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HP Mini 100e is HP’s approach to high tech but low cost education

HP recently announced a new low-cost netbook: Targeting schools and education institutes, the “clamshell” shaped (it literally looks like a clamshell!) HP Mini 100e will be available for order (at least for those folks) in July, sporting various configuration options but none of which exceed the $300 mark. And speaking of configuration, there will be various color schemes and custom logo/patterns available for the Mini 100e’s screen bezel, lid and keyboard (ie a school can put their logo to ‘brand’ the netbooks).

HP doesn’t mention if the Mini 100e will be available through retailers to consumers in general, though I wouldn’t lose any sleep about that – the market is already full of (or shall I say, flooded with) netbooks with similar or better features, with various brands and designs, and with prices ranging from ‘super affordable’ (ie the old, discontinued Asus Eee 800 or 900 series) to ‘premium’ (ie HP’s own Mini 5102).

The HP Mini 100e features the typical netbook affair – An Intel Atom N450 series processor with integrated graphics, a 10.1 inch LED-backlit display (1024 x 600) and a single DDR3 RAM slot that supports either one or two gigabytes of memory. HP is also giving schools, and whichever other clients it chooses to sell this Mini to, a choice of a 3 or 6 cell battery (no word about battery life though). The Mini 100e has a chiclet keyboard which looks a whole lot like the one found on HP’s Touchsmart tm2 and 2010 Pavilion dv3 (it’s a brilliant keyboard to type on; see my review of the Pavilion dv3 here)

Acting as one of HP’s most basic of netbooks, the Mini 100e has several cut-down features (compared to its ‘regular’ Mini siblings and other netbooks), such as its two USB 2.0 ports (as opposed to 3 USB ports being the norm on majority of today’s netbooks) and choice of 160 GB HDD or 16 flash-based storage (netbooks nowadays are pushing hard disks upwards of 250 or 320 GB, depending on manufacturer).

HP Envy 14 and Envy 17 finally revealed

Well, they’re finally official now and I can quit receiving these kazillion emails about the upcoming Envy 14/17 models… wait, at least until the Envy 11 and Envy 18 emails start flooding in a couple months’ time . Right now, the information being provided by HP is scarce. But after some “digging around”, I’ve managed to compile a much more comprehensive list of specifications for the Envy 14 and Envy 17, more than you’ll find on other sites out there. All the info I’ve listed below are accurate/confirmed except where noted otherwise.

For both the Envy 14 and Envy 17, the following things will come as standard/available features:

• Choice of Intel Core i5 dual core, Intel Core i7 dual core and Intel Core i7 Quad core processors (yes, the Envy 14 can be configured as a quad-core machine!)
• Fully backlit, chiclet style keyboard; NO annoying ‘quick media/quick launch’ buttons to hinder typing
• Metal/aluminum chassis with metal etching design (same patterns on the lid/palmrest as Envy 15)
• HP True Vision “HD” webcam (I think they can record/webconference in 720p; haven’t confirmed, I’m not really a big webcam user)
• Built-in slot-loading optical drives (contrary to earlier documents and HP info; somehow someone managed to squeeze in those optical drives)
• 7200 rpm hard disks will come standard; solid state drives (SSD) will also come as an option
• Dual built-in microphones
• Extra large button-less trackpads with brand new trackpad firmware/software for improved operation (really)
• Much improved cooling/airflow and heat dissipation
• LAN port for you network cable users
• Dedicated audio in and audio out ports for microphone and headphones respectively (unlike the single combo port on the Envy 15)

And looking at them individually now, first we have the HP Envy 14:

• 2 dedicated USB ports + 1 combo eSATA/USB port
• Standard full-size keyboard without numeric pad (doh!)
• 14 inch 16:9 aspect ratio “HD” (at least 1366 x 768; higher resolution panel options unconfirmed) LED backlit display; this one’s an “extra-bright” HP Radiance display (similar to how the Envy 13 had a 13 inch Radiance display)
• Two speaker Beats-branded (or logo stamped) speakers
• Single hard disk bay
• 2 or 4 DDR3 RAM slots
• 1 GB (confirmed) of ATI Mobility Radeon 56xx or 57xx graphics(unconfirmed; dm4 has ATI 5400 series graphics so the Envy 14 should have something higher)
• Optional (or probably standard in some countries) slim battery slice (styled ala Envy 13/Envy 15 battery slices) brings battery life to “up to 13.75 hours”
• Mini Display Port and HDMI port (No VGA out)
• Thin design, around an inch thick

