HP Envy 15 FCC filing reveals magnesium casing, Linux options
By Nilay Patel 
posted Sep 29th 2009 6:03PM
posted Sep 29th 2009 6:03PM
[Via Wireless Goodness]
posted Sep 29th 2009 6:03PM
Segment of single women who said their next computer purchase would be a laptop.
Of 1,000 single men and women polled, 47 percent of women said they'd buy a laptop, while 47 percent of men were looking for a desktop.
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bow chicka wow wow
So you don't call this a KIRF? Why not?
I do. I really wish companies would stop copying..Lenovo, Sony, and Asus have managed to make nice looking computers that don't look like macs. This is a horrible direction to go in
I would love to be able to afford one of these xD
"Magnesium Alloy" = soft plastic that rubs and scratches easily, yet strong for the weight.
I had one of the first SONY VAIOs that was less then 1" thick and could easily fit in a manilla envelop at least a decade before the Mac Book Air. Its "Magnesium" unibody case wore too easily and over time became literally thinner and thinner.
But it did survive unbelievably well, stuck in a NY subway door and skidded under a taxi cab.
My mind got so confused when I saw that picture. "Hey, it's a Ma- wait. What??"
The similarities are too crazy, but best of luck to HP. It seems they're on the right track so far.
Would that "right track" be to copy someone else?
Actually, yeah, it would. As long as you can still command some respect by bringing something new to the table, borrowing (somewhat heavily, in this case) from something that's been extremely successful is a great business idea.
I do too. If it isn't patented it's fair game. If people want a laptop that is designed and built like a Mac but sits out of the Apple ecosystem, they should be able to get one.
Apple has been so far ahead in notebook design aesthetics for so many years it's not funny anymore. hp has correctly adopted the "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em" strategy which, until they can come up with something better, is the right one.
Would I buy an hp branded macbook running W7 with no odd connectors or proprietary shit? I might just...
I'm looking at my Macbook Keyboard right now, the curved edges, the size of spacebar, the size of the trackpad.. this is... identical!
It even copies the Macbook Pro Silver/Black motif.
Wow. How many companies does Johnny Ive work for???
@bebop:
You can't patent the aesthetic qualities of a product. You can register the design itself, but that is very specific and quite easy to get around, merely by changing one aspect of the design.
what about donuts?
I like croissants.
i see what you did there.
So they did their design homework in an Apple store and their functionality in HP where they actually believe in using current generation parts for their notebooks?
Sounds about right.
To be fair, we don't know that Apple isn't planning to use the same current-gen parts in a refresh. We never know anything about Apple products until they are actually released and typically for sale that day. Also to be fair, Apple has to write drivers for the parts and make sure the software works, too. HP don't write their own drivers.
Explain what in a Mac Book Pro is not current generation. Show me any other laptop that has Apple's battery technology. How about a custom designed motherboard. Show me another laptop that has a Unibody chassis, no this one doesn't.
@Terry: "Show me any other laptop that has Apple's battery technology."
Dude, you've been drinking the Kool Aid. Apple's battery technology is the same as everybody else's. From the testing I've seen in fact Windows is *slightly* better at power management all else being equal. And the actual batteries are the same other than their size and shape.
"How about a custom designed motherboard."
Every laptop uses a custom designed motherboard. In fact the circuit board inside my Microsoft Mouse is a custom-designed board, as is the one inside my WD external USB drive, and the one in my 3G router and ...
"Show me another laptop that has a Unibody chassis, no this one doesn't."
This is actually true. And yes, I'm sure the Powerbooks are stiffer as a result, meaning better for the weight and thickness.
@Terry
Show me where a unibody affects functionality and I'll start to care.
@ Terry: Core i7 mobile. How long will it take before the macbook pro upgrades to this? I'm betting quite a few months.
Apple uses outdated parts but that didn't stop you from buying a Mac as opposed to a cheaper PC with up to date componets, As you have stated in your comments before. Stop fuelling the fire of bullshit. Mark.
adrian, My Mac has a Core 2 Duo when I bought it in late 2008. That's pretty standard.
It's just other manufacturers had them months before.
I saw this unit at IDF last week. It's very nice. It didn't strike me as an Apple clone at all, so I'm not sure where you're getting that vibe. In the drawing above, yes, it's got some Apple flavorings, but in person it's definitely an HP.
