HP absorbs Voodoo PCs into product line

HP's Voodoo PC business has been merged into its main business division and may discontinue the use of the Voodoo brand name as the company tries push the products through its mainstream and worldwide channels. HP said it would likely retain Voodoo as a brand name, but had not reached a final decision yet. Until now, HP had operated the Voodoo PC division as a standalone business unit and sold its PCs independently. Following the announcement, the Voodoo-branded products will be sold alongside HP's consumer Compaq Presario and Pavilion PC lines, HP told PC World.

The company said on Wednesday that the absorption into HP's product line "is just the next step of integration into the business units that deliver Compaq Presario and [HP] Pavilion."

Voodoo founder Rahul Sood, who is now the CTO of HP's Global Gaming Business, said that the move was part of the plan to bring Voodoo technology to HP's portfolio and will allow more users to get their hands on the latest Voodoo PCs and also get better service.

"Ultimately it means that Voodoo and Voodoo-influenced products will be easier to buy, faster to get, they will feature local service, and they will have the full power of HP’s marketing and sales channel behind them," Sood wrote in his blog. "The bottom line is we have ignited the brand and sparked big excitement; so we are now integrating our organizations to fuel our growth."

Sood said the integration plan was well ahead of the schedule that he anticipated when the company was first acquired by HP in 2006 and that the plan "is now being accelerated ultimately making it a reality sooner than any of us ever imagined."

Current Voodoo users can expect the same type of service and support, but it was unclear whether the merger would result in potential layoffs. The report also notes that it was not clear how HP would determine which Voodoo products would be sold in which regions, noting that while HP's global business unit designs PCs and regional units decide what PCs to sell in the region.

Last month, the performance label launched a complete overhaul of its product line new designs that directly challenge Apple's MacBook Air and the Mac Pro. The upcoming ultra-thin Envy 133 notebook features an LED-backlit screen, 802.11n networking, removable battery, a combo SATA/USB port, and a carbon fiber chassis, while measuring only 0.7-inches and weighing under 3.4-pounds. The completely revamped Omen, designed for high-end gaming and workstation use, offers a Mac Pro-like aluminum chassis with a 7-inch secondary display and tool-free side panels that can be replaced with glass, leather, or wood.

Filed under: computers
Other story tags: HP, Voodoo PC