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In an effort to streamline its product portfolio, Compaq is dropping its well-known Armada and Deskpro product lines and several other brands. The company will unveil next week a new name for its family of business products.

The newly named products will be colored black and silver, instead of the existing sand color. All existing business product lines will be rebranded within 12 months, Compaq representatives said at a news conference in Amsterdam Wednesday.

Compaq plans to sell its IPaq desktop, Professional Workstation, and thin client devices under the new brand.

Simplification or Counterstrike?

The step could be interpreted as Compaq's answer to increasing competition from Dell, which dethroned Compaq as the world's largest PC maker in the first quarter of this year. However, Compaq says this rebranding has been in the works for nine months and is not about competition.

"This rebranding is not a competitive measure, it is the logical evolution of the 12-year-old Deskpro brand. We want to make clear to the customer what our products for the business market are," says Erik van der Meijden, managing director of Compaq Computer BV, Compaq's Dutch business unit.

One analyst agrees, saying there "was a need for brand simplification" at Compaq.

"This is not a snap move in reaction to changing market conditions. This is a strategic move to reposition the company's client product line offering," says Brian Gammage, a principal analyst with Dataquest.

"Compaq is preparing for the future, and this change reflects where they were, multiple groups focused less on the customer," Gammage adds.

New Notebooks, Workstations Due

The first products coming out under the new brand are two notebooks and two workstations. The notebooks replace today's entry-level Armada 100 and the ultraportable Armada M300 portable PCs. The workstations replace the Professional Workstation AP550 and Professional Workstation SP750.

Compaq recently introduced new Armada units as well as growing its Presario line, and continues to develop its IPaq line, which includes Pocket PCs and Internet appliances.

Not all brands are disappearing, Compaq representatives hasten to add.

"The Presario brand will continue to exist for the consumer market, and IPaq will stay for new and innovative products," says Hans de Jong, director of Compaq's Access Business Group in the Netherlands.

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