HP Unleashes Slew Of Consumer-Focused Products

In a launch event at New York's Hudson Theater, HP CEO Carly Fiorina said the rollout made good on a corporate strategy the company unveiled a year-and-a-half ago to make consumer computing simple and easy. Fiorina also joked about the expansive list of new products HP would ship to retail.

"We are introducing almost as many products are there are candidates in the gubernatorial race in California," she said.

Among the consumer products HP introduced were a series of new digital cameras and the HP Photosmart 7960--an eight-color photo printer capable of printing more than 70,000 color configurations onto studio grade paper; a consumer desktop replacement notebook--the HP zd7000--which at full configuration includes a 17-inch monitor, DVD burner, docking station and sound system; a DVD movie writer--the HP dc3000--which permits easy transfer of video tape to digital video disks; and an upgrade to the HP Media Center PC, which includes a digital camera docking station.

To put financial muscle behind its new consumer product lineup, Fiorina said the Palo Alto, Calif.-based company plans to spend $300 million on a marketing campaign this fall in what will be the "largest consumer marketing campaign ever."

While a portion of the product lineup would work its way into the SMB and "micro-business" market spaces, HP executives said the technology the company is highlighting in the consumer arena would migrate more slowly into the commercial space.

Shares of HP were down 8 cents to $20 in mid-day trading.