highlights from HP's enhanced digital photography lineup include:

- HP Vivera Inks work as a system with new HP printers and specialty papers to produce up to 40 percent faster prints that resist fading for generations, offer improved print quality and are now more affordable - 4 x 6-inch photos for as low as 29 cents.
- The portable, lightweight HP Photosmart 375 Compact Photo Printer becomes a mobile digital photo lab for 4 x 6-inch prints when used with the optional HP Internal Battery for Compact Photo Printers. The optional HP bt300 Bluetooth Wireless Printer Adapter provides added convenience when printing photos wirelessly from a compatible Bluetooth™ enabled camera phone.
- The HP Photosmart 2710 All-In-One is the ultimate photo lab that can print, copy, scan and fax, with built-in memory slots and wireless capabilities.(1) This system is specially designed to easily print color photos from camera phones or other compatible Bluetooth wireless devices.
- The HP Photosmart 8450 Photo Printer produces stunning color and black-and-white prints (up to 72 million different color combinations and grayscale combinations) with its eight-ink color printing system. The network-enabled photo printer features a 2.5-inch color image display, easy-to-access front-panel editing buttons, digital camera video printing and panorama format printing.
- The new 4.1-megapixel HP Photosmart R607 Digital Camera is stylishly small and features exclusive HP Real Life technologies, which include adaptive lighting and in-camera red-eye removal. These technologies can help even novice digital photographers take better pictures.
- The introduction of HP Premium Plus Papers in 5 x 7-inch and 8 x 10-inch panorama sizes continues the expansion of HP's portfolio of creative media for consumers. HP also introduced personalized note cards, greeting cards and holiday photo cards with partners, including Disney and American Greetings.

The connected home: Simplifying the digital living room for consumers

HP launched easy-to-set-up and -integrate digital living room offerings that allow people to enjoy spectacular entertainment experiences in the comfort of their own living rooms.

Highlights from HP's new line of digital living room products include:

- The HP Digital Entertainment Center, which brings high-powered PC capabilities to the home theater system, allowing consumers to easily capture, store and enjoy all of their digital content - TV programs, music, videos or photographs - in a living room setting. The HP Digital Entertainment Center replaces multiple components with a single, easy-to-operate device that fits in the entertainment rack and is simple to use with a remote control.
- The HP Media Center Extender delivers content wirelessly from any Media Center PC or the HP Digital Entertainment Center to any TV in the house - giving users the freedom to enjoy their content when and where they want.(2)
- New HP Flat-Panel Plasma and LCD TVs, including a 42-inch HDTV Plasma, a 42-inch EDTV Plasma, and two LCD TVs (26-inch and 30-inch). The new TVs incorporate the latest image-quality technologies and offer spectacular picture and sound quality and a premium viewing experience - all in a sleek, piano-black design.
- The HP Instant Cinema Digital Projector ep9010 offers an integrated, portable projector and DVD player with a 5.1-capable surround-sound system, bringing home the Hollywood sound and visual impact of a big-screen cinematic experience - anywhere a consumer wants to watch movies.
- The HP Pavilion dv1000 Series Entertainment Notebook, available with Intel® Centrino™ Mobile Technology, includes HP's new QuickPlay feature, which allows consumers to watch DVDs or listen to music without booting up. The notebook offers consumers on-the-move access to music, video and photos.
- Unlike other companies moving into the Consumer Electronics / Digital Entertainment space, HP is 'open' - not only in terms of technology but more importantly in terms of content," said Rob Enderle, principal analyst for the Enderle Group. "They don't believe they need to lock in consumers to win market share, and I think more companies should follow their lead by competing on product and service excellence alone. Their partnerships reflect the widest range of consumer areas, and standards-based options in the CE/DE segment."

Apple iPod + hp: HP rocks the PC

HP also announced the availability of the Apple iPod from HP.(3) Through a strategic partnership with Apple, HP will help bring the world's most popular digital music player to an even broader base of PC users. The Apple iPod from HP will be offered in two variations - 20 gigabytes (GB) and 40 GB - and will be available online at hpshopping.com and at most major retailers, including Circuit City, CompUSA, Best Buy, Office Depot, Staples, Radio Shack, Fry's, Amazon.com and Costco. The estimated U.S. street price for the Apple iPod from HP 20 GB is $299 and for the Apple iPod from HP 40 GB is $399.(4)

New HP Printable Tattoos allow consumers to personalize the look of their iPod with album cover art from top bands and recording artists, as well as to create their own personalized artwork and photos printed on Tattoo media via an HP color printer.

The ultra-thin HP Printable Tattoos are easy to apply and remove from the player's exterior. They are durable and water-resistant, which helps protect the iPod from scratches and scuffs as music lovers carry it around. HP is working with industry recording studios to offer consumers access to the latest album art from the newest releases. The HP Tattoo Gallery at http://www.hp.com/music will be regularly updated with the hottest album art, so consumers can continually personalize their iPod.

Consumers can quickly start enjoying their iPod with the help of HP's unique user guide and an easy-to-follow setup poster. In addition, the Apple iPod from HP is backed by HP's Total Care customer support, which includes one year of phone support and a one-year warranty.

New wave of advertising to debut at VMAs

HP will debut new advertising campaigns during the MTV Video Music Awards on Sunday, Aug. 29. Award-winning music video producer Paul Hunter directed the suite of music ads that will launch the Apple iPod from HP. New digital photography ads, showcasing the latest photo printers, including the new Vivera Inks, digital cameras and printers, will feature the innovative artistry of French director Francois Vogel and the song "Picture Book" from the Kinks.

Strategic marketing partnership

Judy McGrath, chairman and chief executive officer of MTV Networks, joined Fiorina to announce a global strategic marketing partnership, with HP as an official sponsor of the 2004 MTV Video Music Awards in the United States, Latin America, Asia and Europe, and as an official sponsor of the 2004 Video Music Awards Latin America, the 2004 MTV Europe Music Awards and the 2005 MTV Asia Awards. The MTV Video Music Awards is the most watched awards show among the 12-34 year-old age group and will be available to a potential viewing audience of more than 1 billion people.

HP and MTV kicked off the first phase of this strategic marketing partnership by announcing a global promotion called "YOU Are Your Music." At the end of September, consumers in the United States will be able to enter a promotion to win a trip to the 2004 MTV Europe Music Awards in Rome by submitting a digital photo of an image representing "what music means to them." The promotion will continue in Latin America, Europe and Asia, where the contest will launch around MTV's award shows in those regions.

Detailed information regarding HP's digital photography and entertainment offerings, including fact sheets and product specifications, is available in an online press kit at http: //www.hp.com/go/digitalexplaunch/2004. A recorded webcast of the press conference featuring Fiorina's unveiling of the new digital lineup will be available at http: //www.hpbroadband.com/program.cfm?key=B3Launch27Aug2004EXT shortly after the conference ends, and will remain available for approximately one month.

Notes:
(1) With compatible 802.11g and b devices. Wireless performance is dependent upon distance and terrain between wireless network clients and all-in-one.

(2) Wireless access point required and is not included. Availability of public wireless access points limited. Wireless Internet use requires separately purchased Internet service contract.

(3) Apple is a trademark of Apple Computer, Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. iPod is a trademark of Apple Computer, Inc.

(4) Actual prices may vary.

Bluetooth is a trademark owned by its proprietor and used by Hewlett-Packard Company under license. Intel and Centrino are trademarks or registered trademarks of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries in the United States and other countries.