HP to, like, totally launch PC line for teens

Apparently HP's gotten so desperate to connect with the youth market that they've actually hired on a "teen council" to help design a new line of products -- likeliest PCs -- from top to bottom. Will it be another bomb like the hip-e? Guess we'll find out when the line launches this fall.

[ihaveathumb @ May 17th 2008 2:34AM]

That is like soo totaly awsome!!! :p

[oGMo @ May 17th 2008 2:57AM]

damn hip-e's.

[mymaclife @ May 17th 2008 3:17AM]

This is soooooooooo unfair! I hate you!

[Esat Dedezade @ May 17th 2008 6:24AM]

"Guess we'll find out when the line launches this fail."

Fixed ;)

[stiltskin @ May 17th 2008 2:20PM]

I'm 15 and guarantee you no one at my school would take that shit.

Everyone at my school has smartphones and blackberries and iphones. Ipod touches and stuff putting shit in something and selling it high won't work.

[Abuzar @ May 17th 2008 2:45PM]

That's not the actual computer. That's some old one from 2004 lol.

[AJ in the East Bay @ May 17th 2008 2:34AM]

OMG OMG OMG!! HP? RLY?

[gad get @ May 17th 2008 2:42AM]

Enough with the abbreviations, already! :)

[Mobius_1 @ May 17th 2008 4:35AM]

@ gad get

u r like, getting old, bro, lol!

[Ayman @ May 17th 2008 4:46AM]

so they r like gonna like add some like more stuff like like special buttons like music like video while playing like games

like this would so awesome

Like Like

[Jarhead2012 @ May 18th 2008 9:42PM]

@Blizz419

I totally agree. Macs aren't bad computers, and yet unless you are really into graphics, video, and audio design/editing, then by buying a mac you are completely wasting your time/money.

[Jeff @ May 17th 2008 2:40AM]

kthxbye

[F3 @ May 17th 2008 2:42AM]

Does anyone know what the hell is going on in that picture, and how do you make it stop?

[imfull hills @ May 17th 2008 2:48AM]

isnt that what macs r for? cuz all teens have macs right? well the ones i know "alot" do......

[JJV @ May 17th 2008 6:37AM]

yeah. im a teen and almost all my friends have macs and apple stuff.
hp is more businessy. apple is more youthy (??)

[Technex @ May 17th 2008 8:44AM]

Apple is just plain crap, nothing else.

[blizz419 @ May 17th 2008 11:05AM]

i agree mostly technex, unless your into graphic design and a couple other arts Macs are pointless, they try to hard to make them user friendly to the point its makes other shit less user friendly and a annoyance.

[Jesse S @ May 17th 2008 1:07PM]

Well, teens fall for marketing more easily than adults.

Why do you think iPods are the most popular MP3 player? Why do teens listen to pop and rap (that is, manufactured music)? Why do they shop at Hollister? Etc.

[blizz419 @ May 17th 2008 7:20PM]

i listen to rap too, but not that commercialized shit you here on the radio.

[Michael LaFramboise @ May 17th 2008 2:52AM]

Can someone please enlighten me as to how a PC for "teens" can be different from regular PCs? -- I mean I guess you can make a Mickey Mouse/Barbie case or something for small children, but about teens? Stickers of Paris Hilton and 50¢ on the sides a generic HP?

Srsly... I'm confused -- this is coming from a 18, soon-to-be-19 year old... I for one don't see the point of all this...

[Ace b @ May 17th 2008 3:05AM]

This is how you sell to "The Youth"

Make a highly overpriced pc ,one that you could find the same configuration at in a Best buy or something.
Say it's made of the "highest quality parts"
Get "models" in the store to sell it.
Have the store that's selling it crank the music(if you can call it that) to ear drum blowing levels
Then don't advertise about it.


It works for Abercrombie & Fitch with clothing,so it could work for HP for pc's.

[Colin Potter @ May 17th 2008 3:17AM]

you forgot, and spray delicious cologne everywhere... i love A&F cologne haha...

[uhit235 @ May 17th 2008 3:19AM]

This is why this wont work, Macs are the computers to have these days. Trust me I know, I'm 16. The only thing they could do is do a straight Macbook copy and drop the price to sub $1k hehe. But in all seriousness unless this offers some new unheard of innovation it'll be a total failure.

