HP Fansite

HP Pavilion dv7 featured in Microsoft’s latest ad

The HP Pavilion dv7 was recently featured in Microsoft’s latest “Lauren and the under-$1000 17 inch laptop ad“. As usual, many Apple/Mac fanboys are screaming and trying to enforce “Windows PCs are rubbish”, yet again. Is that not surprising? Somebody actually said the $699 HP Pavilion dv7 is a, quote, “crappy budget notebook”… excuse me? The HP Pavilion dv7 is a very capable notebook – you can watch videos, play games (intensive ones included) and do a whole lot of things on it; it’s nowhere CLOSE to being a “crappy budget notebook”. Did anyone read about a certain brand’s PC hard disks failing because of using the built-in speakers at a loud volume (hint: it’s not HP); now they are the real makers of really cheap notebooks, in all senses of the word.

Back to the point… people should just face the facts: ANY other notebook PC is priced much lower, with better specifications, than an “equivalent” Apple Mac/Macbook computer. True, even I would agree that the advertisement may be somewhat “stretched” in the sense most people won’t shop for their notebook based on screen size alone, but here’s a real life experience from me: A friend of mine, Steven, has been looking for a decent notebook PC priced around $900. He’s in college right now and wants something that he can use for documents, surfing the web and also for watching movies as well as some gaming (he wants to be able to run games like Left 4 Dead and Call of Duty 4 and 5 at decent quality settings and frame rate).

He’s not asking for a massive screen (in fact he prefers a 14 to 15 inch LCD as a nice compromise between portability and screen viewability) but he’s quite particular about the graphics and gaming part there. Here’s a comparison of the HP Pavilion dv4 notebook PC versus the unibody Macbook (click for larger):

Upper left: HP Online Store, Lower left: Apple Online Store, Right: Excel comparison table (As of March 30, 2009)

A HP Pavilion dv4 with a 2.4 GHz processor, 3 GB of RAM, 320 GB hard disk, 512 MB Nvidia GeForce G105M graphics and 14 inch screen would run you roughly $925.
A Macbook (Unibody model) with a 2.4 GHz processor, 2 GB of RAM, 320 GB hard disk, 256 MB Nvidia 9400M graphics and 13 inch screen would cost about $1600!!!

Turns out a *similar* Macbook would cost almost $700 extra while having inferior graphics, a smaller LCD and 1 GB RAM less than the HP. Hey, point proven. And the higher you go, the larger the price difference between a Windows computer and a *similar* Apple computer.

He’s already checked out other “Windows PC” options and likes the HP Pavilion dv4′s build quality and design better versus the others; and is currently waiting for any additional/potential “summer specials” before springing for the notebook.

UPDATE (April 2009): Steven finally bought a laptop after much comparison and shopping around; he got a good deal on a HP Pavilion dv3000 and went for that, instead of the dv4 he was planning for.

HP iPAQ Data Messenger still rocks in some ways

Sure, it may not be the best darn Pocket PC phone out there (though HP may change that with newer phones later this year), but the HP iPAQ Data Messenger still has several reasons for existing iPAQ 612 or 912 owners to drop those models for this one. Even I’ve got to admit, coming from the iPAQ h6310 and hw6515/hw6915 phones, within my first DAY of using the iPAQ 612c, I thought “the iPAQ 612 sucks compared to previous HP Pocket PCs” (but you can’t really complain much if you’re loaning a phone and don’t have to pay for it; beggars can’t be choosers). When HP announced their iPAQ Data Messenger late fall last year, it’s specifications weren’t very impressive but still, it did offer me some compelling reasons to try it out…

The Data Messenger is essentially the fusion of the hw6915′s quick typing abilities (QWERTY keyboard) and “faux music jack” (2.5 mm headphone jack, adaptable to 3.5 mm) with the 612c’s plus points; the candybar form factor, vibrate/silent mode switch and more traditional 4:3 screen (Well, versus the hw6915′s weird square screen; not good for gaming on the go).

I’ve been using the iPAQ Data Messenger for a week now (it’s a retail model) and I do not regret, at all, dumping my iPAQ 612 for this new Pocket PC. This final, retail version fixes most of the issues I had with the pre-production version I used in November; namely camera autofocus not working, the keyguard button not working and a few software incompatibilities. The only incompatibility that remains is you CAN’T use the TCPMP player with the Data Messenger… an error constantly appears when you try to start up the player (you’ll have to use Core Player instead, which offers similar functionality).

So what plus points does the iPAQ Data Messenger offer over the iPAQ 612/912 phones?

