In a move to make their AMD-infused Pavilion dm3z models more attractive, HP has recently (and quietly) outfitted their ultra-thin line of 13 inch Pavilion dm3z notebook PCs with AMD’s latest Athlon II Neo processors (which also come in single and dual core flavors) that were made official barely two weeks ago. Compared to the first generation mobile Athlon Neo MV-40 of last year, these new 2010 chipsets from AMD feature two to four times the amount of L2 cache (1 or 2 MB L2 cache in the new processors versus 512 kb) and more processing power (ranging from 1.7 GHz single core to 1.3-1.5 GHz dual core choices, compared to the 1st Neo that was 1.6 GHz single core). They also are made based on 45 nm tech (versus their predecessors’ 65 nm). All while featuring the same TDP of 15 W (and an even lower 12 W for the single core Athlon II Neo “Geneva” K125).
If you spring for the more affordable single core 1.7 GHz K125 processor, you’ll get 512 MB’s worth of slightly dated ATI Mobility Radeon 4225 graphics. Going for the slightly pricier dual core 1.3 GHz K325 processor will allow you to choose between the mentioned Mobility Radeon 4225 card or a 512 MB ATI Mobility Radeon 5430 graphics option (which is ATI’s latest). The most powerful processor of the bunch (which comes at a $150 premium over the base single core option on HP’s website) will come standard with ATI Mobility 5430 graphics.
In other news, the HP Pavilion dm3z’s Intel counterparts (the Pavilion dm3t series) have not been updated and instead, have strangely disappeared from HP’s website… new Intel ULV Core i3 and Core i5 equipped Pavilion dm3t’s for summer, anyone?!
Engadget has uncovered supposedly an internal HP document that compares the upcoming HP Slate versus the recently launched Apple iPad. Well, it looks somewhat like that Apple iPad vs HP Slate comparison of our own made in January when both devices were announced… except this comparison sheet is in simplified point form has a couple of new details and tech specs.
Things that we already know about the HP Slate: the 8.9 inch 1024 x 600 multi-touch capacitive display that supports pen input, HD video playback, SD slot, USB 2.0 port, HDMI output port and Windows 7 with a HP-created UI injected into the mix (ie, what they currently do with their Touchsmart PC’s)
New info revealed by the Engadget-found document about the HP Slate include:
- The HP Slate will use a single-core 1.6 GHz processor (specifically the Intel Atom Z530)
- Not only will it play HD video, it will play full HD 1080p video (beats the iPad with its standard definition video playback “magic”!)
- The HP Slate will come in 32 GB and 64 GB flavors
- That SD slot on the Slate will support standard SD cards, SDHC cards and recently announced SDXC format (the latter coming in monstrous capacities measuring 48 GB and above); this allows you to more than double the amount of memory you carry with the HP Slate
- There’s a dock connector on the HP Slate, so it will probably be bundled with a dock (or have one available as an optional accessory). This also opens up the door to a broad range of potential accessories: from speaker docks to physical keyboard attachments
- The HP Slate is slightly smaller than the Apple iPad (also thanks to its 8.9 inch display which is a little smaller than the iPad’s 9.7 inch screen)
- The HP Slate will have dual cameras: a VGA unit on the display side for “webcam” purposes (ie Skype and video conferencing) and a 3 megapixel camera on the back for snapshots
What’s interesting is the HP Slate will have a built-in (read: not directly accessible) “long life cycle” battery that’s rated to last about 5 hours. HP (or whoever made the comparison document) proves that the HP Slate is superior to the Apple iPad in almost every way imaginable in terms of specifications, save for screen resolution, battery life and the fact that they can’t really undercut the 16 GB non-3G iPad.
However, they did manage to accomplish their little mini-mission (if the document is correct) to undercut their Apple iPad equivalents of similar capacity – it’s likely the 32 GB HP Slate will go for $549 while the 64 GB version will go for $599; that’s $50 and $100 cheaper than the 32 GB and 64 GB iPad’s respectively.
Remember that leak a few days ago about a new HP Pavilion notebook, Compaq netbook and four Pavilion Elite desktops from a retailer who sounded like they knew some stuff, but at the same time, were also putting in some guesswork of their own? Turns out they were right about the NUMBER of new products and product pictures, but they seem to be off about product names and were most likely, really half-guessing some of the specifications (and price, since HP as of now has no official pricing available).
Rightfully, the products announced today are the Pavilion Elite 110, 120, 130 and 170. They come in a variety of flavors: choose from AMD or Intel processors, with various quad core choices, up to 24 GB total DDR3 RAM, up to 2 TB of hard disk storage (though number of hard disk bays is unknown), and Nvidia or ATI graphics cards… take your pick! Other than that, details seem to be comparatively scarce compared to the netbooks/new Touchsmart tablet launched today. HP has also yet to decide on pricing and availability