AND BOY IS THAT THING FAST! Really fast. And much lighter and thinner than you would expect a desktop-replacement to be.
"It didn't strike me as an Apple clone at all, so I'm not sure where you're getting that vibe."
Oh stop it. You're embarrassing yourself.
Down with chiclet keyboards!!
Up with chiclet keyboards!!!!
Up with a variety of keyboards!
Wow this thing looks like the amazing macbook killer that PC users have been waiting for for awhile. Resembles the macbook pro in many aspects of design, and will be tempting with a corei7 running windows 7. No word on price though...
Yeah, I'm worried that it'll be the price that kills most of the interest.
Yes, especially when the Voodoo Envy 133 has a list price of $2,099, which you can get for about $1,599. I would expect the price to be sub $2,000, on par with the current 15 inch Macbook Pros, which isn't bad. Add ubuntu linux in there and you can knock the price down about $100. We will see soon how the specs compare between the two as well.
A Mac Book killer that runs Windows? You are really missing the point. Apple will continue to gain Windows converts and nobody will go from OS X to Windows 7. I suppose compared to Vista Windows 7 is at least usable but OS X is far ahead.
A MacBook killer? Seriously? It isn't going to kill the MacBook. It runs OSX which a lot of people like for good reasons. It looks like a nice laptop, for those who (like me) want/need to run Windows.
To be a MacBook killer it would have to be similarly spec'd to the MacBook or better and a lot cheaper, something I doubt HP is going to do with this. Seems more likely it'll be positioned as a premium product from HP and will be slightly cheaper as per usual for PCs vs. Macs. But not enough to make lots of people change their mind about the whole Mac vs. PC thing.
Okay, Apple has about 10 percent compared to microsoft's about 85-90 percent. Even if this is apple's greatest share of the market in history, it is still only a fraction of how much microsoft has. And the reason that this is is because people simply are not willing to fork over $1000 for specs that you could find in a $500-$600 PC that will soon be running Windows 7. And just so you know, I am not a Windows Fanboy or a Linux Fanboy or any kind of Fanboy at all. I think macbooks are amazing machines that are incredibly elegant, but come at a price. Snow Leopard and Windows 7 are both great OS's, with their own positives and negatives.
pimp
I hope that is not a pure magnesium casing. Word on the streets is that magnesium is flammable.
well magnesium ribbons are at least. Since magnesium is used on airplanes, I guess a block of magnesium is not flammable.
That was my thought... hopefully no one ever gets theirs wet.
The good kind of flammable >=D
I can't wait to see the first video of one of these babies lighting up the sky from the case being ignited by the inevitable faulty battery that HP then has to recall.
Nope, it's just hot.
Well I hope I'm missing an /s somewhere, but have none of you guys heard of Alloys before?
It's not going to be pure magnesium. It is an alloy just like the MBP uses an aluminum alloy. No significant advantage form one or the other for this use unless Hp considers it bragging points. I have seen pure magnesium burn many times. It is very bright and very hot.
If you get it hot enough, magnesium will burn. Throw an original vw bug's engine in a big enough bonfire and you better be wearing welder's goggles.
Considering that a very large number of notebook computers have had magnesium casings for years and we don't hear stories of the cases catching fire, I think it's safe to say that that won't be an issue here either.
I applaud the use of magnesium. It is both stronger and lighter than aluminum.
I wonder what happens if the battery catches fire and reacts with the magnesium, might be worth a video :D
"the overall sense that HP's designers did their homework in an Apple store"
And it's actually called Envy? I appreciate the honesty.
Those 5 extra HP buttons on the left are going to be annoying. The ctrl should always be the most bottom left button.
The Macbooks have a function key there as well. One of my few annoyances about the CTRL key placement on most laptops.
> The ctrl should always be the most bottom left button.
Feh, you non-UNIX weenie. :-) Ctrl should be next to the letter 'A'! And CapsLock. . . eliminated!
But I agree about the extra keys - at least separate them from the main keyboard, ala a Sun keyboard. It looks like there is room, maybe.
Since when did things like rubber and hard plastics go out of fashion? Now everybody with a durable computer has to use unibody .
I'd love to have a laptop with a trackpad and buttons, a non-glossy screen, and an enormous external battery. Just to shake things up.