Hewlett-Packard Co is cutting the prices by up a fifth on its line of desktop computers, further fuelling the current personal computer price war: the reductions are scheduled for October 1 when a low end Vectra VL2 will cost $1,380, about 12% cheaper than IBM Corp’s similarly configured ValuePoint; recent price cuts by IBM and Compaq Computer Corp have been viewed as a method of liquidating excess stock, says The Wall Street Journal, but Hewlett-Packard’s cuts are seen as an attempt to take a greater share in the personal computer market, having come from virtually nowhere last year to finish as the eight biggest supplier in the field; the company announced similar UK reductions at the end of last week.
