One of the more reliable sources out there has recently picked something up on the radar: *something* will be announced somewhere in the middle of next month, perhaps biased a little towards the end, but nevertheless, something. *Something* because it is currently unknown what exactly it will be, but I’m sure many of us are all hoping it will be the some things we’ve been waiting for, huh?
Nope, don’t look at the categories I’ve listed below as hints I know something you all don’t – it’s just wishful thinking because my guess is as good as your’s. The time of month has been confirmed (mid-end March), but announcement/event is unknown. So remember to take some time off this weekend to do the lucky dance and hope it’s the new Elitebooks and/or ATI graphics options.
UPDATE: In case you were thinking the Feb 28/March 1 announcement of the Elitebook 2540p and 2740p and updated Probook models were “IT”, you’re wrong. Expect another round of announcements in March. So this time we can narrow things down to either the flagship Elitebook 8740w with Dream Color 2, the new Envy 14 and Envy 17, new Pavilion notebooks, one or more of the above, or something completely different (remote possibility: HP Slate pricing and availability?). And the speculation goes on….
Based on the various tablet announcements from other companies this week, I think we can safely assume that HP will be including low voltage Core i7 (and probably i5) in their upcoming Elitebook 2540p ultra-portable notebook and Elitebook 2740p professional tablet. Both should be announced very soon so HP doesn’t get left behind after all their manufacturers launch their stuff. Lenovo and Toshiba are already done announcing their Core i7 tablets. Who’s next? If the leak about the Elitebook 2740p’s spring manufacture/launch is correct, then HP may jolly well be next in line, or not far from the front of the line at least, to announce their 2740p tablet…. along with other juicy goodies.
What else should we expect from the two 12 inch Elitebooks of the future? HP’s updated design cues for their business notebooks as seen in their new 14 and 15 inch Elitebook models announced at CES – that includes a fingerprint reader with a new ‘low-profile look’ (apparently gonna make its way to HP’s consumer line as well, so the whispers say), partial-chiclet style keyboard that’s spill resistant, one-press HP Night Light and solid metal build quality. Hey, we’ve already seen pictures of the Elitebook 2540p leaked by HP themselves… but there’s still a chance of them coming out with a totally radical re-design for the Elitebook 2740p tablet.
As for graphics options, these ultra-portable Elitebooks will have battery life as a priority over sheer performance, though no doubt Low Voltage Core i7 will still be able to pack quite a punch. Integrated graphics (by Intel, doh!) has been confirmed by a reliable source. Before you slap your own forehead doing a facepalm, feel assured there’s a small, small, small chance HP is considering discrete graphics as options (not sure if it’s gonna Nvidia or ATI).
htt 8440 and 8540 p://hpfansite.com/hp-elitebook/hp-elitebook-2740p-tablet-manufactured-spring-2010/
Say what now?! After a few years of abandoning the camera market, it seems that HP is making a come back this year with five new digital still cameras and three new camcorders. I’m surprised that none of them have HP’s old “Photosmart” moniker – they could’ve used one, instead of the confusing numbers and letters each model has right now. The five new cameras (with the confusing names: CW450, CW450t, SW450 PW460t, PW550z) are all sub-$150 entry-level offerings and will sell only though certain channels. The camcorders (with names just as confusing: V1020h, V5061u and V5560u) are sub-$200 models, two of which are able to record full HD 1080p video and have regular “camcorder” form-factors, while the cheapest (And slimmest) of the three will record 720p regular HD video.
Not sure why HP is suddenly making a come back this spring, neither is it known what their plan in the digital imaging (still and video cameras) business is for the long term. Well, HP, if there’s one place where a “comeback” (and a big, bad-ass comeback, at that) is needed from you is the handheld/mobile phone line. While I’m sure many appreciate HP toying with and testing the waters of different device markets, the iPaq line has long been in need of a nice refresh with awesome new models (something we haven’t seen in quite some time now…)
I have a friend who recently bought a new HP Envy 15, which HP updated last month with new Intel Core i5 mobile processor options and ATI Mobility Radeon 5830, and USB 3.0 (with Core i7 models only). First, a little intro on why he decided to buy the Envy 15, and why now – he wanted to replace his aging 15 inch notebook with some thing of similar size and with a lot of power for his PC games, and liked the 2009 Envy 15 (mainly due to build quality), but decided to hold out until ATI released their Mobility Radeon 5000 series graphics card. Coincidentally, the refreshed 2010 Envy 15 was the first (or one of the first) notebook with ATI’s new breed of DX11 mobile graphics available, so he got his cake and got to eat it too. So two weeks ago (or was it three), after his Envy 15 arrived, he offered me to take this new machine on a two week [intensive] test drive, in exchange for helping him set things up – install his games and software, remove the bloatware (ahem, Norton trial, ahem) and stuff… an offer I gladly accepted!
It’s gonna be a fairly in-depth review with many pretty pictures, and I don’t want to jam up the front page, so hit that link to continue reading.
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In a report today by the Wall Street Journal online, there’s news that HP plans to introduce their HP Slate at a price lower than the Apple iPad (3G connectivity version) of the same size (presumably built-in memory size, not physical size). Isn’t competition great?! Technically, the HP Slate (which I’d like to remind you, will run on full-fledge Windows 7) would still be a better deal than the iPad (which is just an oversized iPod Touch with iPhone OS plus a few additional features for the larger display), even if priced slightly higher, because of versatility of Windows 7 versus a mobile OS. But I suppose this move is even better, to prevent the dreaming ‘iSheep’ from just blindly buying the iPad because it’s “cheaper”…
Comparing the HP Slate and Apple iPad, of similar memory and price, the HP Slate is the obvious victor with Windows 7. Imagine all the things you could do with a full fledged OS (AKA the same things you currently do on your desktop/notebook, minus playing Crysis and running 3Ds MAX), compared to the mobile OS used by the iPad. Now imagine the HP Slate being even cheaper than the iPad, what a great deal that would be! For the record, the Apple iPad will sell for $629, $729 and $829 for 16 GB, 32 GB and 64 GB 3G-enabled versions. Oh remember to check out a comparison between the two slate form factor devices in the HP Slate vs Apple iPad article I posted last month!
