The introduction of the $250 LaserJet 1000 changes all that, pitting an HP product squarely against other low-cost lasers such as the Samsung ML-1250.
Hewlett-Packard so dominates the printer market that it has long been able to sell its products for a premium (take, for instance, the $400 LaserJet 1200) while its competitors have had to snatch what market share they could by selling their products at lower prices.