The HP Envy 17

Next up is the much-discussed Envy 17:

• 3 dedicated USB ports + 1 combo eSATA/USB port
• Standard full-size keyboard WITH numeric pad
• 17 inch 16:9 aspect ratio full HD (1920 x 1080) display; appears to be a non-Radiance display
• Two speaker Beats-branded speakers plus “Triple Bass Reflex” (fancy name!) miniature subwoofer
• Dual hard disk bays (HP says you can have up to 2 TB of storage, not sure if they made a typo there because 2 TB in a notebook sounds… wrong)
• 2 or 4 DDR3 RAM slots
• 1 GB ATI Mobility Radeon 5850 graphics with Eyefinity “enabled”
• Optional extended primary battery juts out the bottom of the notebook
• Whopping THREE display output ports: Mini Display Port, HDMI and VGA out
• ATI Eyefinity support allows you to hook up three displays to the said three display output ports without any adapter needed
• Thin design, around an inch thick

And finally, we have a bunch of question marks floating around which I’ll post answers to when I get more information:

• Do the HP Envy 14 and Envy 17 support USB 3.0? If yes, how many of the ports are USB 3.0 and how many are USB 2.0?
• Is dual monitor “Eyefinity” enabled/do-able using the Envy 14?
• Seeing the Envy 17 has a  “stick out style” optional primary battery, will there be any (if at all) sort of slim battery slice for it?

I’m sure one of these days, either the Envy 14 or Envy 17 or both is gonna show up at my door, so meanwhile let’s discuss. You can start shooting me your questions so I can find answers to them the minute I get the chance to test out the new HP Envy’s.

HP Elitebook 8740w and ATI FirePro M7820 appear on multiple HP websites

HP Elitebook 8740w listed for order on HP UK website!

Disappointed that you didn’t see any sign of the Elitebook 8740w last weekend? Well, let’s turn that frown upside down because the HP Elitebook 8740w (sans press pictures) has recently appeared on multiple country-specific HP websites. On HP’s UK website, the Elitebook 8740w is listed from 1949 pounds for the Core i5 540M equipped version right up to just shy over 2300 pounds for the Core i7 720QM quad core model. The Elitebook 8740w has also appeared on HP’s websites for other countries around the globe, from HP Saudi Arabia to HP Bulgaria. Oddly enough, there hasn’t been an official announcement from HP yet, neither has the 8740w Mobile Workstation appeared on HP’s USA/Main website yet… but from today’s events, you can look out for an announcement before March is over!

For those who want all the news right here without clicking any links, HP’s UK website seems to provide the most info about the Elitebook 8740w Mobile Workstation, but nothing that we don’t know about already thanks to tips from a trusted source several weeks back.

• Processor choices: 1.73 GHz Core i7 820QM quad core, 1.60 GHz Core i7 720QM quad core, 2.66 GHz Core i7 620M dual core, 2.53 GHz Core i5 540M dual core and 2.40 GHz Core i5 520M dual core
• 4 DDR3 1333 MHz RAM slots for up to 16 GB total RAM
• 7200 RPM hard disks are standard; capacities available range from 320 to 640 GB
• 17 inch 16:10 full HD+ (1920 x 1200) display with optional DreamColor (looks like DC1 at this point in time); ambient light sensor for display is standard
• Choice of 1 GB ATI FirePro M7820 GDDR5, 1 GB Nvidia Quadro FX3800M GDDR3 or 512 MB Nvidia Quadro FX2800M GDDR3 workstation-class graphics cards
• 2 MP webcam
• Optical drive/upgrade bay for secondary hard disk
• 2 USB 2.0 ports and 2 USB 3.0 ports; other ports remain the same as 8730w except HDMI which has been replaced by DisplayPort
• Weight: 3.57 kg
• Dimensions: 39.75 x 28.55 x 3.65 cm

What’s missing at the moment, but are confirmed to become available in the future, include the DreamColor 2 display panel, backlit keyboard option and solid state drive options.

