Meanwhile, Hewlett-Packard announced last week that it added Omnibook notebooks to its TopValue Reseller program which offers discounts to users ordering a standard configuration rather than a customized build-to-order system.

CNN: Notebook prices dropping close to $1,000 mark

Among the first out of the chute and into the hands of PC World testers were Dell's 500-MHz Inspiron 7500 R500VT, Hewlett-Packard's 500-MHz OmniBook 4150, and Gateway's 450-MHz Solo 9300 (see link at right).

CNN: High-powered portables arrive in force