Digital HiNote notebooks strike new chord with all-pentium lineup

Abstract

Digital Equipment Corporation (NYSE: DEC) today announced a complete new Digital HiNote line -- an all-Pentium family of aggressively priced, high-performance notebook computers. The HiNote family's full lineup includes several network-ready features and Intel's recently announced 100- and 133-megahertz (MHz) Pentium mobile microprocessors. Digital also introduced the first fully integrated Windows NT notebook configurations within the new HiNote line. Reflecting Digital's commitment to the needs of all-sized businesses, the HiNote family is targeted at customers from the small office business user to sophisticated, large business mobile professionals. Models range from the HiNote Ultra II -- high-end ultraportables that deliver advanced features, performance and maximum portability with the industry's thinnest, lightest notebook design --and the new HiNote VP, a modular line of entry-level notebooks that deliver optimum price/performance with high-end features and value prices starting at around U.S. $2,000 (estimated street price). (excerpt)

Digital Equipment Corporation (NYSE: DEC) today announced a complete new Digital HiNote line -- an all-Pentium family of aggressively priced, high-performance notebook computers. The HiNote family's full lineup includes several network-ready features and Intel's recently announced 100- and 133-megahertz (MHz) Pentium mobile microprocessors. Digital also introduced the first fully integrated Windows NT notebook configurations within the new HiNote line.

Reflecting Digital's commitment to the needs of all-sized businesses, the HiNote family is targeted at customers from the small office business user to sophisticated, large business mobile professionals. Models range from the HiNote Ultra II -- high-end ultraportables that deliver advanced features, performance and maximum portability with the industry's thinnest, lightest notebook design --and the new HiNote VP, a modular line of entry-level notebooks that deliver optimum price/performance with high-end features and value prices starting at around U.S. $2,000 (estimated street price).

"Our new HiNote family delivers a range of high-performance solutions suited for the small office environment to more sophisticated corporate applications -- at a spectrum of competitive price points," said Bruce Claflin, vice president and general manager of Digital's Personal Computer Business Unit. "And with Windows NT becoming ever more popular, customers who want there liability, security and performance of Windows NT now have the most cost-effective, easy to configure and use, portable NT platform in the world."

Addressing the Needs of Businesses Large and Small

Building on the best-in-class feature set of the original HiNote notebooks, the all-new HiNote family provides even greater capabilities such as faster Pentium processors, increased hard disk storage, larger displays, enhanced video and improved expandability -- at very competitive prices.

"We swept the industry into a new era of portability last year with the innovative, thin and lightweight designs of the original HiNote family," said Howard Elias, vice president of desktop and mobile products in Digital's Personal Computer Business Unit. "Customers told us they loved thin and light, but they wanted more performance, greater expandability and enhanced connectivity. The new HiNote family is yet another proof point of our commitment to addressing customer needs head-on, leveraging our internal design and engineering expertise to continue delivering the best-in-class features and ease of portability for which Digital is known."

Leading Network Connectivity

Because mobile professionals require tools that ensure their time is spent being productive, not struggling with technology, Digital is extending its networking expertise to the HiNote family by providing easy-to-use connectivity features. The new HiNote notebooks are Digital's first mobile products to include Digital ClientWORKS software as a standard feature, a powerful combination of pre-loaded client management and networking utilities that help network administrators get the most out of their networking environments.

Mobile computers present specific challenges within an enterprise network as they can be difficult to track and troubleshoot remotely and are subject to increased security issues. Combined with the HiNote family's built-in DMI (Desktop Management Interface) support, the industry standard for managing client PCs, Digital ClientWORKS is designed to make it simpler for network managers to deploy HiNote systems both remotely and on the corporate network. These features enable network administrators to more quickly and efficiently manage client assets and the use of support resources, increase end-user satisfaction and ultimately realize significant savings in the company's overall cost of PC ownership.

Both the HiNote Ultra II and HiNote VP feature a port replicator with an optional Ethernet interface to facilitate instant network connection. The optional port replicators allow for quick and easy connectivity to office-related peripherals and accessories, making the HiNote family ideal mobile solutions for networked environments. Windows NT Goes Mobile with HiNote Family

As Windows NT establishes itself as the fastest growing networking operating system, Digital is further strengthening its Windows NT leadership position and responding to customer desires by making the entire HiNote family fully Windows NT-certified. In addition, today's announcement includes an unprecedented bundle of this high-performance operating system on special models in the HiNote Ultra II product line. The HiNote Ultra II with Windows NT is pre-loaded and pre-configured to run straight from the box, saving customers the time and manpower typically necessary to install and configure Windows NT-based mobile systems and options -- significantly reducing the cost of implementing mobile solutions within a Windows NT environment.

