Dubai, UAE. September 13, 2004 - HP's (NYSE:HPQ) latest initiative, HP Academy will be held in Dubai today, as the first HP event of its kind in the world and as a prelude to the forthcoming Gitex 2004.  Over 150 HP channel partners from across the Middle East region will attend the two day event which is designed as a learning academy encompassing both product update and knowledge.  

Rania Hannoush, Partner Planning & Reward Manager, HP Middle East explained the details of event: "HP is a global company, and the Middle East region is of great significance to us, and currently is an area of key focus, with the oncoming Gitex exhibition".

"The aim of HP Academy is to familiarise our channel partners with our entire range of new products, so that they may in turn, be able to communicate and demonstrate these to professionals and consumers alike during the exhibition," she stated. 

"To add an element of enjoyment, we have designed the event to run like an academy - after the formal training lessons, there will be interactive sessions followed by an official graduation of all our partners at the event," she explained.

HP Academy will see the official launch of more than 50 new products from HP's Personal Systems Group, Imaging and Printing Group, Technical Solutions Group and ProCurve Networking. The event will be presided over by HP Middle East's Hazem Bazan, Director Solutions Partners Organisation and addressed by Amr Hassan, General Manager for Imaging and Printing Group Middle East and Christoph Schell General Manager for Personal Systems Group Middle East.

Hannoush also said that the rest of the world had its eyes trained on Dubai at the moment, and that the success of the first HP Academy would ensure its replication as an annual event around the Middle East. "Dubai is basking in the limelight and we are counting on all our partners to make this event a true success," she added. 

Reinforcing HPs commitment to customers, the event sees an interactive workshop to evaluate notebooks.  The workshop will be held as part of the unique HP Academy and attended by HPs Channel representatives from across the region.

"The partners sales skills will be enhanced with an innovative exercise, wherein each sales person is guided towards clearly understanding the various criteria that distinguish our notebooks from others in the market place.  Apart from evaluating product performance as experienced from a customer's view point, this 'Energiser Workshop' enables our channel to experience first hand invaluable information as the basis for implementing successful sales programmes.  The word 'energizer' best summarises what we intend to achieve through this workshop," she stated. 

At the workshop, partners will be able to evaluate 40 laptops and analyse HP note books.  The criteria set for evaluation is broken into six divisions, Design, Quality, Functionality, Innovation, Expandability and User friendliness.  These divisions were chosen because they directly impact the purchasing criteria for customers, and HP felt that their channel needed to be comfortable when highlighting the benefits of HP products.

The workshop continues for the entire two days of the HP Academy and looks to ensure that HPs Channel understand the evaluation and assessment of individual HP models compared with those from competitors' based on the depicted parameters.  Interactive Q&A sessions and practical demonstrations are also being held.

Also taking place during the two day HP Academy will be the celebration of 20 years of LaserJet printers. On the evening of the 14 September, HP will hold a dinner for partners to celebrate the continued success of HPs Laserjet printers.   HP LaserJets have been the platform for many businesses continued success. When the world's first desktop laser printer was launched in 1984, HP created a new market. Since then, HP's commitment has ensured that they have retained leadership by delivering what customers want - reliable, easy-to-use, quality products that match their exact printing, performance and network needs. The benefits of this approach are clear for both HP and their partners - more than 75 million HP LaserJets have been sold. And this success will continue as HP, in the future, introduces new, innovative technologies to reshape the industry. 

Quality, reliability, innovation, performance and ease-of-use - these features distinguish HP LaserJet printers. This was evident from the beginning, and HP has continued to set the printing and imaging standards as it continues to develop the product range throughout the years. HP's ongoing commitment ensures that customers will always obtain what they require: innovative, value-for-money products that match customers' exact printing, publishing and network needs.

-Ends-

About HP
HP is a technology solutions provider to consumers, businesses and institutions globally. The company's offerings span IT infrastructure, personal computing and access devices, global services and imaging and printing. For the four fiscal quarters ended July 31, 2004, HP revenue totalled $78.4 billion. More information about HP (NYSE, Nasdaq: HPQ) is available at www.hp.com.

About HP Middle East
HP is the largest IT company in the Middle East employing about 500 professionals in the region. HP has been present in the Middle East since 1968, and opened its first regional office in 1994 and has offices in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Riyadh, Jeddah and Khobar, Cairo and Ramallah servicing the GCC, the Levant and Egypt. For more information about HP in the Middle East, please visit www.hp.com/me.

Editorial contacts:
Rania Hannoush, HP
+971 4 391 6000
rania.hannoush@hp.com

Briony Peters, Hill& Knowlton for HP
+971 4 334 4930
briony.peters@hillandknowlton.com

This news release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions. All statements other than statements of historical fact are statements that could be deemed forward-looking statements. Risks, uncertainties and assumptions include the possibility that the market for the sale of certain products and services may not develop as expected; that development and performance of these products and services may not proceed as planned; and other risks that are described from time to time in HP's Securities and Exchange Commission reports, including but not limited to HP's annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended October 31, 2002, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on January 21, 2003, and subsequently filed reports. If any of these risks or uncertainties materializes or any of these assumptions proves incorrect, HP's results could differ materially from HP's expectations in these statements. HP assumes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements

2004 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. The information contained herein is subject to change without notice. The only warranties for HP products and services are set forth in the express warranty statements accompanying such products and services. Nothing herein should be construed as constituting an additional warranty. HP shall not be liable for technical or editorial errors or omissions contained herein.

© Press Release 2004