Hewlett-Packard Co. unveiled the first of its "Freestyle" enabled PCs, now officially known as the Windows XP Media Center Edition.
While "Freestyle" represents Microsoft's latest attempts to fuse creativity with computing?Microsoft executives called this "life immersion"at its WinHEC conference in March?the PC also represents a chance for HP to bundle in some higher-margin components. Prices will range from between $1,500 to $2,000, the upper echelons of PC pricing.
Reportedly, the PCs will offer some copy-protection capabilities, including "locking" a TV program to a particular PC.
"We think that anybody who's a home consumer in the market should have one," an HP spokeswoman said. "While this won't replace the entertainment center in the living room?for someone who has a PC and an entertainment center in the same room, this is perfect."
The Windows XP Media Center Edition is not being sold in retail as a software product, allowing HP and other manufacturers an advantage over do-it-yourselfers. HP claims it will be the only manufacturer offering a Freestyle-enabled PC this holiday season.
HP cast the new minitower in a sleek black-and-chrome motif, with more of an industrial look than the company's Pavilion consumer PCs. The chassis features a IEEE 1394/Firewire and USB 2.0 port in front, and additional FireWire and USB ports in the rear of the chassis. The Media Center PC will also feature S-Video hookups, allowing users to treat the PC as a personal video recorder (PVR) with the included TV tuner. The PCs will be configurable with powerful Pentium 4 processors over 2 gigahertz, Nvidia GeForce4 graphics, Klipsch speakers, an HP DVD Writer, and photo and home movie creation and editing software.
Finally, HP's Media Center PC will contain a 6-in-1 small-form-factor card reader, allowing users of CompactFlash and other flash-card-enabled devices to quickly upload their content without draining their batteries.
Microsoft's Media Center software will be the showcase of the PC, promising to allow users easy access to multimedia content without negotiating menu after menu. As Microsoft promised at WinHEC, HP will include a Microsoft-codesigned remote control to allow users to access content from up to 26 feet away, the HP spokeswoman said.
Last edited by ecperez at Today at 1:11 pm