[mymaclife @ May 17th 2008 3:19AM]

@ Ace B

What a pile of stereotypical crap!

You really know how to endear yourself to young people don't you?

[Colin Potter @ May 17th 2008 3:20AM]

or make it dispense eyeliner for the goth kids and steampunk it.

[Ace b @ May 17th 2008 3:34AM]

@mymaclife

Yep.It's crap alright.
That's why they are one of the best selling clothing retailers around.That's also why even though their clothing is pretty damn expensive,they get millions of saps to buy their clothing on a daily basis.

Apparently they are doing something right,now aren't they?

@Colin Potter

That's the hot topic version.
That comes out a month later.

[r3loaded @ May 17th 2008 4:33AM]

As someone who's right at the end of their teenage years (i.e. 19), I must say....wtf?

If I was 15, I'd take a Dell XPS over any of their crap. Or even better, I'd build my own kick-ass rig that still has an understated style.

[rayza @ May 17th 2008 4:42AM]

to sell to youth?

use the worst sound card and call it the iPC and add spin wheel.

and mediocre compatability.

THATS RIGHT FKN IPOD!

[mymaclife @ May 17th 2008 6:25AM]

@ Ace B

Your social insights are profound.

Well done you've not only alienated every teenager but also anyone who cares to shop at Abercrombie and Fitch, btw last time I was in the store the demographic spanned every age range.

Choices based on fashion are trends are made by every age/social range.

Cock!

[Ace b @ May 17th 2008 2:42PM]

@mymaclife

Your just mad that I described you precisely.

And I was referring to the store A&F.
Not the company Abercrombie which owns : Hollister,A&F,Abercrombie Kids,Ruehl,and Gilly Hicks.Which appeals to different demographics.

And if some how you were referring to just the store also,the only reason why it "appeals" to all demographics is cause the demographic they are not selling to(everyone else who arent teens or young adults)will think they will be sexier or look younger or etc just by wearing something with a moose on it.

Basically it's kinda like when your 40+ year old mom wears your 12 year old sisters clothes just cause she wants to look"young".

[Colin Potter @ May 17th 2008 2:53AM]

LOL... i would say, as a rule, any "teen" that cares about how their PC performs likely knows as much as their parent and therefore does not need a dumbed-down PC

[matthewlikestoburn @ May 17th 2008 4:44AM]

You' re right about that. However, teens, like me, know more about electronics than most parents.

Also, I can imagine HP has chosen some stereotypical teens that know nothing about computers, or anything else for that.

[Jared @ May 17th 2008 3:00AM]

I do not understand why all academics and media like to say the current generation of youth is tech savvy. No we aren't. I have to fix everyones' crap at my job at college. Everyone buys a mac because it is cool and then brings it in for me to help them figure out to get on wireless because they "don't know anything about computers." Apparently being able to use facebook and youtube qualifies as leveraging technology.

[Jared @ May 17th 2008 3:00AM]

Oh right and the point...so maybe having stupid "teen" computers might work :D.

[Michael LaFramboise @ May 17th 2008 3:14AM]

That or we can go back to pen and paper, atleast that doesn't require IT support.

[Colin Potter @ May 17th 2008 3:19AM]

even if everyone under 18 isnt tech savvy, they probably could figure it out faster than their set-in-their ways parents

sorry i was gonna say something insightful but theres a party going on next door with a bunch of drunk late-20-somethings from Newfoundland and i cant think

[uhit235 @ May 17th 2008 3:28AM]

I totally agree with this, although I am that guy who tries to fix everyones mac I am in no way a tech savvy person. I can't open up a computer and fix technical things, nor can I type commands in to terminal. And building my own PC? Ha! online tutorial here I come. I guess what I'm trying to say is this (my) generation, is the generation of information consumers. Most of the things we get off the web are already done for us.

[Michael LaFramboise @ May 17th 2008 3:47AM]

uhit235,

...but the problem is that the general public is too stupid/ignorant to even get the info from the intrawebs.