ATI FirePro M7820 confirmed on HP UK Elitebook 8740w page

P.S. Anyone noticed that HP has placed the ATI FirePro M7820 above the Nvidia Quadro FX3800M?! Hint hint at graphics card positioning there…

Up to three storage/disk drives on flagship Elitebook 8740w?!

HP has put quite a bit of effort (but not to their full potential, apparently) to spice up this year’s Elitebook 8440 and 8540 models. After pondering things over, I think making the Elitebook 8740w merely a “17 inch version” of the 8540w would be risky for HP. With 2008′s Elitebook 8530w vs Elitebook 8730w, there was plenty to justify going for the 17 inch 8730w: numeric pad, more powerful graphics card, DreamColor display and optional Quad Core.

The same can’t be done with the 8740w as two original differentiating factors: numeric pad and quad core are already standard on the 8540w, leaving graphics and the optional DreamColor display as the only reasons to settle for a bulkier, less portable 17 inch model. More things have to be introduced in the Elitebook 8740w to differentiate it from the 8540w… coincidentally, one of the negative points some critics made about the original 8730w was the lack of a second built-in hard disk bay which manycompetitors had (and whose successors still have at the moment, like the Dell Precision M6500). You could have had two hard disks spinning in your 8730w, but you had to sacrifice the optical drive for that to happen. That is why I highly suspect HP’s 2010 Elitebook 8740w will have options for up to three hard disk drives (two standard notebook storage bays; option to replace optical drive with 3rd hard disk/solid state drive).

But one of the issues would be space. The Elitebook 8730w was/is the slimmest 17 inch Mobile Workstation available (Apple MacBook Pro 17 doesn’t count because it has consumer graphics), and I get a feeling the 8740w will inherit that title from its predecessor. While some two and a half inch thick 17 inch laptops can pack two hard disks above each other or tuck them under other components, you’d have to place the hard disk bays side on the Elitebook 8740w (which is gonna be a little over an inch thin). I’ve seen what’s inside the old Elitebook 8730w before (after dissection) and if we were to assume components in the 8740w to be about the same proportions and take up a similar amount of space, HP could fit in a second hard disk bay under the left side of the palmrest. Some reshuffling would have to be done, however – relocating the Smart Card reader to above the optical drive (ala their other non-17 inch Elitebook models) is a must. The Express Card slot can remain – there is sufficient room to have the hard disk sit directly below the EC slot.

It’s good to see HP working their way “up” the model range when designing their Elitebooks. I see some manufacturers are doing the opposite, creating higher end models and then “crippling” certain features in them to create lower end variaties – I personally think this isn’t the way to go if one was to bring innovation to the table. I get a gut feeling multi-hard disk bays will be one of the many surprises HP will introduce in the Elitebook 8740w….

HP’s undercover gaming laptop – the Elitebook 8540w

It’s a weekend and I’ve been busy with spring cleaning, vacuuming the place and sorting things out, tossing out unused junk… and I’ve also been eying Assassin’s Creed 2 for PC, which is coming out in March 2010! Alienware (by Dell) recently came out with a very interesting 11 inch ‘gaming’ notebook this CES and I’ve been visiting their site to check out their M11x and M15x notebooks (not that I’m considering either, I’m just curious to learn more about various manufacturer offerings).

