Rumor: HP shutting down Voodoo?

http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10048228-1.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20

http://techgage.com/news/hp_rumored_to_be_closing_voodoopc/

 

wouldn't surprise me - hp just wanted some of their know how and at the same time remove a competitor and bring something to compete with dull's alienate purchase.

 

Basically they had very little know-how in technology in comparison to the BIG brands. Their laptops where rebranded Clevo et all, and their work over the desktops nothing to be amazed about if not for the paint jobs IMHO.

The new Omen(s) and Envy(s) are good looking, but they lack the substance for the majority of users. The Envy is not even a gaming system, so it does not really match the profile of VoodooPC expertise.

The BlackBird 002 that is another story, it has HP written all over the place, hopefully they will be coming with mainstream prices sooner then later, accompanied with a more daring marketing approach rather then some obscure page hard to locate.

Their know-how would potentially be in marketing, but in that regard and looking at the value of sales it seams that has yet to be proven. IMHO, the all launch was a blunder starting with the site going up in flames. That fact is most people don't know VoodooPC, or if they do, they still buy elsewere.

But as said, it is all rumors so facts can shift all the time.

Trance
PS: As I said a long time ago, I had big hopes over the HP HDX line. Hopefully they will merge. At the moment HP as a confusing line of products, full of potential but yet confusing. There is no unified vision that allows the company to focus their marketing message.

 

It would a shame if HP decides to close VoodooPC instead of using the brand for their high spec. gaming rigs. I mean something similar to what they did with Compaq for their business models.

Else what would have been the point of buying VoodoPC in the first place. I don't think that a giant like HP don't have the necessary expertise to produce powerfull computers and laptops. They know that those high spec computer don't sell in volume so they don't see much point making them. Their gool is to be number one, and they will only be able to reach this rank by selling a lot.

Why did they bought VoodooPC? was it only a kind of reply to Dell when Dell bought Rock?

If every company closes every small company they buy, we will find ourselve in few years time with only a minority of brands. Thus we will have less and less choices in what we could buy

 

I kinda thought Hp would kill Voodoo from the start, on account of Hp destroying Compaq. I think it was part in response to dell buying alienware, to compete in having a gaming line. But the XPS systems were already good, if not better than the alienware ones. Hp never had a gaming line of desktops, so this was supposed to be the beginning, but as we can see it is failing. Hp will not be number 1, because Dell makes better systems, have better prices, better tech support and a longer lasting product than anything Hp has to offer. I would not care if Voodoo went down the drain, other than a few people I used to call friends would be out of jobs, but it really wouldnt make any difference.

Eventually their will be less choices, but the whole problem is people do not like spending money, so as price decreases to become competitive, quality drops.
I am going to be making my own laptop soon, which will bring back quality, and its chassis is going to be revolutionary in terms of material and quality.

Plus its not like the ENVY 133 is doing anything for the company, cause its too expensive, its specs are about 3 years behind where they should be, and its all a lie, since Voodoo did not design it. Its a slightly modified Intel Metro by Ziba, so its nothing new.
If they wanted to bring the revolution they wanted, they should start designing from scratch rather than stealing an idea from someone else.

K-TRON

 

So, you are making your own Brand? Let me know if its a 15" gaming computer under a carbon fiber case and hd screen... I will buy it for sure!

 

All this corporation management is pi**ing me off They only think about making more money than what they could spend during their life time and the life time of their children.

I'm referring to the number of laptops sold here. Dell is second behind HP, unless the source below is wrong:
http://news.softpedia.com/news/HP-Still-Number-1-Notebook-Brand-87977.shtml

I think that price wise HP is better otherwise they wont be number one.
I owned a Compaq Evo N1015. My brother has a Compaq NX6100. I owened for couple of month a Dell D510, and now I have a Dell Precision M70 sitting on a shelf waiting for a screen replacement.
I opened and played with all these systems and I've seen the quality of the material used and I can say that either brand shave good business laptops. Their workstation laptops although very expensive and heavy (for my test) are a delight.

Re: customer service. It all depend in the country where you live. I've dealt with Dell, HP, Gateway, and Acer customer services in the UK and they are all sh*t. I chatted with the HP and Dell over their US website and it easy to tell the difference. The US ones are friendly and helpful... they really try hard to assist even when the product is out of warranty.

I don't care either because I don't see myself buying a gamming laptop, well unless they become light (14" screen and weight no more that 2.5kgs) and use hybrid graphics so I could switch the dedicated GPU (to generate less heat) and turn it ON only to game or do rendering.

All I'm saying is it's a shame to see small and specialised companies distroyed by big giants.

This what you get when people that sell hardware and pure salesman and hae less knowledge than the costumer. Though, it won't make any difference since over 90% of people who buying computer don't know what goes inside a Desktop/Laptop.

I read that in one of your old posts but thought you were jocking

I'm realy interested to hear more about you laptop-build project

If HP bought them with the intension of closing them, then what's they point for them to make something new?

 

HP buying VoodooPC was actually buying knowledge and brand name over the high end gaming market rather then a brand or technical expertise. Both assets are under pressure as it seams that according to the rumours results are scarse.

The problem is that to face Alienware or other cutting edge major Brands they need a large investment in marketing as they are simply too late IMHO to get a good slice of this market fast enough. They can't really measure the RISK of that investment as VoodooPC did not have a user base that was large and stable enough. So the result is to send marketing messages throught blogs or other forgetable means.

