Hey, here’s a two-in-one news story about HP tablet/slate devices. The first, fairly solid rumor/announcement is that the recently released HP Touchsmart tm2 will be packed with the latest, but currently unannounced, Intel low-voltage Core i3 and Core i5 processors in a few months’ time, most likely somewhere during summer, towards the July/August period where Intel has had some history in announcing new stuff. Well, that’s great news for ‘back to school’ goers and people who can wait for a while before buying their new notebook… but probably not so great for people like me – you know, the type who wants the ‘latest and greatest’ but at the same time needs to get a new notebook pretty soon (I’m looking for an ultra-portable to replace my current HP Mini this year).
In other news, there’s whispers of a HP Slate like slate in development that will run WebOS (courtesy of buying Palm not two weeks ago). Sources are saying that mobile processors will definitely be used in this latest “Slate” (compared to the original HP Slate that will run on Intel Atom ‘netbook’ processors), though the topic as to which mobile processor is up for speculation (I’m betting some upgraded/future Snapdragon processor/Nvidia Tegra 2). Rumors from the web (which usually are less reliable, like the time that the speculated ‘HP iPaq K3 Obsidian’ turned out to be called the ‘HP iPaq Glisten’ instead) label this upcoming HP slate, the HP Hurricane. Seeing we haven’t quite gotten any names from sources yet, I guess we’ll stick to that for now – look out for further news about the HP Hurricane in the future (which will be listed under our existing HP Slate news category)
Based on the various tablet announcements from other companies this week, I think we can safely assume that HP will be including low voltage Core i7 (and probably i5) in their upcoming Elitebook 2540p ultra-portable notebook and Elitebook 2740p professional tablet. Both should be announced very soon so HP doesn’t get left behind after all their manufacturers launch their stuff. Lenovo and Toshiba are already done announcing their Core i7 tablets. Who’s next? If the leak about the Elitebook 2740p’s spring manufacture/launch is correct, then HP may jolly well be next in line, or not far from the front of the line at least, to announce their 2740p tablet…. along with other juicy goodies.
What else should we expect from the two 12 inch Elitebooks of the future? HP’s updated design cues for their business notebooks as seen in their new 14 and 15 inch Elitebook models announced at CES – that includes a fingerprint reader with a new ‘low-profile look’ (apparently gonna make its way to HP’s consumer line as well, so the whispers say), partial-chiclet style keyboard that’s spill resistant, one-press HP Night Light and solid metal build quality. Hey, we’ve already seen pictures of the Elitebook 2540p leaked by HP themselves… but there’s still a chance of them coming out with a totally radical re-design for the Elitebook 2740p tablet.
As for graphics options, these ultra-portable Elitebooks will have battery life as a priority over sheer performance, though no doubt Low Voltage Core i7 will still be able to pack quite a punch. Integrated graphics (by Intel, doh!) has been confirmed by a reliable source. Before you slap your own forehead doing a facepalm, feel assured there’s a small, small, small chance HP is considering discrete graphics as options (not sure if it’s gonna Nvidia or ATI).
htt 8440 and 8540 p://hpfansite.com/hp-elitebook/hp-elitebook-2740p-tablet-manufactured-spring-2010/
Elitebook 2740p mentioned on a high school website
An anonymous person has just tipped us off about the “manufacturing date” of the upcoming HP Elitebook 2740p posted on a Michigan high school’s website. Mercy High School mentions in an announcement about their Student Computing Package that the HP Elitebook 2740p is set to be manufactured in Spring 2010 (which probably means anywhere between now and March-April?). They go on to mention that the Elitebook 2740p tablet is a “non-consumer professional model” which I’m sure many of us do know already.
If the Elitebook 2740p is set to be manufactured this spring as they say, then an official announcement might just be around the corner. Hmmm. HP might be releasing it real soon to capitalize on the new semester for students, co-inciding with some “February” whispers and the fact they’re splitting new product announcements into two parts (one was CES 2010, the other upcoming).
As for specifications, well, it’s gonna be a great surprise… we’ve already seen what HP did with their consumer Touchsmart tablet. Anyone wanna throw in a few words about what they might do with their business/professional Elitebook one?
Remember two weeks ago when there were whispers about the Envy series going global/outside of North America? Well, turns out there’s a HIGH possibility that might be true. The new HP Envy 13 just came out ahead of its Tuesday announcement. The new notebook features an ultra-thin profile, 13 inch screen, chiclet-style keyboard, huge trackpad (possibly multi-touch) and will most likely make it to computer stores around the world (unlike its Voodoo PC counterpart, the Envy 133). As for port selection, pictures show 2 USB ports, HDMI port and a combined audio in/out jack. Stay glued in your seats people, I predict a slew of new HP things coming real soon.