• 2.5 mm headphone jack (YEAH!) – you can use an adapter to plug in your own 3.5 mm headphones.
  Instead of the mini USB port for headphones, where you get stuck for life with those crummy in-the-box earbuds.
• Separate micro USB port; -means you can now charge/connect the phone to your PC while continuing to listen to music at the same time.
• Larger, FLUSH 2.81 inch screen (yeah, not a big deal compared to the 612′s 2.8 inch screen, but a nice difference versus the 912′s 2.6 inch screen)
• Ambient light sensor; the screen automatically adjusts its brightness based on surrounding light
• EXCELLENT outdoor/bright light screen visibility – I can actually view the display outside on a bright sunny day now (dare I say, this rivals the Apple iPhone)
• Proximity sensor – this detects when the phone is against your ear/face when making a phone call and the Data Messenger will automatically turn off the screen
• Vibrate/silent mode switch – you can activate/disable silent mode any time (versus none on the 912; on the 612, you had to turn the phone on, press the button, and turn it off)
• HP Keyguard – this isn’t the standard Windows Mobile device lock… when the phone is locked, you can turn on the screen to check for any missed calls/messages and then just stuff it back into your pocket; the phone will turn the screen back off after several seconds
• Better camera image quality – the Data Messenger is no digital SLR but the colors it produces now are much more vivid and realistic; pictures are a tad sharper too
• Louder earpiece and loudspeaker units – now I can finally be able to hear the caller when I’m in a crowded place (malls, tradeshows and conventions, etc)
• Better sound quality – with the iPAQ 612c, music and sounds were kinda “tinny” but the Data Messenger’s sound is much deeper, louder and better (one of the factors is probably the design of the battery cover over the speaker)
• QWERTY keyboard – it’s awesome, period (the 612 had none, the 912′s keyboard was tiny and slippery)
• Improved battery life – I’m loving this as well… it’s not the best out there, but for a Pocket PC phone, battery life is very good (Data Messenger lasts for 2-3 days of my standard usage, 612c only lasts for 1 day) and I tend to heavily use feature phones.
• Very stylish design – this is my personal opinion

Some of the features like the sound/music department, QWERTY keyboard and battery life of the iPAQ Data Messenger were HUGE to me… I have even tried typing a 1,000 word article using the phone’s keyboard when I was out last weekend.

The iPAQ 612 and iPAQ 912 phones were probably fluke shots by HP… but the Data Messenger goes back to the roots of HP iPAQ design and functionality (Well, sort of). For those with bad impressions or experiences with the 612/912, I would advise you to not strike HP off your “phone shopping list” forever – the new models they’re releasing, like this one, are much better already… and I can foresee more, even better things coming…

I suspect I’ll be a very happy user of the iPAQ Data Messenger for at least the next 9-12 months… until something newer and better comes along…

Voodoo (DNA) phone in the works?

Is Voodoo PC working on bringing out their own phone/smartphone? Information right now is very scarce and it still remains a mystery IF there will be a such thing (Since Voodoo PC so far has been strictly a (gaming) computer company). The last time someone brought up the topic of a Voodoo phone would be Rob Enderle in his article published in September 2008. Recently, there have been some little, little things which hint a Voodoo phone again.

Today Mark Soloman made a post entitled “Voodoo Design Secrets” on HP/Voodoo’s The Next Bench blog. Of course, there were no product roadmaps, no concept products, not many revelations at all. Not many revelations. The first picture certainly looks very interesting (see the screenshot above) – it appears to be one of those product design kind of thing in its planning stage where the designers need to list out the components they need to pack into the final product. The right half of the whiteboard writings highlight some very interesting components (to me, at least) such as “speaker holes”, “button finish”, “multicolor LEDs” and of course, a “proximity sensor”.

Why would a computer (desktop or notebook) need a proximity sensor? Who counts the number of speaker holes on their notebook PC and their size? What about “button finish”? All these unanswered questions… the “multicolor LEDs” list “BT” and “W”. Assuming these stand for Bluetooth and WiFi respectively, when was the last time you saw a recent HP… bah, or any modern computer with separate indicators for Bluetooth and WiFi? On the other hand, some old Pocket PCs and HP iPAQs have those kind of LED indicators….

Nah, maybe Voodoo is working on a computer that turns itself on when you approach it (And off, when you walk away from it) which has flush leather buttons and back-to-the-future style separate LED indicators for Bluetooth and WiFi connectivity. Plausible, huh?

HP Mini 2140: Where are the speakers?!!

When I first saw the HP Mini 2140 with the bigger screen, and naturally, reduced bezel around it, I wondered to myself “Just where did the speakers go?”. From the initial press pictures and “virtual demo” on Hewlett Packard’s website, I couldn’t see the speakers in ANY of the press photos at all. And apparently, many of our readers’ enquiring minds wanted to know as well…

Thankfully, a HP Mini 2140 dropped into my hands about an hour after the official announcement and as soon as it did, I inspected the entire netbook for the speakers… just about everything, down to the arrangement of the various connectivity ports, was the same as on the Mini 2133. I lifted the Mini 2140 up (making it activate the 3D Drive Guard HDD protection system) but no speakers underneath either.

Within minutes of posting my hands on with the HP Mini 2140, my Outlook account became swamped with emails from people asking (and demanding to know) “where are the Mini 2140′s speakers?”.

Alright, enough with the suspense, the HP Mini 2140′s speakers are located just below its 10 inch screen – in the gap between the screen and battery so it’s not really visible (See the blue arrow in the picture above). Rest assured, there are TWO speakers (for those who cannot live without stereo sound).

Sound quality of the HP Mini 2140′s speakers were very good – I’ve played some movies and several albums of music on this netbook already. The speakers here are louder than most other netbooks; louder than its predecessor Mini 2133 even! The secret behind this is probably the speaker placement which I just mentioned – which allows the sound to be “bounced” off the battery to the screen to you (this also seems to give the sound more ‘depth’)… or maybe HP just put in better speakers in the Mini 2140.

Something worthy of note is that the HP Mini 2133 and HP Mini 2140 have speakers which are sensibly and strategically place; which aren’t blocked by anything. Most netbooks have their speakers in odd places, like on the underside of the netbook, which tends to muffle sound… yuck.

However, left-right stereo separation on the Mini 2140 is less noticeable compared to the HP Mini 2133 (Whose speakers were placed on the extreme edges of the screen). This shouldn’t be an issue for most people… if you want good and very noticeable stereo separation, you probably should be using headphones anyway, instead of your netbook’s built-in speakers.