H-P Powers Up Its Linux Notebook

After taking the wraps off a Linux-based desktop computer this spring, Hewlett-Packard(HPQ Quote) became the first big computer maker to debut a notebook computer with open-source software preinstalled. The Palo Alto, Calif.-based outfit rolled out the offering Tuesday at the LinuxWorld conference in San Francisco.

The announcement shows how far PC makers will go to score business in a hyper-competitive market. Even H-P acknowledges that Linux remains a mere blip in the PC software arena, accounting for an estimated 3% of the desktop market and until now, none of the notebook market.

"PC manufacturers are somewhat desperate for any opportunity to hook another piece of the market," said Meta Group Vice President Steve Kleynhans, who called H-P's offering "somewhat of a trial balloon."

Linux notebooks are "not something the corporate customer is clamoring for. But it doesn't cost much for H-P to set up and do," he said, noting the laptops rely on third-party software. The notebooks come loaded with Novell's(NOVL Quote) SUSE Linux operating system and the OpenOffice productivity suite with word processor and spreadsheet functions.

Priced at $1,140, the laptops will be marketed to on-the-go business travelers as well as small and medium businesses that don't have a legacy installed base of Microsoft(MSFT Quote) products. Jeffrey Wade, H-P's Linux marketing communications manager, said they'll be about $300 less expensive than notebooks preinstalled with Windows XP and Microsoft Office.

But industry analysts questioned whether the price advantage on a Linux notebook will be sufficient to attract many buyers, especially since corporate buyers are bound to be hypersensitive about any new software being interoperable with the existing Microsoft infrastructure. Corporations are wary about making changes in their operating systems because they need to ensure that even decades-old files can be accessed. "Price is a motivator in some cases, but it's trumped by utility," said Roger Kay, IDC's director of client computing, who called Linux-based notebooks an "an odd juxtaposition."