Nothing but HP for me - HP's Regional Media Event
It was indeed nothing but HP at the PC giant's regional media event, which showcased its latest upcoming netbooks, notebooks and desktops. Among the gems spotted include the ENVY series of high-end luxury consumer notebooks, a new Ion-based Mini netbook and other ultra-slim notebooks. Find out more in the next few pages!
HP's Fall Lineup Revealed
The idyllic faraway island of Sentosa (we jest!) was the ideal location for HP to introduce its fall PC refresh, with numerous new models in its netbook, notebook and desktop range. With media from the entire Asia Pacific including Japan in attendance, HP put up a dazzling show of strength befitting its status as the largest PC vendor in the world.
Undoubtedly the star and main attraction of the event, the sleek, luxurious HP ENVY.
Join us as we bring you some of the event highlights that will be heading to a retail store near you come October 22nd.
When Envy Becomes Lust
The latest incarnation of the premium ENVY series that HP adopted after acquiring Voodoo in 2006, the ENVY 13 and ENVY 15 appear to take a page not from last year's Voodoo Envy 133 but from Cupertino. From its full body aluminum and magnesium chassis to a MacBook-ish multi-touch capable clickpad that integrates the buttons into the touchpad, the DNA of the ENVY definitely screams Apple to us.
From this angle, the HP ENVY 13 could be mistaken for a MacBook Pro. Except that Apple's clean lines has gone grungy here with metal etchings on the palm rest of the ENVY.
Another angle of the HP ENVY 13.
A close up of the metal etchings on the palm rest. The ENVY has a chiclet-style keyboard that's so fashionable now.
HP did add its own distinctive touches, like the metallic etchings on the palm rest of the ENVY 13 and a Beats Audio subsystem developed with Beats by Dr Dre. Notably, HP's QuickWeb, a quick-boot utility that allows users to access their media, chat and browse online without booting into the operating system, is found on the ENVY and all other new notebooks introduced.
HP's custom Linux based interface, QuickWeb.
At least HP retains the Voodoo Envy's slim looks, with the ENVY 13 having a form factor that measures 0.8 inches thin and results in a weight of around 1.69kg, slightly more than the thin and light notebooks making the rounds recently. (Like all thin and light notebooks, HP has ditched the optical drive on the ENVY 13 to achieve this).
Two USB ports and a HDMI output on the right side of the ENVY 13. No internal optical drive in case you're wondering.
Underneath, we found the slim and relatively flat removable battery. You can also attach an extended battery to the bottom.
Perhaps the most impressive feature of the ENVY 13 is the radiance of the 13.1-inch widescreen display, which with its 82% color gamut and 410 nits (display brightness), is twice as bright as its competitors. This is complemented by a switchable graphics design, alternating between the usual integrated Intel graphics chipset and an ATI Mobility Radeon 4330 discrete graphics chipset.
Powered by a Core 2 Duo processor of the low voltage type, HP is claiming up to 18 hours of battery life with the optional Slim Fit extended battery, which attaches itself unobtrusively to the bottom of the notebook. While we don't doubt that the battery life will be significantly extended with this battery, we're eager to find out what the actual battery life would be in a real-world use scenario.
Available in Asia Pacific from Oct 22 (to coincide with Windows 7), the ENVY 13 is priced starting from US$1699.
The metallic treatment is extended to the lid on the ENVY 15, which also gets a Core i7 processor inside, along with an ATI Radeon HD 4830 to match.
Those requiring a more powerful multimedia notebook will find the ENVY 15 right up their alley. Starting from 2.35kg, the ENVY 15 is relatively svelte for its class, measuring one-inch thick and with similar features as the ENVY 13 like the HP Clickpad and aluminum chassis. However, the ENVY 15's display is slightly less bright compared to the ENVY 13 at 300 nits and 60% gamut, though these specs are still pretty good for its class.
The metal etchings on the lid of the ENVY 15.
More connectivity ports on the ENVY 15 but like the 13, there's no internal optical drive.
The innards of this 15.6-inch notebook is the main protagonist as it is after all the faster consumer notebook in HP's lineup. One finds a Core i7 processor inside (we spotted Core i7 Q720) and 4 SODIMM slots for a maximum of 16GB of DDR3 memory. The storage options are similarly high-end, with dual solid state drives (SSD) in a RAID-0 configuration available for those who can afford to pay. ATI graphics is preferred again, with a worthy ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4830 with 1GB of graphics memory on the ENVY 15.
Prices for the ENVY 15 start from US$1899 and it's available from Oct 22.
