ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, November 15, 1996 TAG: 9611150046
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: A-11 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: NEW YORK
SOURCE: Associated Press
MEANWHILE, the company is introducing a top-end notebook, among other goodies.
Compaq Computer Corp. on Thursday cut prices 6 percent to 21 percent on many of its popular personal computers and notebooks, intensifying a holiday-season price rumble.
The price cuts by the nation's largest maker of PCs came after similar reductions by Toshiba, Hewlett-Packard and Apple Computer in time for the busy holiday shopping period, when sales heat up.
While computer companies routinely cut prices during the year, ``the lower-priced computers are a lot more aggressive sellers during Christmas time,'' said Wendy Abramowitz, an industry analyst at Argus Research.
Compaq, based in Houston, also dropped prices up to 29 percent on certain modems for notebook computers.
Compaq's Presario personal and home-office computers, originally priced from $1,499 to $3,499, will now cost $1,399 to $3,199. Compaq's top-priced Presario, which sells for $3,799, wasn't reduced. Prices do not include monitors, which typically cost upwards of $300.
Compaq also slashed prices by up to 18 percent on most of its LTE 5000 notebooks and by up to 21 percent on its Armada 1100 notebooks, which are sold mainly to businesses. The price of the reduced notebooks now range from $1,499 to $4,399.
The cuts take effect immediately.
Compaq slashed prices as it unveiled several new products, a two-pronged tactic typical of companies seeking to keep older technology moving off retailers' shelves. Among the new items, the company introduced a top-end notebook with a 150-megahertz microprocessor for $5,599.
Two weeks ago, Apple Computer Inc. announced cuts of up to 30 percent for most of its Power Macintosh computers, in addition to earlier reductions in its Performa models. This month, Toshiba Corp., the biggest maker of notebooks, cut prices of the portables by up to 19 percent and Hewlett-Packard Co. slashed prices by up to 21 percent.
Compaq's history of aggressive price cutting helped lift it to become the top U.S. PC maker two years ago, but Japan-based Toshiba has grown faster in notebook computers.
LENGTH: Short : 49 linesby CNB