All other models in Digital's new HiNote family come pre-loaded with Windows 95, a popular operating system for mobile professionals, which supports intuitive recognition of the most commonly used PC Card options and includes advanced power management features that contribute toward increased battery life. Windows for Workgroups 3.11 is also supported on the new HiNote family and is available upon request.

Still a Hands-On Favorite

Assessing Digital's new HiNote family, Tim Bajarin, president of Creative Strategies, a high-tech market research and business consulting firm based in San Jose, California said, "These new portables are well-designed and deliver capabilities and features that mobile customers require."

Bajarin continued, "The way Digital has integrated an easy user interface with pre-loaded network management software and expansion options that include built-in network connectivity makes the HiNote family a very attractive and competitive mobile solution. And, with fully integrated mobile Windows NT solutions, and the fact that Windows NT is the fastest growing network OS in the Fortune 500 community, this new family will have dramatic impact on the industry."

HiNote Ultra II: The Industry's Thinnest Notebook Gets Thinner

The Digital HiNote Ultra II maintains Digital's notebook leadership in lightweight, elegant design, providing mobile professionals with the thinnest and lightest full-function Pentium notebook on the market. The ultra-thin, 1.1-inch height of the new system is 10 percent thinner than the original HiNote Ultra product line, and still weighs less than four pounds. The HiNote Ultra II ships with either a 100, 120 or 133MHz Intel Pentium processor and includes external cache memory and accelerated graphics to provide increased system performance. All models, except for an entry-level version, feature a 10.4-inch Super Video Graphics Array (SVGA) active-matrix color display.

The expandable design of the HiNote Ultra II supports up to 40 megabytes (MB) of system memory and includes a removable hard disk drive that ranges from 810MB to 1.35 gigabytes (GB) of storage. The new system maintains compatibility with existing HiNote Ultra expansion options, including the popular Mobile Media Module that transforms the HiNote Ultra into the most highly portable multimedia notebook on the market.

When attached beneath the HiNote Ultra II, the sleek Mobile Media Module adds less than one inch in height and merely two pounds of weight to the compact four-pound computer -- creating a fully integrated, six-pound Pentium multimedia notebook with three-speaker stereo sound and a quad-speed CD-ROM drive, significantly smaller than many non-multimedia notebooks on the market.

HiNote VP: A Leading Value in Price/Performance

Digital's all-new line of entry-level notebooks, the Digital HiNote VP, provides mobile users with industry-leading performance at aggressive prices. These high-performing notebooks ship with an Intel Pentium processor running at 75 or 100MHz, complemented by a PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) bus and EDO (Extended Data Out) memory for speedy system performance. All HiNote VP models feature a 10.4-inch SVGA color display and accelerated graphics, with models incorporating dual-scan or active-matrix video display technologies to meet a range of price/performance requirements.

The expandable design of the HiNote VP accommodates up to 40MB of system memory and includes a modular diskette drive for support of system accessories such as an optional second battery or a car adapter, or insertion of the standard AC adapter included with each system. As storage needs evolve, an upgradeable 1.08GB hard drive option gives customers the flexibility to expand their storage capacity.

Pricing and Availability

Suggested list prices range from U.S. $3,199 to $4,699 for the HiNote Ultra II and $4,999 to $5,999 for the HiNote Ultra II with Windows NT. Estimated street prices for the HiNote VP range from around $2,000 to $3,000. The HiNote family is available immediately worldwide through Digital's channel partners, including authorized resellers and select retail outlets. The HiNote Ultra II has begun shipping in limited quantities, with volume availability next quarter. Windows NT models are available on a special-order basis through Digital and its partners.

Digital Equipment Corporation is the world's leader in open client/server solutions from personal computers to integrated worldwide information systems. Digital's Intel and Alpha platforms, storage, networking, software and services, together with industry-focused solutions from business partners, help organizations compete and win in today's global marketplace.

NOTE: Digital, the Digital logo, HiNote and HiNote Ultra are trademarks of Digital Equipment Corporation. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owner.

Please visit the Digital PC World Wide Web page at http://www.pc.digital.com.

