HP Pavilion dm4x laptop released
HP has just quietly slipped out a version of the Pavilion dm4 consumer laptop with an Intel 2011 Sandy Bridge processor update, AMD Radeon 6000M series mobile graphics and a new color for its casing.
The new HP Pavilion dm4x laptop now gives you a fresh selection of three Sandy Bridge Core i5 dual core processors from 2.3 GHz onwards up to the 2.7 GHz Core i7-2620M. You also get hard disk choices with a base capacity of 500 GB (5400 RPM) up to a fast and spacious 750 GB (7200 RPM speed) disk. Other than that, other specifications such as port selection, HD webcam and 14 inch 1366 x 768 LED backlit display from the original Pavilion dm4 remain.
Sadly, there is still no word of any backlit keyboard option (which I have a feeling might persuade some ‘MacBook Pro shoppers’ to pick the Pavilion series instead; I have more to elaborate on this matter at a later date).
Fortunately for the style conscious, there is anew ‘dark umber’ color option for the Pavilion dm4x, which is a fancy name for either metallic gold or beige, which brings your notebook to look ever-so-slightly closer, though not quite there yet, to the upscale black Envy 14 Beats Edition.
The HP Pavilion dm4x starts at $730 and is full configurable.
The epicness of this HP 'tall' cup makes my coffee taste most magical!
I love coffee but I’m not one of those people who needs a daily dose of caffeine to stay functional and productive. As a casual coffee drinker since 2008, I’ve had my fair share of coffee cups, usually over small talk and meetings with friends or hunched over my EliteBook 2530p replying to emails. But since I cannot afford to have Starbucks everyday or every week, I tend to resort to “made at home” coffee. And if you’re a big time HP fan like me, the picture above is how you roll when it comes to drinking coffee!
I’m not a fan of politics nor would I like to discuss any here on HP Fansite (and hence I won’t be posting any pictures here), but tech enthusiasts cannot help noticing HP products when they appear in photos in the media! In a photo taken of Obama and his team watching a recent news story (photo and coverage can be seen on Gizmodo), we can spot four HP Compaq
Well, you surely won’t mistake the HP Compaq 8710w as a new model at all… though it’s interesting to ponder whether President Obama might consider the HP EliteBook 8560w Mobile Workstation for his next laptop when it’s time for an upgrade!
Apple announces 2011 iMac all-in-one models
It’s breaking Apple news here, and for a reason too: Apple has just come out with some newly refreshed all-in-one iMac models which may arouse slight interest in a select few folks. The upgrades are fairly evolutionary, with the continuation of the same screen size choices offered since last year, a 21.5 inch 1920 x 1080p display or a massive 27 inch display with ‘larger than Full HD’ 2560 x 1440 resolution (both 16:9 aspect ratio), but the four main changes will probably get photographers, videographers, artists, media professionals and the like thinking about a possible upgrade:
- Intel 2011 Sandy Bridge processors
The 21.5 inch iMac will give you a choice between the 2.5 GHz clocked Core i5-2400S or slightly more powerful 2.7 GHz Core i5-2500S (both are quad core), which can Turbo Boost speeds up to 3.6 GHz and a whopping 4.0 GHz respectively. Both are ‘low power’ desktop processors offered by Intel with a TDP of 65W
The larger 27 inch iMac moves selection choice up a notch by letting you decide between the aforementioned low-voltage, quad-core 2.7 GHz Core i5-2500S or ‘full-voltage’ quad-core 3.1 GHz Core i5-2400 which has a higher TDP of 95W and has a maximum Turbo Boost speed of 3.4 GHz. A third processor option available only on configurable models of the 27 inch iMac is a quad-core 3.4 GHz Core i7-2600 processor which has a max Turbo Boost clock speed of 3.8 GHz.
- New AMD mobile (yes you read that right: mobile, like for laptops) consumer-class graphics cards
The 21.5 inch iMac comes with choice of a GDDR5 512 MB AMD Radeon 6750M graphics card, or Radeon 6770M (which should be slightly faster with higher clock speeds)
The 27 inch iMac gives you a choice between GDDR5 512 MB AMD Radeon 6770M, or the almost-top-end AMD Radeon 6970M graphics card (Which comes in two flavors: 1 GB or 2 GB of GDDR5 memory)
- Facetime HD camera: a fancy name for a webcam that does 720p video and can communicate very easily with other FaceTime enabled products (Read: iPhone 4 and newer iPod Touch models)
- Thunderbolt port: Now this is somewhat news. For now, people in the graphics/movie industry (and consumers in general) may be contemplating the usefulness of this port, but if Thunderbolt kicks off quickly enough and folks such as camera manufacturers come up with digital SLRs and pro-level video equipment with Thunderbolt ports, I can foresee these Apple iMacs being snapped up like hot cakes (unless any other PC manufacturer has something to say and starts introducing Thunderbolt too!)
The 21.5 inch iMac comes with one Thunderbolt port while the 27 inch iMac comes with two of them ports! As with the MacBook Pro models, the Thunderbolt ports also double as where you plug in Display Port cables
The reason I find this news story interesting is because Apple has a tendency of skimping on the hardware side of things (which still holds true for the MacBook and MacBook Pro models). And despite today’s new iMacs still not being the most powerful things on earth (and the tech-savvy could probably build a rival system for around the same price or surprisingly, perhaps slightly more, factoring in the 27 inch display of the larger iMac), they will still probably be well received by those looking for a ‘powerful Mac’ (relatively speaking) with a decent processor and graphics card, along with a massive high resolution display (2560 x 1440). I can almost predict that Pixar and design companies due for an upgrade will pick up a couple of these! Prices start at $1200 and $2000 for the 21.5 inch and 27 inch iMacs respectively.
Now, that brings us to our next question: When are the next-generation HP Touchsmart models with Intel Sandy Bridge and AMD Radeons 6000-series coming out? =) With the announcement of ‘next generation’ Intel Ivy Bridge processors imminent in 2012, I think Apple’s a little late to the Sandy Bridge party today (but better later than never, right?) and the next few months will be the last chance for manufacturers to introduce Sandy Bridge based products before Intel drops the news on Ivy Bridge, possibly at CES 2012!
New back design for 2011 EliteBooks with a backlit HP logo and 'radial metal finish'
It just occurred to me how similar the back of the 2010 “gunmetal grey” EliteBook Mobile Workstation models look compared to some ProBook models. I was walking past some person at Starbucks today and from a distance, thought he was using an EliteBook 8740w, but upon closer inspection, it was just an older 17 inch ProBook model.
I figured this is perhaps one of the reasons that explains HP’s decision to give this year’s EliteBook Mobile Workstation models a new, distinct backside design… so one can never mistake an expensive EliteBook from a cheaper ProBook model ever again! Of course, the silver bar at the bottom and so-totally-color-mismatching orange font makes this new design a love-hate thing, and they could have just made do with the backlit HP logo. Then again, that might not be sufficient for one to tell an EliteBook from a ProBook when both laptops are turned off!
