HP beats Mitsubishi to thinnest notebook crown

Mitsubishi Electric has conceded that Hewlett-Packard (HP) will be first to market in the UK with the ultra-slim Pedion notebook PC - despite the fact it's a Mitsubishi-developed product. The 18mm high unit is the world's thinnest notebook.

HP has licensed and badged the product from the Japanese giant and will unveil it next Wednesday in London. It will be called Sojurn and be part of HP's existing Omnibook notebook range.

Mitsubishi will ship its Pedion in May and James Blackledge, Mitsubishi's international marketing director, confirmed that HP will probably ship first. "It's not a big issue. We believe there is plenty of room for two in this market," he said.

The Pedion has been coined "the ultimate executive accessory" by both Mitsubishi and HP, a market in which Fujitsu Computers is also involved, with its ultra-thin Lifebook PC.

"We're well established and taken very seriously in this market," said Charles Bows, Fujitsu Computers marketing manager. "It's not a great surprise that others want to get involved but we are not worried. IDC claims that in the October-December quarter of 1997 we were the fastest growing notebook vendor."

Blackledge added that the Pedion will cost around £3,500 and is expected to account for around 10 per cent of the company's notebook sales.