The Ion Comes to the HP Mini
NVIDIA's Ion platform has been more talked about than seen in action on existing netbooks or desktops but NVIDIA gets a major client with HP betting the new Mini 311 netbook on the Ion. With its 11.6-inch display, the Mini 311 is of the newer generation of netbooks with larger displays. The processor however remains the same old Intel Atom N270, with the NVIDIA Ion chipset capable of handling high-definition content.
The Ion's hardware accelerated HD decoding assist won't work with streamed HD videos using Flash though, so that's a disclaimer there for those who think the Ion is a sure bet for HD. Other than the change of the chipset, the 1.36kg Mini 311 has a 92% full-size keyboard with a 6-cell battery promising up to seven hours of usage.
The HD HP Mini as the vendor brands the Mini 311 is definitely capable of playing HD content thanks to its Ion chipset. We only wished the keyboard had been extended to the edges like the other HP Minis.
The HP Mini 311 is available now from US$499.
Besides the Mini 311, HP continues to issue collaborative netbooks designs with renowned designers. After Vivienne Tam, it's the turn of Dutch industrial designer Tord Boontje, which gets to 'skin' the exterior of the HP Mini with a flora 3D imprint that's the industry's first 3D PC surface and adds layers and depth to the imprint. We aren't sure how consumers will take to this unique design but beneath the flowers, they can be reassured (or disappointed) that it's the same HP Mini 110.
The 3D imprint treatment comes to the netbook with this specially designed HP Mini by Studio Tord Bootje.
A closer look of the flora imprint for this US$549 HP Mini.
The HP Mini by Studio Tord Boontje with Windows XP is available now from US$549 and it will come with Windows 7 Starter Edition at US$599 from October 22, 2009 onwards.
HP Unveils Ultra-Slim Notebooks
Thin and light notebooks are the latest buzzword category that the industry has created and while they have not taken off as rapidly as vendors would have liked, there's no denying the attraction of these new relatively affordable ultra-portable notebooks. HP announced three such models which fit the definition, including two consumer oriented Pavilions and a business class ProBook.
Dubbed by HP as the world's thinnest full-performance notebook, the 13.3-inch HP ProBook 5310m measures 0.93-inch thin with a weight starting from 1.72kg. It comes in two flavors, either with an Intel Core 2 Duo SP9300 processor or an Intel Celeron Dual-Core ultra low-voltage processor. Battery life is expected to vary depending on the processor but even with the SP9300 Core 2 Duo, HP claims to deliver up to eight hours of usage.
Light enough to be almost an ultra-portable and yet affordable for a business oriented notebook. The HP ProBook 5310m is a thin yet very competent notebook.
These specs are encased in an aluminum chassis with a magnesium chassis and comes in a design similar to HP's more expensive, business class EliteBooks. Think of the ProBooks as budget business notebooks. In fact the HP ProBook 5310m is available now (with Windows XP or Vista only) and prices starts at US$699 for the Celeron Dual-Core model and goes up to US$899 for the Core 2 Duo version.
For the consumer crowd, HP has two Pavilions on display. The smaller 1.36kg HP Pavilion dm1 further blurs the boundaries between netbooks and notebooks. At 11.6 inches wide, it has the same dimensions as HP's own Mini 311 and many other recently released netbooks. Yet, it features a choice of an Intel Celeron Dual-Core CPU or an Intel Pentium processor. For sale from Oct 22 for US$699 with Windows 7 the OS, the dm1 can easily be confused for a high-end netbook, especially at that price.
A very powerful netbook or a very small notebook? You decide.
Finally, the last consumer notebook on show, the Pavilion dm3 continues the thin look with its one-inch thickness. However, it's slightly more heavy than most of the notebooks featured today at 1.91kg despite having a brushed aluminum chassis. HP offers multiple processor options, with both Intel's Core 2 Duo and AMD's Neo in the running. The same too for the discrete graphics, with both ATI and NVIDIA offered. There's no internal DVD writer however, though an optional one is available from HP. The dm3 goes for US$799 from Oct 22 with Windows 7 installed.
With a very polished aluminum chassis, the dm3 is a shiny consumer notebook with an interesting blend of features and performance.
For those who can't do without the processing power that only a desktop can produce, HP has a HP Pavilion Elite High Performance Edition desktop that fits the bill. With Core i7/i5 processors inside and an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260 graphics, this is one machine that's sure to handle all your gaming and HD content, especially since it has an option for an internal Blu-ray drive. Paired with a 25-inch full HD LCD monitor, the HP 2509p, this high-end system starts at US$999.
It may look like any other HP Pavilion desktop but the internal specs have been updated for Intel's latest Nehalem microarchitecture.
And that's all from HP for now. Most of these models are not available till Oct 22, when they will be found in retail with Windows 7 pre-installed. Look out for them if you're aiming for a Windows 7 notebook. There's more to come though from HP in October so watch this space for updates!
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