HP exits digital camera business

Hewlett Packard on Wednesday announced that it will no longer be designing or manufacturing its own digital cameras, but it would continue to sell branded cameras from other OEM manufacturers. HP will be shifting company resources to focus on its Print 2.0 growth initiatives, but confirmed that it is looking for an original equipment manufacturer to produce digital cameras for the HP brand. The company, which will continue to sell its current line-up of cameras through the holiday season, said it expects to have a partnership arrangement in place during the first half of 2008.

According to the company, the shift in strategy is intended to enable HP to accelerate its investment in Print 2.0 initiatives, including furthering HP's leadership position in home photo printing and online photo services, while accelerating the company's retail photo-finishing business.

Announced in May 2007, the company's Print 2.0 strategy focuses on three areas: delivering a next-generation digital printing platform that increases print speeds and lowers the cost of printing for high-volume commercial markets; making it easier to print from the web; and, extending HP's digital content creation and publishing platforms across all customer segments. HP's Print 2.0 initiatives include Snapfish and Logoworks.

Earlier this year, HP released three cameras: the 7.2-megapixel Photosmart R837 with a specific mode for pets and the basic 6-megapixel M537 and 5-megapixel M437, which were targeted at first-time photographers.

The company said it would take pre-tax charge of approximately $30 million in the fourth fiscal quarter ending Oct. 31, 2007 as part of its exit strategy.