HP Merges Voodoo PC Business Unit with Consumer Business
After being acquired by HP two years ago, Voodoo PC will no long operate as a stand-alone entity and will instead sell its products alongside the Compaq Presario and Pavilion PC lines. The integration could be taken as bad news for fans of the boutique OEM who fear the Voodoo branding might now fall off the map, but founder Rahul Sood assures on his blog that the merger is a good thing.
"Ultimately it means that Voodoo and Voodoo-influenced products will be easier to buy, faster to get, they will feature local service, and they will have the full power of HP's marketing and sales channel behind them. The bottom line is we have ignited the brand and sparked big excitement; so we are not integrating our organizations to fuel our growth," Sood wrote.
Despite the convergence, Sood is also telling readers the Voodoo brand name will remain. But what about the quality? Whether or not Voodoo-branded PCs can still retain their spunk remains to be seen, but this isn't the first time enthusiasts feared the worst. After HP acquired Voodoo in 2006, many wondered if the boutique OEM would still be able to perform at a high level, and that question seemed to be answered just weeks ago when Voodoo relaunced its website to showcase its new Envy 133 notebook and Omen desktop PCs.
Do you share Rahul Sood's same excitement over the merger, or is the beginning of the end?