HpPavilionDm4
Latest
HP refreshes the Pavilion dm4 with a subwoofer, unveils requisite Beats Edition
It's shaping up to be a wild day for HP: in addition to revamping its Envy laptops and announcing its first Ultrabook, the outfit went and refreshed the mid-range Pavilion dm4. While it has the same metal-heavy design that bowled us over in our review, it trades Altec Lansing audio for Beats and gains a subwoofer. Otherwise, its entry-level specs -- a Core i3 CPU, 6GB of RAM and a 640GB 5,400RPM hard drive -- closely match the starting config available today. And, while the company was at it, HP also announced a red-and-black-spangled Beats Edition. An inevitable move, if you ask us: HP has been pushing its partnership with Dr. Dre so heavily that it went so far as to redesign its Envy laptops with a prominent Beats dial. Then again, this is the first time HP's given the Beats special edition treatment to anything other than a top-shelf machine. In any case, you better be pretty sweet on that red backlit keyboard -- the gussied-up, Dre-approved version starts at $900 (headphones not included). Then again, at least you get beefier specs for the money: a Core i5 CPU, 8GB of RAM and a 750GB hard drive. If nine hundred bucks isn't what you had in mind, the classic dm4 starts at $630. Both will be available December 18th. If you're curious, find the full PR after the break, along with some rubbernecking hands-on shots below. %Gallery-137823% %Gallery-137824%
HP Pavilion dm4 review
Sit back and sprinkle a few new processors into its Pavilion line up? Nope, that's exactly what HP didn't do this year when it came to refreshing its successful multimedia laptop brand. Instead, it has remade the entire series by subbing plastic for metal, adding a chiclet keyboard and trimming down the measurements. The 14-inch Pavilion dm4 is one of the more portable of the bunch, and though it's only slightly thicker than an inch, our $905 review unit packed a Core i5 processor, 320GB hard drive and 4GB of RAM. It sure does sound and look like a really tempting mainstream laptop, but one thing in particular continues to hold HP back. And we'll tell you just what that is... in our full review after the break! %Gallery-95053%
HP Pavilion line made over with metal casing, new AMD and Intel processors
See that up there? That's the new HP dm4, and you better believe that this aluminum housed 14-inch laptop not only packs a Core i5 processor and plenty of sex appeal, but starts at $729. In a nutshell, that's basically the whole story of the four new HP Pavilions -- gone are the glossy lids and LED touch shortcuts, though remaining in tact are the affordable prices and mainstream power. The inch-thick dm4 happens to be our favorite of the bunch -- it's got a soft etched pattern along the lid, chiclet-style keyboard, on-board optical drive, and is available with different Core i5 CPU and ATI discrete graphics options. And if that 14-incher isn't for you, there's also the 14.5-inch dv5, which instead of the brushed aluminum lid, has a matte imprinted cover that's available in black, red and champagne. Starting at $649, the dv5 is available with Core i3, i5 and AMD's upcoming Turion II processors, and while it doesn't have discrete graphics options, the Intel versions will support Intel's WiDi technology. Going on up in size, the 15.6-inch Pavilion dv6 is all about choices -- you can configure it with either a brushed aluminum or HP Imprint finish, a mulitouch screen, and AMD or Intel Core 2010 processors. The AMD variant will start at $530 and the Intel Core i5 version at $649. Last but not least is the dv7 powerhouse, which now has a Beats Audio option. No surprises here, the 17-incher can be pimped with quad-core AMD or Intel CPUs and ATI discrete graphics. We're planning to review at least a few of these models before back to school laptop shopping season gets fully underway, but for now, feel free to head on past the break for the full press release and feast your eyes on some of these far-from-budget-looking lappies down in the galleries below. %Gallery-92222% %Gallery-92224%
Envy 14, Envy 17, and Pavilion dm4 cited in HP support docs
Hardcore HP-heads have been poring over support docs tirelessly looking for indications that a presumed lineup refresh this spring will include previously leaked Envy 14 and 17-inch models, and what do we have here? "HP Support Assistant CVA documentation, SP47326″ includes references to both, meaning that a release is either in the works or someone in support is jumping the gun a bit. If that ain't enough for your casual Friday kicks, a perusal of a little something called "LightScribe System Software CVA documentation, SP47798" (that one's our fave) even mentions the HP Pavilion dm4, which SlashGear describes as a possible "14-inch machine with integrated optical drive, switchable graphics and a choice of Intel or AMD processors." Of course, there is no indication when, or if these models will ever see the light of day -- but if you were in desperate need for a device to fill the gab between your 13-inch and 15-inch HP Envy laptops, there is at least hope.