I kid you not, I was rofl-ing each time when during my years in high school I heard someone bragging about getting a top of the line 10,000some dollar Alienware and a week later bitching and moaning about how it was too slow

[hint hint: limewire/kazaa + crapware + ignorant fool = a monster of a machine running at the speed of a slug]

[Beau @ May 17th 2008 5:22AM]

hear hear! :-)

[blizz419 @ May 17th 2008 11:18AM]

lol so true Michael LaFramboise i cant count how many computers i've hadto fix from people downloading shit going to shady porn sites and such and dont understand how there machine got loaded with tons of malware and then contininue not to take my advice and have it happen all over again and again.

[Will @ May 18th 2008 4:37PM]

Yeah, but the mac 'cool' extends beyond teenage years. The minimalist design (which hilariously screams 'high-tech!' louder than anything trying to look futuristic) appeals to a very large demographic including people of all ages. It's cool enough for the kids, but friendly enough for your grandma.

Which is probably the 'problem' HP's trying to face. Who wants a computer that your grandma would use? Macs appeal to too many people, it's not 'teen' enough.

Let's take operating system out of the equation, as these new generations aren't nearly at 'tech savvy' as people claim. I bet the same people you had to teach wireless settings on the Mac would have the same problems on Vista. Macs look cool but -everybody- has them, which opens up a market sector for HP. Make something 'cool' that's not everywhere like Alienware or Dell's XPS. It'll sell to the ignorant, regardless of specs. Sure, they'll eventually get tired of it (and claim it sold out or something reflexive like that), but it'll sell like fried food at a fat camp for a few years, at which time they can get a new set of teens to tell them what their new 'special' generation wants.

It's basically the direct inverse of the Apple design philosophy. You buy Apple, you're buying what Steve says you want. Some are offended by this... but quite honestly Steve's not too bad at it. Other than a few flukes (G4 Cube, maybe the Air), all his systems have some really valid purpose and do them well. But if you want to be able to customize, it's not the place. Now do the same thing, but replace Steve's will with demographic research and people trying to remember what their teen years were like. You get something pre-customized... something so customized for you that you don't even need to customize it! It'll sell.

Basically, it's the Scion xB of computers.

[luzzio @ May 17th 2008 3:06AM]

Designed by teens...for teens.

The cheesiness. It consumes.

[d @ May 17th 2008 7:11AM]

know what? that's what it will need to be. Based on the article it seems as though they've hired an adult to talk about teens. Know what I want as a teen? a macbook that I can carry around. The only thing I wish it had were better speakers, and that's why I usually use headphones. If HP is going to hire an adult to talk about teens it is going to be very stereotypical (integrated cell phone charger? Separate sub-screen for Facebook and MySpace?) and won't sell to most because no one wants to be stereotypical.

But what am I saying? I splurged on the macbook (and now most of my friends want one too). I'll still be watching this just for laughs.

HP, learn from Apple's MacBook!
It's sleek and not bulky like Lenovos, simple in design and not to many curves like some HP's and Dell's and the MacBook Air (I'm only a semi-fanboy :-) ), and very, very portable for a student. Being about the size of a textbook, it fits in any school backpack.

[BigD145 @ May 17th 2008 12:38PM]

It's more likely this was designed by a group with a minimum age of 40-50.

[nxtiak @ May 17th 2008 3:13AM]

What is this a glorified Sidekick?

[maball54 @ May 17th 2008 3:35AM]

Ahhhhahahahaha. wow. lame.

[furquanatique @ May 17th 2008 3:37AM]

duuuuuude... *sniff* *sniff*, this sh*t is awesome!

[Wiigee @ May 17th 2008 3:38AM]

What will they call it "hip-ster"?
as a teen, i can say that the trend for having a "cool" PC is either Mac, or homebuilt (linux is coming "in" too). doubt this will work. i dig that they talked to teens though, should be interesting.

[Tom Reinke @ May 17th 2008 3:40AM]

This is going to fail so hard... I mean, my teenage friends (I'm 19 myself) all don't care about what our rigs look like, because at LAN parties most of us just take the sides off so people can see what's inside anyways.. And with the looks of that thing, I'm pretty sure you'd get laughed right out of the LAN..

[Jeff @ May 17th 2008 3:55AM]

ugh.

how desperate.

What these moron MBA's fail to realize is that teens have NO IDEA what they want.

They need something to define them, not the other way around.