Okay, while I was on Alienware’s website looking at their M15x gaming notebook, I couldn’t help but to compare it to the recently launched Elitebook 8540w! No, don’t go “what the…??” just because the Alienware M15x is a dedicated gaming notebook and the Elitebook 8540w is a professional mobile workstation. I kinda figured that the HP Elitebook 8540w, despite being a business notebook and looking nothing like one suited for hardcore gaming, can in fact double as a pretty powerful and potent gaming notebook (and to a certain extent, and can put up a fight against Dell/Alienware’s heavy weight performer. Here’s why…

• The Alienware M15x has various Intel Core i7 Quad and Core i5 Dual core processor options. The Elitebook 8540w does too (except the i7 Extreme option, at the moment).
• The Alienware M15x can be fitted with a full HD 1080p widescreen display. Well, so can the Elitebook 8540w (with points for having a matte display; reviews of the M15x mention it has a glossy one).
• The Alienware M15x has two DDR3 RAM (1333 MHz) slots so you can have up to 8 GB of memory… the Elitebook 8540w has a whopping four DDR3 RAM (also 1333 MHz) slots for double the memory: 16 GB max.
• Both notebooks have 7200 RPM hard disks standard (up to 500 GB), and optional solid state drives (up to 256 GB)
• Both notebooks have optical drives with optional Blu-ray. The Elitebook 8540w has an advantage here of being able to swap out the optical drive for a second 500 GB 7200 RPM hard disk.

The Alienware M15x and Elitebook 8540w also have the exact same variety of ports (except USB). The Elitebook 8540w’s five USB ports (three USB 2.0 and two USB 3.0) beats three USB 2.0 ports that the Alienware has. But the Alienware M15x is a better entertainment notebook with two headphone jacks (versus one on the Elitebook).

The Elitebook 8540w comes with an 8-cell battery standard, with the option to add on a secondary 8 or 12 cell battery via the secondary battery connector on the notebook’s underside. On team Alienware, the M15x comes standard with a 6 cell battery, with the option to go for a 9 cell battery option (this battery sits in place of the 6 cell, and is not an add on battery). In theory, if one was to “game on the go”, you could swap batteries on the Elitebook more easily without having to power off/hibernate the notebook at all.

Sure, the advantages that the Alienware M15x has include: better built-in speakers, extremely customizable AlienFX keyboard backlight/overall lighting system, system/cooling designed specifically for gaming, gaming-specific Nvidia GeForce graphics and a striking exterior design that’s bound to intimidate your opponents at a LAN party. I mean, how’s an innocent looking Elitebook gonna have any psychological effect on the other team at a gaming tournament/gathering, at all? Well, you gotta know the Alienware M15x is also 50% heavier, 50% thicker and slightly wider/longer than the Elitebook 8540w as well!

The Alienware M15x’s current graphics card options are: the 512 MB Nvidia GeForce GT240M and 1 GB Nvidia GeForce GTX260M. Granted the Elitebook 8540w is NOT a dedicated gaming notebook and comes with workstation-class graphics, its 1 GB Nvidia Quadro FX880M and 1 GB Nvidia Quadro FX1800M graphics offerings (equivalent to Nvidia’s new GeForce GT330M and GT335M cards, I think) still hold up pretty well… you could still use them for gaming.

There’s also the HP Night Light on the Elitebook 8540w… and while it won’t hold a candle against Alienware’s advanced Alien FX lighting system, at least it still does its job of providing keyboard illumination while you’re gaming or working in the dark!

If the Elitebook was a Wall Street guy in a business suit and tie, the Alienware would probably be Arnold Schwarzenegger during his bodybuilder days. As I mentioned, the Alienware M15x and Elitebook 8540w are two completely different animals, that nobody would even think of comparing. Yet somehow, my creative mind has come up with this fairly fair and square comparison of the two. No, I don’t expect gamers to be switching over to CAD workstations used by professionals anytime soon, or vice versa… but today’s comparison does bring up an interesting revelation: the Elitebook 8540w has more ‘gaming genes’ under its hood than one would probably expect. While it wasn’t built from the ground up for gaming, I think the Elitebook 8540w packs quite a punch for a business notebook; enough to allow graphic designers, CAD professionals, students, etc (whatever you plan to use it for) to unwind with a game of Need for Speed Shift or Crysis 2 (almost) maxed out in full HD after a day’s work.

*Note to self: I should really make a video of ‘gaming and gameplay using an Elitebook’, bet that’ll be interesting…