IMHO considering the tradition of HP they would be far better facing the likes of DELL 1730 XPS then the likes of Alienware and other smaller players. IMHO that is the future of mass market gaming machines with quaility (by tunning the price of the BlackBird that woud be it). There will always a place for the likes of FW an WidowPC or even VoodooPC as it stands ... but is thin in size (measured in a few thousands rather then millions as HP is used to).

As such I think they could leverage on the HP + Voodoo DNA as they did with the BlackBird instead of promoting two different brands, and take this idea further (say have www.hpgaming.com). Computers ARE A COMMODITY, and high end gaming systems are going towards that space.

Luxury PCs do not make much sense nowardays, unless you want to sell them in very small volumes in comparison (say to the rich classes which are more and more of a minority). Beutifull tech is becoming a commoditty too (check iPhone).

HP is not destroying VoodooPC they are doing it themselves. A one man & friends production (family like) can't cope with the demands of the mass market. They just don't have the business know how, they want to build something beutifull, that they PERSONALLY fill proud of the looks, and that matchs some new toy, Jag, Aston Martin or Ferrari. Cool, but delusional and hardly sellable to the core gaming man that SIMPLY wants the most performance for the money (noise is right after). As such I don't think HP as anything to complain about as they bought into this idea, didn't they? (probably they were lost too in some articulated speach full of hot business air)

Trance

 

So much speculation again...

HP does intend to fold Voodoo into its own PSG division. It makes sense because Voodoo lacks the scale and the complete integration will mean products like the Envy and Omen reach global markets (this is important because the US isn't the ONLY market in the world and HP is way stronger in Asia-Pacific). In order to have such a large scale, HP needs to have an integrated sales, channel partners and support facility for Voodoo products and it's impossible with the current structure of Voodoo independence.

There is demand for Voodoo products outside the US, but bringing it to market has been a constant challenge so far. They can't even build enough of them for the US market.

 

Folding into a division is much more then DELL did with Alienware. So basically we agree! I wonder why they have taken so long to fold.

Trance

 

Voodoo is soooo quiet.

 

Not really. You can ask them questions on their website and they'll answer them. They just launched two new products and more are coming. How's that being quiet?

 

I've beem there, pretty lame.

 

Need link to see thje Site
of Voodoo Laptop

 

http://www.voodoopc.com/

 

I wouldnt care.

 

I dont hear much about voodoo but I remember the talk of dell almost dropping the XPS

 

Well ok theyre desktop is pretty good but if went with a desktop i would probably build my own.Also the envy laptop is not that apealing except for
the custom paintjob.Since you said there is new stuff on the way do you have a link to a new laptop? not that i would buy it judging from the envys
price tag and hardware but im just curious to see the price tag.

 

Dude thats crazy you seem like a dedicated guy so best of luck to you k-tron from pikachu

 

voodoo is supposed to be a gmaing pc, them coming out with the envy 133 was a joke. they might as well shut down.

 

You're not wrong there stevey... I neartly choked to death when i saw the $600 dollar upgrade for the paint only! ill be surprised if they even broke even with the things...

Tom

 

Im sure they didnt break even, which is why they cant afford to make a 15 or 17 inch laptop. HP buying voodoo to compete with dell buying AW was a bad decision. Dell is atleast allowing AW to make their own calls. AW can fund themselves, whereas Voodoo after the envy has to count on HP now, and HP will probably kill them off because they don't know how to run a gaming pc company. Im sure a 13 inch was HPs idea. They shoulf of left voodoo alone.

 

I believe that was the whole point - selling fewer units but at a larger profit margin? I'm not sure I understand what you mean by "luxury pcs not making sense nowadays", since there will more or less always be a "luxury pc", in that there will always be a model that is more expensive than the rest. Perhaps in that respect, gaming/enthusiast pc companies will always have a place?

I don't think voodoo was trying to appeal to the mass market; selling pcs at over five grand wouldn't attract most consumers. I think it was a bad decision to concurrently market the black bird and voodoo lines which doesn't make much sense to me. When I originally heard of the merger, I thought they were just going to let voodoo become their entire "high end/gaming" line.

heh, I think this idea has been doing well thus far, dont you? These companies have come pretty far considering they've pretty much all originated from a "one man & friends production" who were all based on this idea(not to mention the slew of other companies attempting the same thing - most of which are pathetic since they're not even trying to be very original). In fact, I believe that was actually one of the cardinal reasons for their success - being a boutique company; I'm sure the merger has driven away quite a few customers.

I remember reading a few years back that the alienware company was worth over one hundred million dollars (probably a couple years before the merger). I have no idea how much falcon and voodoo were worth at the time but I'd imagine it would at least be comparable. Sure, a hundred million is laughable to companies such as hp and dell; however companies such as falcon northwest are boutique companies after all.

I agree with you for the most part though; a real computer company would do more than just slap some paint and logo on a case and talk a bunch of smack on their site; a real computer company such as Apple. If voodoo, falcon and alienware came this far by slapping their logo and some paint on cases, imagine the potential for a company that actually made real innovations in this market.

 

they cant be getting shut down with both the voodoo firebird coming out plus the new 15.6" widescreen notebook not to mention Rahul claims ANOTHER one is coming out. I believe he said two notebooks for 2009