HP Intros Gaming PC, HDTVs
By Doug Olenick -- TWICE, 9/17/2007
NEW YORK — At an event held in the fashion-oriented SoHo neighborhood in New York, Hewlett-Packard, literally, rolled out the red carpet for its fall product line.
Amid a bevy of models and celebrities, HP used this locale to demonstrate how its latest products offer more then just technology to the consumer.
Leading the way was the Blackbird 002 gaming PC, the first created by a combined HP/Voodoo PC development team. A limited-edition version, called the Blackbird 002 Dedication, of this upscale, configure-to-order model became available on Sept. 15 with primary availability starting on Oct. 1. All will be build in HP's Alberta, Canada, facility with prices ranging from $2,500 to $7,100.
The aluminum-chassis Blackbird is designed to be upgraded by the end user. All its major components can be removed without tools and an open BIOS to allow the gamer to over-clock the AMD or Intel processor.
HP also revamped its HDTV line up for the fall with the introduction of 42-inch and 47-inch models in its MediaSmart series. They are available now with suggested prices of $2,099, and $2,499, respectively. Both models feature Wi-Fi networking and the ability to play most music and video formats, including DiVX.
Other introductions included two MediaSmart Servers, one with a 500GB hard drive and the other with 1TB, possibly shipping in time for the holiday with estimated street prices of $599 or $749, respectively. It uses Microsoft's new operating system.