DIGITAL EQUIPMENT CORPORATION

PRODUCT FACT SHEET

OVERVIEW

HiNote Family Pricing and Configurations

HiNote Ultra II:

Preinstalled software: Windows 95, Digital ClientWORKS, Traveling Software IR, Dow Jones Personal Journal, Microsoft Internet Explorer, America Online, CompuServe, Starfish Sidekick OAG Flight Disk, Second Nature Screen Savers, ThunderByte AntiVirus, Adobe Acrobat Reader, SkyTel 1 & 2 Way Paging, Getting Started & Online Help Utilities.

HiNote Ultra II CTE5100:

Pentium 100MHz, 10.4" VGA TFT, 810MB HDD, RAM: 8/40MB, 16-bit sound, Infrared, Detachable 1.44MB FDD, Std/Max PC Card: 1/2 Type I/II or 1/2 Type III.

Price: US $3,099 (estimated street price)

HiNote Ultra II CTS5100:

Pentium 100MHz, 10.4" SVGA TFT, 1.08GB HDD, RAM: 8/40MB, 16-bit sound, Infrared, Detachable 1.44MB FDD, Std/Max PC Card: 1/2 Type I/ II or 1/2 Type III.

Price: US $3,999 (suggested list price)

HiNote Ultra II CTS5120:

Pentium 120MHz, 10.4" SVGA TFT, 1.08GB HDD, RAM: 8/40MB, 16-bit sound, Infrared, Detachable 1.44MB FDD, Std/Max PC Card: 1/2 Type I/ II or 1/2 Type III.

Price: US $4,299 (suggested list price)

HiNote Ultra II CTS5133:

Pentium 133MHz, 10.4" SVGA TFT, 1.35GB HDD, RAM: 8/40MB, 16-bit sound, Infrared, Detachable 1.44MB FDD, Std/Max PC Card: 1/2 Type I/ II or 1/2 Type III.

Price: US $4,699 (suggested list price)

HiNote Ultra II with Windows NT:

Preinstalled software: Windows NT Workstation 3.51, Digital ClientWORKS.

HiNote Ultra II with Windows NT CTS5100NT:

Pentium 100MHz, 10.4" SVGA TFT, 1.08GB HDD, RAM: 24/40MB, 16-bit sound, Infrared, Detachable 1.44MB FDD, Std/Max PC Card: 1/2 Type I/II or 1/2 Type III.

Price: US $4,999 (suggested list price)

HiNote Ultra II with Windows NT CTS5120NT:

Pentium 120MHz, 10.4" SVGA TFT, 1.08GB HDD, RAM: 24/40MB, 16-bit sound, Infrared, Detachable 1.44MB FDD, Std/Max PC Card: 1/2 Type I/II or 1/2 Type III.

Price: US $5,499 (suggested list price)

HiNote Ultra II CTS5133NT:

Pentium 133MHz, 10.4" SVGA TFT, 1.35GB HDD, RAM: 24/40MB, 16-bit sound, Infrared, Detachable 1.44MB FDD, Std/Max PC Card: 1/2 Type I/II or 1/2 Type III.

Price: US $5,999 (suggested list price)

HiNote VP:

Preinstalled software: Windows 95, Digital ClientWORKS, LapLink 7, ThunderByte AntiVirus, OAG Flight Disk, Dow Jones Personal Journal, Microsoft Internet Explorer, CompuServe, America Online, Skytel 1 & 2 Way Paging, Second Nature Screen Savers, Adobe Acrobat Reader, Getting Started & Online Help Utilities.

HiNote VP CSS575:

Pentium 75MHz, PCI, 10.4" SVGA DSTN, 8/40MB EDO RAM, 540MB HDD, 1.44MB FDD, PC Card: 2 Type I/II or 1 Type III.

Price: US $2,000 (estimated street price)

HiNote VP CSS5100:

Pentium 100MHz, PCI, 10.4" SVGA DSTN, 8/40MB EDO RAM, 810MB HDD, 1.44MB FDD, PC Card: 2 Type I/II or 1 Type III.

Price: US $2,500 (estimated street price)

HiNote VP CTS5100:

Pentium/100MHz w/ PCI, 10.4" SVGA TFT, 8/40MB EDO RAM, 810MB HDD, 1.44MB FDD, PC Card: 2 Type I/II or 1 Type III, 16-bit Stereo Sound, Infrared Link,

Price: US $3,000 (estimated street price)