HP's ProBook 4310s ultraportable now on sale, starts at $799

We got a chance to toy with HP's latest "pro-level" ultraportable at the tail end of last month, and while it proved to be a bit chunky, the specs list is hard to argue with. Available now for those with at least $799 (plus applicable taxes), the ProBook 4310s can be ordered up with your choice of Core 2 Duo processor, up to 8GB of DDR3 memory, a 160/250/320/500GB SATA II hard drive, optional Blu-ray drive, a 13.3-inch LED-backlit HD display (matte or glossy), an optional ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4330 GPU, three USB 2.0 sockets, HDMI / VGA outputs, an ExpressCard socket and even a Gobi mobile broadband module if you'd like. Now that you're drooling at the thought of having one in your lap, good luck avoiding the read link for long.

[Thanks, Michael]

[golfreak12 Posted Jul 20th 2009 1:58PM]

I love the timelie series too but theres a big difference here.
The timeline does not have a built in dvd-rom player.
Not saying that you need one but the DVD player add a significant weight.

[moleculeeye Posted Jul 21st 2009 1:55AM]

What I was going to say. A 13.3" should NOT qualify as ultraportable, no matter how much it weighs. And this thing is a heavy beast (for a 13.3" anyway)!

[sr1329 Posted Jul 21st 2009 7:56AM]

Yes, I agree. These Engadget writers scarcely know their nutsack from their asshole and this is the proof. This is no ultraportable by any means. You have to be under 3lbs AT MOST to be consider an ultraportable today. The Dell E4200 at 2.2lbs now that's an ultraportable.

[loocas Posted Jul 20th 2009 11:07AM]

Wow! This is a massive notebook! Unfortunately, for an ultraportable, the battery will surely be useless. They should have just removed the battery, saved some grams and, I don't know, just leave it at that or maybe put something else in there. Everyone using this, will have to be plugged to the socket anyways, so, this would make it even more appealing for those who carry their primary workstation on them all the time (home work school Starbucks...)

[bzaclassic Posted Jul 20th 2009 11:17AM]

this is a nice laptop, but is there any news from HP on the incoming Mini 5101?

[GixxeR Posted Jul 20th 2009 12:22PM]

This is going to have terrible battery life... but I still like it

[(Unverified) Posted Jul 20th 2009 12:59PM]

can all of these big computer manufacturers stop using intel's 4500mhd. either force intel to release a new chipset or start using nvidia for intergrated graphics already. all of these 13/14" laptops (except the dell studio 14z) need to switch already, and they need culv options. for a lot of people, core 2 duos and the dedicated graphics of other laptops are just a waste of space and of battery life. they should get rid of internal optical drives on laptops too, but i can understand why you might might to include it for business purposes for simplicity.

[(Unverified) Posted Jul 20th 2009 1:23PM]

Can someone tell me what's a good 13" notebook with a decent Graphics Card besides the Studio XPS?

[stacky Posted Jul 20th 2009 1:55PM]

The Studio XPS 13 has the best graphics card for 13" laptops for now. If you really want a bit more power, I suggest you start looking at 14.1" screens.

[(Unverified) Posted Jul 20th 2009 3:15PM]

Macbook Pro, no contest.

[Jacob1 Posted Jul 20th 2009 3:54PM]

smart, using your email address as your display name. Well anyways, it depends on what you mean by decent graphics. Your choices are: 9400M, 9300M, or hybrid SLi with 9400M+9200M (aka 9500M). But in general, it's a no win to buy a 13" laptop for its gaming prowess. But if graphics power is really important for you, I suggest waiting several months for the next-gen Nvidia chip to come out. It's called the G210m. It's about 36% better performance than the 9400M, and together with Hybrid SLi can give you all the performance you could possibly need from a 13" laptop.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_Nvidia_graphics_processing_units#GeForce_200M_.282xxM.29_series

[jayayess1190 Posted Jul 20th 2009 7:11PM]

Sony Vaio SR has a 512MB ATI 4570.

[stacky Posted Jul 21st 2009 1:59AM]

Or check out the ViDock2

[(Unverified) Posted Jul 20th 2009 1:52PM]

being a mac os x user for 5 years now, i can say, without any mac fan-boy bias, that windows 7 indeed rocks. so, why would anyone buy a 2400 macbook pro, when you can get an awesome machine for under 1000 bucks. those days when i would take a free windows laptop to have to deal w/xp, hassles are gone, windows 7 (or ubuntu) are starting to make apple's HW prices look insane.

[dicobalt Posted Jul 20th 2009 4:09PM]

Nice specs but it still has one of those candied keyboards. Not gonna happen. I'd pick the black one instead of the "Merlot" as they call it. Ugh "Merlot", how sappy a way to make red sound nice.

[dodo Posted Jul 20th 2009 7:15PM]

I'd love to buy one of these in Canada :(
Just too bad for me.

[dodo Posted Jul 20th 2009 7:16PM]

Or maybe I'll go with the Dell Vostro 1320. But I do like better the layout of the HP. Especially the keyboard.

[(Unverified) Posted Jul 21st 2009 3:05AM]

4.34 pounds is heavy, also, where is the freeDOS option, and celeron option?