Posted 08/24/09 at 09:54:16 AM by Pulkit Chandna

HP is way ahead of its competitors in the global PC market. The lack of competition – for the time being – has given HP ample time to concentrate on such trivial matters as product packaging.

An Australian resident was mighty surprised when a “10ft AC cord from HP for use with my power adaptor,” which he had ordered, arrived in a gargantuan package fixed to a wooden pallet. According to him, the entire package weighed around 22 pounds.

HP has experimented with prodigal packaging before. Last year, it raised the profligate packaging bar to unprecedented heights when it shipped 32 pages (A4 size) in an enormous box that held 16 smaller boxes – a dedicated box for a couple of papers.

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Posted 06/25/09 at 05:23:25 PM by Andy Salisbury

Microsoft’s main aim with Windows 7 is to make it much easier to use than its predecessor, Vista. Apparently, this also includes the packaging that it comes in.

While the old packaging did take a brief moment to figure out, the new box will work in a way that most of us are very familiar with, and open just like a DVD case. However, the shape of the package will remain the same. It’ll include just the disc and a getting started guide.

Overall, Microsoft reports that they’ve been able to lighten up the package weight by 37 percent with these changes.

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Posted 11/03/08 at 05:07:38 PM by Alex Castle

You've bought computer parts online, right? If you have, then we're sure you've experienced the Herculean ordeal of trying to free a delicate little part (say, a memory card) from its nigh-unbreakable PVC prison. Well, today Amazon has shown that they feel our pain, announcing a new initiative to eventually offer all their products with less obnoxious, extraneous packaging.

The initiative extends beyond tech stuff and beyond just PVC blister packs. The retail giant says that the plan won't just save our fingers, but the environment too. For instance, the press release says that for a single toy pirate ship, the new packaging "eliminates 36 inches of plastic-coated wire ties, 1,576.5 square inches of printed corrugated package inserts and 36.1 square inches of printed folding carton materials. Also eliminated are 175.25 square inches of PVC blisters, 3.5 square inches of ABS molded styrene and two molded plastic fasteners."

For right now Amazon's only going to be offering the new packaging on items from certain sourcces, like Microsoft and Transcend, but says "our vision is to offer our entire catalog of products in Frustration-Free Packaging."

Sounds pretty good, right? Do you think we can expect other retailers to follow suit? Let us know after the break.

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