Compaq Unveils Evo Product Line
DeskPro, Prosignia, Armadas give way to new line of notebooks and systems under a single family name.Tom Mainelli, PCWorld.com
Compaq is today introducing the first members of an entire line of business products, from notebooks to workstations, with extra attention to wireless capabilities.
The new Evo family (short for "evolution") includes industrial-style notebooks, desktops, workstations, and thin clients. Compaq is taking orders for the first batch of Evo-branded products, and will begin shipping them in June. Evo products replace the company's soon-to-be defunct DeskPro and Prosignia desktop PCs, Armada notebooks, Aero appliances, and Professional workstations.
Even the IPaq-branded desktop is being subsumed into the Evo line, which draws its industrial-looking designs from the IPaq desktop. But now the IPaq name applies only to PDAs and other appliance products, says Lynn Cranford, the company's vice president of access brand management.
Among the handful of initial Evo products, notable is the Evo Notebook N400c. The unit supports Compaq's integrated MultiPort, which lets users connected wirelessly via swappable 802.11b and Bluetooth modules that snap flat onto the display's cover.
MultiPort Arrives
Along with preparing a new brand, Compaq is busy developing easy-to-use wireless support for its notebooks. After demonstrating its MultiPort technology last year at Comdex, the Evo launch lets the company show off the technology's chops.
Based on USB, MultiPort integrates a radio and antennae into a single assembly that slides into a mechanism that sits flush with the notebook's cover. An initial implementation is in the Evo N400c, a 3.5-pound notebook with an optional local area network MultiPort module that uses 802.11b technology. An included personal area network module works with Bluetooth, and Compaq is developing a series of high-speed wide area network modules due early next year.
The N400c, priced at $2299, has a low-voltage 700-MHz Mobile Pentium III processor, 128MB of memory, a 20GB hard drive, and a mobile expansion unit that supports CD, DVD, or CD-RW. It has a full-size keyboard and a 12.1-inch display, but is less than an inch thick.
Tests of a preproduction version of the N400c find the product scores well for a notebook with a 700-MHz PIII, earning a 154 on PC WorldBench 2000. Its biggest drawback is that you need to buy one of the pricey ($370 to $570) mobile expansion units to add an optical drive.
While the N400c is likely to draw the most attention, Compaq is also unveiling several other Evo products. The Evo Notebook N150 is a basic notebook with prices that start at $1449. The Evo Workstation W6000 starts at $1857, and Evo Workstation W8000 starts at $2477. The first of the thin clients, the Compaq Evo Thin Client T20, is priced starting at $399.
Compaq expects to ship its first Evo-branded desktop before the end of this year.
What's in a Brand?
Compaq has been working on the new Evo brand for more than a year, says Compaq's Cranford. After testing hundreds of possible names, she says Evo won because the name appeals to buyers who want evolutionary products, not revolutionary ones.
Home and small-business PC buyers want rapid refreshes of the latest technology, which they can find in Compaq's continuing Presario line, she says. But corporate buyers--who sometimes buy hundreds or even thousands of units at a time--want sturdier technologies they know are going to stick around.
Evo offers those stable product lines and long life cycles, but infuses them with new industrial carbon and black designs that look and work better than the beige ones, she says. And by combining all of the corporate brands under one name, it helps eliminate confusion on the part of buyers.
"It makes it easier for the customers to keep up with us," she says.
The move to Evo is a good one, but not an entirely painless one, she notes. Ending the DeskPro product line wasn't easy for long-time Compaq employees. The brand has been around since 1984, and was the longest-standing PC subbrand out there, she says.
Compaq Asserts Itself
Compaq is on the right track with its new branding strategy, says Anne Bui, senior analyst with IDC. The company's too-numerous brand names made it tough on buyers. "It's a smart move considering consumer confusion," she says.
Creating a strong brand is becoming even more important in the rapidly evolving PC market, Bui says. With major vendors looking at outsourcing their production, PCs begin to look more alike. The current price war means no vendor can sell wares for considerably less than the others. So in the end, a company differentiates itself by its brand, she says.
A successful brand takes a clear message and product vision, she says. Compaq has put a lot of work and thought into the Evo launch, which could bode well for the line.
Compaq's re-branding strategy is bold, but the company certainly isn't the first to do something like this, Bui notes. IBM has been re-branding its entire PC line as NetVista for some time. However, since IBM has pulled out of retail it is hard to tell how well that new brand is doing, she adds.
Anush Yegyazarian contributed to this report.