The HP CD-Writer Plus 9200i series is HP's leading-edge CD-RW drive. HP's first SCSI-solution writes at up to 8X transfer speed and reads data at up to 32X transfer speed. Designed for the performance-conscious customer, this drive offers read speeds faster than many CD-ROM drives.

The new plug-and-play HP CD-Writer Plus 8200e series has a USB connection that writes data at up to 4X transfer speed and reads data at up to 6X transfer speed. This offers users a cost-effective option that is easy to use and allows customers to move the drive between PCs.

"With the addition of these drives, HP rounds out its CD-RW product portfolio for home and business users alike and gives its customers more choices in performance, price and connection," said Kim Burch, CD-RW product manager for HP. "These drives give users more options: SCSI provides higher performance and USB provides ease of use."

The HP CD-RW drives combine the compatibility, flexibility and storage capacity of a CD with the "drag-and-drop" ease of use of a floppy disk. CD-RW drives allow users to create, write, rewrite, store, manage and share data, music, photos and more on a CD just as they would save information to a floppy. However, CDs can store up to 650MB of data -- the equivalent of more than 400 standard high-density floppy disks or 20,000 scanned pages of text.

Available software packages include the following:

• Adaptec Direct CD -- users can drag and drop files to CD from Microsoft® Explorer or save directly from any application;
• Adaptec Easy CD Creator -- users can create data or music CDs that can be read by most CD-ROM or audio CD players;
• Neato CD Labeler -- users can personalize CDs and jewel cases with included labeler, labels and software;
• eFax Filing Central -- allows users to organize electronic files, scanned images and Web pages;
• Broderbund Print Shop Multimedia Organizer Deluxe or Professional -- allows users to collect, organize and publish videos, photos, graphics and music and makes creating presentations, Web pages and screensavers easy;
• Corel Print Office -- users can create stationary, calendars, greeting cards and more;
• Sonic Foundry's ACID -- users can compose original songs and record them directly to CDs that can be played in home, car or portable CD players; and
• HP Disaster Recovery -- protects and secures data and restores operating-system files quickly should a disaster occur.

U.S. Pricing and Availability

Both products are expected to be available Sept. 29 through HP authorized resellers, distributors, retailers and mail-order catalogs worldwide. The estimated U.S. street prices are $349 for the HP CD Writer Plus 8200e and $399 for the HP CD-Writer 9200i. More information is available at www.hp.com/go/cdr.

About HP

Hewlett-Packard Company -- a leading global provider of computing and imaging solutions and services for business and home -- is focused on capitalizing on the opportunities of the Internet and the proliferation of electronic services.

HP plans to launch Agilent Technologies as an independent company by mid-calendar 2000. Agilent consists of HP's test and measurement, semiconductor products, chemical analysis and healthcare solutions businesses, and has leading positions in multiple market segments.

HP has 123,500 employees worldwide and had total revenue of $47.1 billion in its 1998 fiscal year. Information about HP, its products and the company's Year 2000 program can be found on the World Wide Web at http://www.hp.com.