HP focuses on small-and medium-sized firms

Zatni Arbi, Columnist, zatni@cbn.net.id

What was interesting about Andreas Diantoro's presentation during HP's special event for small and medium enterprises (SME) late last month? Andreas, one of the bosses at HP-Compaq Indonesia gave his Powerpoint presentation while walking around holding his iPaq PDA.

He never lost a beat and kept his audience awake with his humor. Each time he had to turn to the next slide, all he had to do was tap on his iPaq's screen with its stylus. At the end of his presentation, he confessed that all his notes were on the PDA. He no longer needed a notebook to give presentations.

Clearly, both his iPaq and the digital projector used during the presentation were both wireless devices. The data was beamed from the PDA to the projector with 802.11b Wi-Fi connection. The iPaq obviously had enough memory storage to hold his entire presentation.

At the moment, HP has several models of iPaq that already feature integrated wireless connectivity, including the h4155, h5150 and h5550. These, like the rest of the iPaq models, are Pocket PC devices.

The US$649 HP h5550 is especially mouth-watering. Stuffed with 128 MB of RAM, it comes with fingerprint biometrics security feature, so even if, God forbid, someone stole it from our briefcase our confidential data would remain safe. In addition to the wireless LAN, it also has Bluetooth to connect it to our Bluetooth-capable cellphone or printer.

To simplify direct printing from the PDA, the new models now also come with mobile printing software. We can even preview images before we print them out with iPAQ's exclusive Image Viewer utility, so that we do not have to waste ink and time to get the perfect image print.

Trying to read on-screen text outdoor where the sun was shining used to be a big challenge even for people with normal eyes. Now the company uses a new Transflective LCD combined with the backlit Thin-film Transistors (TFT) technology, so that we can still read our favorite e-book while sitting in a park.

As to the projector, HP's mp3130 is definitely another "I wish they had come up with this model earlier". Weighing less than two kg, this micro-portable projector comes with Wi-Fi connectivity. Despite its small size and portability, it is capable of giving 1,700 ANSI lumens and an excellent contrast ratio of 2000:1. Alas, the price is around $3,470. That is the price for not having to say "Next slide, please" to someone manning your notebook as you move about on the stage.

The $6,430 (estimated price) xp8010 is, like its price tag, more impressive. It is the first ever DLP-based digital processor to feature dual color wheels, which will give better color saturation. As you must already know, color saturation used to be a weakness of the DLP projector when compared with an LCD projector.

HP has been seriously focusing on serving the SME market. In fact, IDC reported that the solutions, products and services showcased at the SME event were all designed to meet the SMEs. HP has even allocated $100 million from its coffers for programs geared towards this market, which is in need for solutions that they can use without much hassle as they normally do not have in- house IT support.

HP Indonesia also has new options for called PrintAdvantage. One of the options enables an SME to purchase certain models of the LaserJet printers or multi-function printers complete with the toner cartridges, maintenance kit and on-site support plus the possibility to upgrade their devices to get better specifications for the entire term of the contract. This will make it easier for the SME to calculate its printing cost, as the cost per page will remain the same throughout the term. So, for example, if the SME chooses HP LaserJet 4200DFN, their monthly cost will be $55 and the cost per printed page will be Rp 180.

An HP event would not be complete without a printer galore. Customers from the SME segment can choose from the low-end HP LaserJet 1010, DeskJet 9650 and 9680, Business Jet 1100, Color LaserJet 2500 and 9500. I like HP DeskJet 9650. It can print up to A3 from edge to edge (without borders), and it can also print photos.

Incidentally, if you are thinking of trading in your old printer with a new LaserJet, I have been told that HP is running such a program until the end of this year. In my case, I would really love to trade in my LaserJet Gold with HP LaserJet Color 2500, which is targeted at personal use. However, I do not believe my significant other would agree to the idea of spending close to $1,000 for it.

The good news about hotspots is that more and more Intel Centrino-based notebooks are arriving at the showcases. HP Compaq Business notebook nx7000 has a large, 15.4 inch screen with a wide aspect ratio. Of course, it uses Intel Pentium M processor (1.4 GHz) and Intel Pro Wi-Fi module to qualify as a Centrino machine. It also comes with Bluetooth, an integrated Secure Digital (SD) flash memory reader and three USB 2.0 ports. What I like is also the fact that it is a fairly lightweight notebook, weighing less than 3 kg. HP claims that the battery can last up to five hours on one single charge.

Wide screen seems to be the next catch phrase. So, instead of SXGA or XGA, we will be seeing more and more notebooks with WSXGA and WXGA screen specifications. The difference is like watching a high definition TV with a 16:9 aspect ratio and a standard TV screen with a 4:3 ratio. As you most likely have noticed, new notebooks have appeared with 17 inch monster screen, and they are sometimes called mega-wide screen notebooks. Apple was the first to come up with this mega-wide screen product.

Two new scanners were also showcased -- the ScanJet 8250 and ScanJet 8290. HP cooperates with DIGICOM Group, a leader in Electric Document Capture (EDC) market. Talking about cooperation, HP is also working with M.Y.O.B. to provide a packaged accounting solution for SMEs.

There were also several new desktop computers and servers, but I loved the new Pavilion multimedia PC the most. It comes with a built-in TV-tuner and other goodies. HP Indonesia promised to let me play with a demo unit soon, and I really look forward to it. Too bad, my wife's four-year old Pavilion 9850 is still working like new.