Hewlett-Packard Co has upgraded its Pavilion line of consumer PCs based around Intel Corp’s new Celeron chips and signed an internet bundling deal with Yahoo! Inc. HP has launched five new PCs using the new 350Mhz and 400MHz low-end Celerons, as well as machines using the Pentium II and Advanced Micro Devices Inc’s K6-2. The company has also signed a bundling deal with Yahoo, and will use Yahoo’s home page as the default start for the PC users, although users can select other portals as their internet entry page. In addition, HP has struck a deal with internet service provider GTE Corp to provide 50 hours of free internet access for purchasers of a Pavilion PC. A HP spokesman shrugged off suggestions that the launch of the new computers was the start of a consumer rebirth for the firm, claiming that the company was already the number two retailer of consumer PCs in the US. He also refused to comment on reports that HP would be unveiling new chip technology for its consumer line later this week. The Pavilion PC line is available now priced between $799 and $1,799.
