HP launches new consumer PCs to the local market

By Cheranka Mendis

A household brand in the local PC market, Hewlett-Packard (HP) on Tuesday launched a new range of consumer notebooks in the PC portfolio introducing the company’s latest innovation to Sri Lanka.

The new range which includes HP Pavilion G-Series notebook PCs and HP Pavilion dv Series (dv4, dv6- IMR and Metal and dv7) will strengthen the brand’s number one position further while bringing world technologies to local consumers.

Market Development Manager Prasanna Pusparajah speaking at the unveiling of the new models stated that HP understood the importance of notebook in a consumer’s life. “We recognise that your notebook is your life. The new series of notebooks will therefore not only provide the necessary software for your work but will come in a range of unique colours to fit your personality,” Pusparajah said.

“It will not be just another machine but a lifestyle application and an accessory to enhance the personality of the user,” he added.

The new notebooks, which bring together design with cutting edge technology, hold a number of new and improved features, which the local HP office acknowledges as successful sale drivers.

HP Pavilion G series is available in two colours – Sonoma red and charcoal grey – and has Altec Lansing speakers, SRS premium sound audio and supports multi-touch gestures with TouchPad. HP Pavilion dv series comes in a variety of features with dv4 and dv6 (IMR) models coming in lattice imprint and espresso black with Dolby homes theatre and Altec Lansing speakers, SuperSpeed USB 3.0, HP CoolSense technology, GDDR5 Video memory and HP True vision HD web camera.

The dv6 Metal and dv7 has the same features with an additional ‘beats audio’ feature which enables listening to studio quality music.

Pusparajah stated that the ‘beats technology’ has been produced with the help of the international rap artist Dr. Dre. Moreover, the key features along with the beats technology in the new series is the ‘cool sense technology’ where the notebooks have been reengineered for comfort with the use of smart material to disseminate the optimal heat to create a cooling technology.

Identified as ‘simple pass technology’ the new notebooks have security and convince right across its system with a finger scan password enabling high security to its content. He stated that most of these features were available in HP’s corporate notebooks before but in recognising the high use of notebooks from the non-corporate sector, these features had been added to the new consumer range as well.

Country Business Manager for HP Sri Lanka Lacksmindra Fernando expressed that the IT industry was now known to be the fastest evolving industry next to women’s fashion. With the change in consumer’s behavioural patterns, adoption and consumer needs, technologies must be up to date to attract the attention of the global clientele. He stated that innovation and research and development therefore play a vital role in the success of the HP globally and locally.

In the local context Fernando said that HP was working closely with the Government in its IT literacy improvement programme. “We are working with the Government to improve IT literacy and PC penetration rate or internet penetration in the country. Sri Lanka is still at its infancy rate – as a result the opportunity to grow is larger,” he asserted.

Fernando also noted that there had been tremendous improvement in the local IT penetration over the past two to three years. “IT can be used as an education tool and an entertainment tool. We are committed to take this knowledge to all corners of the island.”

Pic by Upul Abayasekara