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HP ProBook 5320m quietly made available

HP ProBook 5320m

Earlier this month, HP quietly announced the ProBook 5320m in some of their region-specific websites (such as HP Singapore), successor to last year’s ‘thin and light’ ProBook 5310m business notebook. The HP ProBook 5320m is a fairly minor refresh, with the changes being a new body color (now in gold-silvery tone, versus the all-black 5310m) with new 2010 Core i-series processors dropped into its 0.93 inch thin aluminum + magnesium alloy chassis (the ProBook 5310m measures the exact same dimensions and weighs the same 3.8 lbs/1.72 kg as its predecessor). While the ProBook 5310m had “medium voltage” SP-series Core 2 Duo processors (with 25W TDP), the new ProBook 5320m uses “standard voltage” Core i3/i5 processors (with 35W TDP)… I wonder how this will impact battery life. Currently there are just three i-series processor options available: the 2.26 GHz Core i3-350M, 2.40 GHz Core i3-370M and 2.40 GHz i5-450M (whose advantage over Core i3 being its ability to ‘overclock’ itself up to 2.66 GHz via Turbo Boost). Seeing they probably share the same motherboard, I’m wondering why HP doesn’t list options for higher-spec Core i5 processors or even the powerful 2.66 GHz Core i7-620M for the ProBook 5320m (perhaps HP will offer such options in the future, but for those daring enough to ‘dig in’ to their notebook, you could probably try to order a ‘replacement part’ Core i7-620M and install it at your own risk!). There’s also a low-end 1.06 GHz Celeron ultra-low voltage U2300 processor option available for those willing to sacrifice power for better battery life.

Two other noteworthy additions to the ProBook 5320m is the multi-touch, gesture enabled touchpad (which the 2009 ProBook 5310m can probably do too, via this magical Synaptics touchpad driver from HP’s website) and new VGA port alongside the Display Port option (the 5310m has Display Port only, hence requiring an adapter to connect to most projectors and VGA-cabled monitors). I’m a bit surprised that HP decided to continue using a more traditional ‘touchpad with physical buttons’ setup here on the ProBook 5320m (versus the button-less huge trackpad they’ve outfitted on the other 5000-series ProBook and consumer Pavilion/Envy models).

While the ProBook 5320m has appeared on HP’s websites for certain countries, there’s no word so far on pricing or availability in North America.

HP Mini 5101 is hot

It has the guts of the Mini 2140 but comes with a much nicer design, a chiclet style 95% keyboard and an additional USB port – it’s the new HP Mini 5101!! The Mini 5101′s design has a lot more in common with the design of the Probook series launched by HP earlier this year – a chiclet style keyboard, all black casing with turquoise/electric blue lighting for buttons, even the touchpad buttons feel the same (and the Probook series have very nice, rubberized touchpad buttons, with a nice ‘fluffy’ feeling when pressed). Oh, speaking of the touchpad, the Mini 5101′s buttons are now located BELOW the touchpad area like any other traditional notebook, instead of the awkward positioning on the left/right on the 2133/2140.

[Pictures to come...]

Hmmm, but unlike the Probook series with plasticky casings, the HP Mini 5101 is made entirely of aluminium/magnesium alloy (which naturally, feels a lot more sturdy and as solid as its Business Mini predecessors). Could this all-black, metal design be a hint of what’s to come on HP’s 2009 Elitebook lineup? I mean, not that I have any objections to 2008′s Elitebook black keyboard, white casing color scheme…

Alright, back to the Mini 5101 – it sounds like the perfect netbook at the moment, except it lacks backlit keyboard keys and graphic card options (ie Nvidia Ion). I surely hope that HP adds these two options to the Mini 5101 once they start shipping.

New HP Probooks launched

HP just launched their new line of low-end business notebooks today (with your choice of 14, 15.6 or 17.3 inch models), giving them the new sub-brand of HP Probooks. The new line of HP Probooks today come under their s-series, which is the entry-level part of HP’s business notebook line (there’s s, b, p and w which stand for standard, business, professional and workstation respectively). Well, there’s really nothing groundbreaking about today’s new releases, besides their price tags which are surprisingly low for business notebooks. There’s the usual feature-trickle from higher-end Elitebook models such as Quick Look 2, HP Spare Key and File Sanitizer, HDMI port, docking station compatibility and the availability of optional dedicated graphics. The BIGGEST (most prominent, rather) change is the new HP Probooks have chiclet keyboards, in-line with the rumor posted three weeks ago… well, what did I tell yeh?!