Inside H-P's Idea Incubator

The group also operates separately from the general R&D projects undertaken by each of H-P's main business units -- including the PC division -- to improve and update their core products.

The mission of the innovation office, by contrast, is to devise ways to extend the reach of H-P's PC business into new markets. That could mean a different industrial design to sell a PC in foreign country. Or a fundamentally different version of a PC, like a so called thin client that might make the machines better suited to businesses that don't typically have PCs.

Roger Kay, president of market research firm Endpoint Technologies Associates, says focusing on adjacent markets makes business sense, particularly as the widespread adoption of PCs in developed countries makes it tougher for companies to significantly grow sales every year.

"Things begin to slow down and companies need to look around for new ways to extend the markets," says Kay.

Of course, H-P isn't the only company looking to spark PC sales by chasing a broader set of customers.

Dell(DELL Quote) recently unveiled a low-cost desktop PC specially designed for first-time buyers in China. The product was developed by the company's engineers in Shanghai, according to news reports. And Taiwanese notebook vendor Acer sees opportunity in the U.S. PC market, where the company has signaled it intends to enter the market by means of an acquisition.