The New Nation - Internet Edition

Justin Scheck

Hewlett-Packard Co. is taking aim at some of the most competitive segments of the consumer PC business with new products that include an ultrathin laptop designed to compete with Apple Inc.'s distinctive MacBook Air.

H-P, which is No. 1 in world-wide unit sales of personal computers, plans to unveil Tuesday its new Voodoo Envy 133 laptop, which is a little more than a half-inch thick and weighs less than 3½ pounds.

H-P, which is announcing the products at an event in Berlin, also plans to introduce a new touch-screen model aimed at the growing "all in one" desktop market, which refers to computers that have all the parts contained in the monitor.

H-P's offerings are the latest sign of the increasing importance that computer makers are placing on design, says Richard Shim, a PC industry analyst at IDC -- something Apple has done for years. Mr. Shim adds that though the new H-P products may not be big sellers initially, they could serve as an example for the "future of the marketplace."

The new products also ratchet up the competition with No. 2 computer maker Dell Inc., which has been trying to improve the design of its consumer PCs. In recent months, several Dell executives have said they are working to build thinner consumer machines.The market for ultrathin models heated up early this year when Apple introduced the MacBook Air, which is only slightly thicker than the new H-P notebook. In February, Lenovo Group Ltd. followed with an ultrathin PC aimed more at business users. Both computers got mixed reviews for their high prices -- approaching $3,000 for top configurations -- and the MacBook was criticized for not having a removable battery or a built-in socket for plugging into Ethernet networks. H-P's new Voodoo Envy model has a removable battery and can be booted up in less than five seconds using software developed by H-P. It offers an Ethernet port that is part of its power adapter.

The ultrathin PC is one of the first new products H-P is developing under the Voodoo brand, which it acquired in 2006 when it bought gaming PC maker VoodooPC. Rahul Sood, who ran that company and now heads H-P's Voodoo brand, said H-P engineers started working on the new machine about 18 months ago, as part of an effort to reposition Voodoo from a gaming brand to a luxury name.

Creating a thin PC with a battery that could be removed was one of the major challenges, Mr. Sood said. Another was perfecting its carbon-fiber case, which initially felt too flimsy. "It caused us to go back to the drawing board," Mr. Sood said. Ultimately, they were able to make the case stiffer by using a different carbon-fiber mix. J.P. Gownder, an analyst at Forrester Research, said the $2,000 price remains steep for most consumers. "Anything over $1,500 is ultra-expensive in this market," he said. But, he added, with PC prices falling in every category, high-end products represent an opportunity for computer companies to increase their narrowing profit margins.

Mr. Gownder said that in the short term, he is more focused on H-P's new TouchSmart PC as a potential revenue booster. He said the computer, which is fully contained behind the monitor, enters an all-in-one market that is expanding despite an overall decline in desktop PC sales.