Company History

Stanford University classmates Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard founded HP in 1939. The company's first product, built in a Palo Alto garage, was an audio oscillator—an electronic test instrument used by sound engineers. One of HP's first customers was Walt Disney Studios, which purchased eight oscillators to develop and test an innovative sound system for the movie Fantasia.

Laptop Market

According to market research firm DisplaySearch, HP exceeded its nearest rival Dell's shipments by 50,000 units in the third quarter of 2006, reclaiming the top title. This is the first time the company has been at the top of the table since the third quarter of 2005, with a quarter-on-quarter growth of 36 per cent ensuring its lead. In Q4 2007, HP increased its lead over the chasing pack, growing two points to 22 per cent