PT update Compaq Computer revamped its corporate notebook lineup today, including sleek designs which reveal influence from Digital Equipment, as it tries to remake itself in this important market. Compaq is No. 2 in the U.S. notebook market behind Toshiba, according to various market surveys. IBM is in the No. 3 spot.
Customers can now standardize on the entire Armada line and go with a common set of options.
A large customer might invest in only a few DVD drives, for example, letting executives check them out as needed, Polsen explained. IBM also offers components swappable among models in its ThinkPad portable line. But not all components are compatible across all models or designs, such as subnotebooks and large desktop replacement units. The two M series lines bear the earmarks of previous notebooks from Digital Equipment, the company which Compaq purchased last year, according to Lindy Lesperance, analyst with Technology Business Research . Digital was a design leader in ultralight, ultraslim notebooks before it was bought out by Compaq.