press release

HP Delivers Affordable, Reliable Microtower PC to Small- and Medium-sized Businesses

HP (NYSE:HPQ) today introduced an affordable, high-quality desktop PC for small- and medium-sized business (SMB) customers: the HP Compaq Business Desktop d220 Microtower.

The microtower desktop features Intel® Pentium® 4 or Celeron® processors and offers three PCI expansion slots, two double data rate (DDR) memory slots and five drive bays in a compact microtower platform, allowing for expansion or future upgrades.

"Our SMB customers are looking to maximize their IT investment, and the combination of low purchase price and consistent, reliable performance in the HP Compaq d220 provides value-seeking businesses a solid platform choice," said Keith LeFebvre, vice president of business desktop division, Americas, HP Personal Systems Group.

The HP Compaq Business Desktop d220 is designed to keep IT simple, with the choice of customizable or pre-configured solutions optimized for affordability and quality. Customized solutions, available beginning July 7, start at an estimated U.S. street price of $349⁽¹⁾ with an Intel Celeron 2.0-gigahertz processor, 40-gigabyte hard drive and 128-megabyte DDR SDRAM. Customers also can opt for an Intel Pentium 4 2.4-gigahertz processor, 40-gigabyte hard drive and 128-megabyte DDR SDRAM for as low as an estimated U.S. street price of $499.⁽¹⁾

For customers interested in pre-configured solutions with an Intel Celeron 2.0-gigahertz processor, pricing starts at an estimated $429.⁽¹⁾ Or, for customers requiring additional processing power, the HP Compaq d220 is available pre-configured with a 2.4-gigahertz Intel Pentium 4 processor, 40-gigabyte hard drive, 512-megabyte DDR SDRAM, integrated Intel Extreme Graphics, DVD+RW/CD-RW combo drive, six USB 2.0 ports and Microsoft Windows® XP Professional - priced at an estimated U.S. street price of only $799.⁽¹⁾

HP Compaq desktops are available with the latest operating systems from the industry leader, Microsoft, as well as a robust Linux offering from Mandrake. The HP Compaq d220 offers a choice of Microsoft Windows XP Professional, Microsoft Windows XP Home or Mandrake's Linux v9.1, providing customers with the versatility needed for today's mixed-use environments.

The HP Compaq Business Desktop d220 Microtower is now available directly from HP or through authorized resellers. More information about the product is available at http://www.hp.com/products/desktops.

About HP

HP delivers vital technology for business and life. The company's solutions span IT infrastructure, personal computing and access devices, global services and imaging and printing for consumers, enterprises and small and medium business. For the last four quarters, HP revenue totaled $70.4 billion. More information about HP is available at http://www.hp.com.

⁽¹⁾ Actual prices may vary.

Intel, Pentium and Celeron are U.S. registered trademarks of Intel Corp. Microsoft and Windows are U.S. registered trademarks of Microsoft Corp.

This news release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions. All statements other than statements of historical fact are statements that could be deemed forward-looking statements. Risks, uncertainties and assumptions include the possibility that the market for the sale of certain products and services may not develop as expected; that development and performance of these products and services may not proceed as planned; and other risks that are described from time to time in HP's Securities and Exchange Commission reports, including but not limited to HP's quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended January 31, 2003, and subsequently filed reports. If any of these risks or uncertainties materializes or any of these assumptions proves incorrect, HP's results could differ materially from HP's expectations in these statements. HP assumes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements.