HP Pushes into the Living Room

[Gregg Lengling]

Hewlett-Packard Co. is preparing to expand its presence in the living room this year with its first HDTV media hub and 17 new high-definition televisions and home projectors, the company's top executive said here on Friday.


Speaking at a keynote during the International Consumer Electronics Show, HP CEO Carly Fiorina said the HDTV media hub is built on the company's own technology and would be released in the fall. A company spokesperson also confirmed that the hub is based on the Linux (news - web sites) operating system.


The HDTV media hub combines HDTV capabilities with a digital cable set-top box and a dual-tuner digital video recorder, she said. It also includes a DVD recorder that can label burned DVDs.


Fiorina demonstrated the upcoming hub along with an HP product manager, showing how consumers could navigate and play a range of digital content and create their own photo slideshow paired with music.


HP already sells its Digital Entertainment Center that is aimed more at PC enthusiasts.


"Some [consumers] don't want PC functionality in the living room but want personalized entertainment," she said about the HDTV hub.


The HDTV hub also will come with three HP-created services: an electronic programming guide; a music information service with song titles and artist information; and a service to feed the hub HP updates.


As for the 17 planned TVs and projectors, they will include a rear-projection and a front-projection model to be ready in the fall, Fiorina said. She didn't offer other details about the upcoming TV and projectors.


Last year, Fiorina used her CES appearance to unveil an LCD and a plasma TV, both of which shipped in 2004.


Fiorina peppered her keynote this year with celebrity guests. Singer Gwen Stefani of No Doubt joined Fiorina on stage to show an upcoming digital camera that was designed by the artist. The phone is slated to be available in time for "graduation season," Fiorina said, which presumably would mean late spring.


Though she previewed new products, Fiorina emphasized that the devices and services themselves are only part of the picture. Consumer technology is allowing a more fundamental change for users.


"The real story here is not just new products, but the millions of experiences that they make possible and the countless stories they let people like you tell," she said.