Hewlett-Packard To Sell Pcs For Home

Hewlett-Packard Co. plans to begin selling personal computers for people to use at home, augmenting a commercial line that has expanded broadly in the past two years.

Hewlett-Packard plans to formally announce the consumer line Monday. They are to go on sale next month, initially through only one retail chain that the company has not yet disclosed.

The company is the leading seller of printers for personal computers.

“HP is becoming much more of a household name because of its printers,” said analyst Phillip Rueppel of Alex Brown in San Francisco.

Though it faces stiff competition from Packard Bell, Apple and Compaq in the consumer market, Rueppel said, “I think it’s still a ripe growth company.”

Hewlett-Packard became one of the Top 10 leading sellers of personal computers in the United States last year, moving strongly into the business market by taking advantage of the reputation it had established in the sale of larger computers and other electronic goods.