HP Aims New Notebook at Small Businesses

Hewlett-Packard today launched a notebook PC designed to tap into the fast-growing small and medium business market.

The HP Compaq nx6325 comes with a choice of Advanced Micro Devices processors: the dual-core Turion 64 X2 processor or the single-core Sempron. Its predecessor, the 6125, was available only with the Sempron.

The small and medium business (SMB) sector is growing 20 percent faster than the general business market, so HP continues to pour resources into its efforts to win customers there, said Carol Hess-Nickels, director of commercial notebook marketing.

HP, in Palo Alto, California, will have to be creative to succeed in the venture, since other PC vendors are chasing the same users. HP's biggest rivals include Dell in the U.S, Acer in Europe, and Lenovo Group in Asia.

Optional Features

In a nod to that crowded market, HP packed the new notebook with features such as an optional 11-hour battery and a 7-in-1 media card reader.

Customers can also buy a docking station that has its own 160GB hard drive. By hosting its own storage, this 3-in-1 NAS (network-attached storage) Docking Station can back up the data on the notebook, run an optical drive and eight USB ports, and act as a shared network drive.

The docking station is compatible with all of HP's notebooks except the ultralight PCs, Hess-Nickels said.

Both products will be available by July, with the HP Compaq nx6325 selling for $1049 and the 3-in-1 NAS Docking Station for $399.