HP slashes Unix workstation prices

Sixteen months after restructuring its manufacturing and business operations, Hewlett-Packard Co. today slashed prices by up to 37 percent on its Unix-based technical workstations.

HP made the biggest price cuts on an HP J-Class workstation, Model J2240, which dropped from a list price of $55,900 to $35,500. The workstation comes with HP's Visualize EG 2-D graphics subsystem and runs on dual PA-RISC processors. HP also cut pricing on two 3-D C-Class workstations—- including a 29 percent cut on Model C200 and 25 percent on Model C240—- and on three B-class models.

"This move is a significant re-pricing, to the point where we are really repositioning [the product line] for a volume marketplace as opposed to a boutique" for high-end systems, said Larry Anderson, a marketing manager with HP's Workstation Systems Division.

Similar price cuts will show up on HP's General Services Administration schedule and various contracts, according to HP. The companies major vehicles include the Navy Tactical Advanced Computer-Joint Workstation blanket purchase agreement and NASA's Scientific and Engineering Workstation Procurement II.

The price cuts reflect HP's consolidation of its workstation manufacturing facilities and a realignment of its sales operations, which have lowered production costs, Anderson said.