HP, the next Apple?

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"Radically simple, better together" is the new company motto at HP, according to this article at CNET:

Hewlett-Packard is adopting a new design philosophy, aiming to make its products easier to operate than rival offerings and so effective when used together that customers stay with the HP family when buying various devices.

With all the pun intended, HP is turning into... Apple! The entire article is an apology of what makes the Apple platform and brand unique: simplicity, consistent product line design, integration and interaction, added value. It is also clear on one fact that is constantly -- but unfairly IMHO -- reproached to Apple:

One danger in HP's new strategy is that the effort to make products interact better could increase the cost of manufacturing the devices.

After the buyout of Compaq, this confirms the intention of the PC manufacturer to use its two brands in separate lines. HP will sell its new consumer PC top line under its own name, and the low-end as well as business lines under the Compaq brand. Still with maximum pun and simplification, HP is going after IBM and Apple while Compaq is going after Dell.

Some clarification is still expected on the server business, where it is interesting to see, from the company web site, how the brand differences are slowly and quietly removed in favor of HP. For example, the server pages are riddled with URLs pointing to the former Compaq site, which redirect you back to an HP site where the name Compaq has dissappeared. Er, the footer still reads "1.800.AT.COMPAQ"! Well, global search & replace does not work well with legacy technologies.