Bold New 'Evo' Corporate Product Line-Up

23 May 2001

Compaq Ignites Its Access Business With Bold New 'Evo' Corporate Product Line-Up

Compaq Outpaces Competition with Innovative Wireless Offerings, Aggressive Intro Pricing and Compelling Future Concepts

AUCKLAND, May 23, 2001 - Delivering on its promise to help customers evolve from computing to communicating, Compaq Computer New Zealand today announced Evo(tm) -- a new family of access solutions that raises the standard in simplicity, innovation and value for business customers. The company will premier several of the new Evo models at the 'Hot Off the Wire' national roadshow taking place next week. This will showcase the Evo N400c ultra-light notebook whose modular MultiPort solution offers a choice of both wired and wireless networking, and allows a user to switch between Bluetooth(tm) and 802.11b for wireless connectivity.

Today's announcement is the first of several the company will make over the next weeks to extend its leadership in the access market, which comprises conventional PCs, Internet access products and technologies, entertainment devices and personal wireless mobility solutions. Compaq's access business realised $20 billion in revenue in 2000, and the company continues to drive its access market strategy with groundbreaking technologies such as the flexible wireless offering and in developing new product fields such as the handheld and microportable projector categories.

The 'Hot Off the Wire' roadshow will provide a behind-the-scenes look into Compaq's design lab with the unveiling of conceptual models from its "visioneering" team whose most recent hit, the iPAQ Pocket PC, is among the company's most popular products ever. On display will be futuristic hybrid desktop/portable devices called "Dual Worlds" and Tablet PC models, which have been developed in close collaboration with Compaq customers, along with a preview of possible future generations of access devices and a showcase of the design, flexibility and innovation introduced with the Evo family.

Created for business customers with demanding networked environments, the new Compaq line-up includes Evo notebook solutions, Evo thin client offerings and Evo workstation class products -- introduced world-wide -- along with Evo desktops that will roll out during the fourth quarter of this year. The single sub-brand, a streamlined set of product models, global availability, and manageability tools make the Evo offerings simple to purchase, deploy and manage. Industry-leading innovation and flexibility across the product family enable each customer to evolve the enterprise at his or her own pace. Compaq's current commercial PC products, including Armada, Deskpro, iPAQ Desktop, Professional Workstation and Thin Client lines will be gradually retired over the next 12 months to ensure customers a smooth transition to the new line-up.

"Today's introduction of the Evo family marks a new chapter for Compaq and our customers alike. Evo is a terrific new technology line-up that raises the bar for innovation and value, especially for the mobile professional," said Paull Wilson, Mobile Solutions Manager in Compaq's Access Business Group. "Fundamentally, Evo represents the evolution from the traditional PC to a new level of simplicity and assured connectivity. The competitive landscape in the access space changes today -- not just with Evo's compelling pricing, but also with its extraordinary customer value including visionary engineering and design, built-in wireless capability, and no-compromise performance."

Evo's competitive introductory prices underscore Compaq's intent to become more aggressive in the access market. Over the coming months, Compaq will roll out unique, innovative solutions and services built around the Evo platform to address specific customer needs in security, wireless access, asset management and power conservation. Continued improvements in internal processes will also reflect in enhanced value for the customer.

All Evo products feature a sleek new carbon and silver industrial design that blends with the myriad office environments of today's business user. The new look and feel highlight Compaq's evolution of the beige box to the streamlined access device providing on-demand connection to content and data.

With an eye on the increasing demand for wireless, mobile access to information and data anytime and anywhere, Compaq is integrating MultiPort wireless connectivity into select Evo notebooks. Other Evo highlights announced today include Compaq's first legacy-free thin clients with embedded Windows NT that enable 100 percent remote client management, and cutting-edge processing power in the Evo workstations. Products announced today will be available through Compaq Business Partners in New Zealand.

"With Evo, Compaq has managed to rebrand its commercial line in a fashion that clearly distinguishes it from the consumer and 'lifestyle' lines," said Roger Kay, director of PC hardware at IDC. "This distinction will allow Compaq to develop each without the inhibition of having to meet the goals of the others. Ultimately, this clarity should be a benefit for Compaq's customers."

For more about today's announcement visit Compaq's virtual press kit at

For information on the 'Hot off the Wire' Roadshow visit:

ACCESS BUSINESS GROUP Compaq's Access Business Group delivers simple, innovative access solutions for work, home and play, extending anytime, anywhere communication across the work/life balance. In addition, Compaq designs its products, services, and programs with improved usability and accessibility for all customers.

COMPANY BACKGROUND Compaq Computer Corporation, a Fortune Global 100 company, is a leading global provider of technology and solutions. Compaq designs, develops, manufactures, and markets hardware, software, solutions, and services, including industry-leading enterprise computing solutions, fault-tolerant business-critical solutions, and communications products, commercial desktop and portable products, and consumer PCs that are sold in more than 200 countries. Information on Compaq and its products and services is available at www.compaq.co.nz This press release may contain forward-looking statements based on current expectations that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. The potential risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially include, among others: market conditions, particularly in the U.S.; increased competitive environment and pricing pressures; disruptions related to restructuring activity and delays in the implementation of changes in delivery models. Further information on these and other factors that could affect Compaq's financial results is included in Compaq's Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings, including the latest Annual Report on form 10-K and the latest quarterly report on Form 10-Q.

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