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HP to acquire 3Com in $2.7 billion deal

It's been a little while since we've seen a good multi-billion dollar acquisition, but HP's sure come through in a big way today, announcing that it plans to acquire networking giant 3Com in an all-cash deal valued at $2.7 billion, or $7.90 a share. The deal will, of course, still have to clear a few regulatory hurdles and receive the approval of 3Com's stockholders, but it has already been given the go-ahead by both company's boards of directors, and HP expects the transaction to close in the first half of 2010. Not surprisingly, HP sees nothing but pluses with the acquisition, saying that it will do nothing short of "transform the networking industry," and "enable customers to build a next-generation network infrastructure that supports customer needs from the edge of the network to the heart of the data center." Equally optimistic but slightly cooler on the world-changing language is 3Com CEO Bob Mao, who says that its company's "extensive product line and innovative technology together with HP's breadth and scale will expand our global opportunity."

HP Envy 15 unboxing and hands-on

After our mixed feelings on the HP Envy 13, we were excited but also a little bit scared to see the 13's big brother, the Envy 15. It's running a Core i7 processor clocked at 1.6GHz, and has 1GB ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4830 discrete graphics fronted by a 1920 x 1080 15.6-inch display despite the fact that it doesn't have a built-in disc drive. Luckily there's an external Blu-ray packed into the box (that's a $225 option on top of the $1,800 base price), but most games and apps these days are available via download anyway, so it's not that big of knock on your power-user cred. The unboxing experience is actually identical to that of the Envy 13 (quite elegant), and we were happy to see that when we fired up the laptop the trackpad seemed better configured than that of the pre-update Envy 13 we reviewed. We were less enthused to see that the IE comes pre-installed with HP and Norton toolbars -- pretty janky for a premium machine -- but luckily we rarely have to see the ugly sight of IE more than once on a new machine. For the most part this is just an Envy 13 bigged up, and that's nothing to complain about.

HP Create Amazing ad tilt-shifts our hearts

Okay, so we're total suckers for tilt-shift perspective manipulation, and since we've run a fair number of snippy attack ads lately, we thought we'd try and clear the air with this impressive new spot from HP. Part of the relatively-new "Create Amazing" campaign, it's a miniaturized international tour through Shanghai, New York, Santorini, London, Istanbul, and some custom office sets built in L.A., and, well, we're in love. Watch the video below, maybe have a second glance at Michael Gartenberg's Entelligence column on gadget-fan unity from yesterday, and let's all agree to agree for once in this crazy world.

Update: Sadly, the filmmaker got in touch with us and requested that we pull the video until he can clear it with HP -- we'll let you know.

Walmart's $300 HP G60 laptop gets real, detailed

There wasn't exactly much secrecy left around this one after ads started popping up online, but Walmart's now set aside any doubt about its $300 HP G60-519WM laptop with a listing for it on its website, which also thankfully includes the complete specs for it. Apparently built exclusively for Walmart by HP, this particular model packs a 15.6-inch WXGA display, along with previously rumored specs including a 2.2GHz Celeron 900 processor, 3GB of RAM, a 250GB hard drive, a LightScribe DVD burner, and some basic Intel GMA 4500M integrated graphics -- not to mention Windows 7 Home Premium, 64-bit edition for an OS. Not exactly the worst deal for someone looking for bigger, more full-featured alternative to a netbook, to be sure, but we have a feeling this is just a taste of what's to come for bargain hunters on Black Friday.

[Via I4U News, thanks Luigi]

HP Envy 14 on the horizon?

We'll keep this short and sweet -- the same amateur sleuths who were responsible for revealing the majority of HP's fall lineup ahead of time are back again, this time indicating a forthcoming Envy 14 model. It doesn't take much genius to find this information out, mind you, as HP's Softpaq support docs just keep coming out ahead of official announcements. Two Envy 14 iterations appear to be in the works, though their specifications remain open to speculation. There still shouldn't be too much of a wait before finding out if this will be just a range filler or a distinctive advancement in its own right, so we'll leave it to you to decide whether to delay that Envy purchase for just a little while longer.

[Thanks, Al]

Leaked Walmart ad reveals Xbox 360 Arcade with $100 gift card, $300 HP G60 laptop

It's not quite a $99 Xbox 360, but if this apparent Walmart scan via Kotaku is to be believed, that $199 Arcade version is getting a $100 gift card promotion going into effect this Saturday. In real terms, that boils down to a $234 Xbox 360 Pro for first-time buyers, seeing as you'll be needing that $135, 120GB hard drive, too. Also listed are a Sony Blu-ray player for $148 (we're guessing the currently-MSRP'd $199 BDP-S360), and a $298 HP G60-519WM, which touts a 2.2GHz Intel Celeron, 15.6-inch HD display, Windows 7 Home Premium, 3GB RAM, and a 250GB HDD -- not a bad followup at all for that Compaq CQ60. Some interesting spy shots from the Slick Deals forum seem to give credence to the scan, although we're still playing wait-and-see -- that $100 gift card with the Xbox 360 arcade is almost too good to be true, even if it is just a clever tactic to clear shelf space in the lead-up to Black Friday.

Update: Sure as the sun, an official ad has popped up on Yahoo's front page. Screenshot after the break.

[Thanks, just4onepost]

Read - G60-519WM spotted
Read - $199 Xbox 360 Arcade with $100 gift card?

HP Mini 311 unboxed, torn apart

Someone on the big wide internet has the HP Compaq Mini 311 and did up an unboxing for us all to share in. Spoiler alert: the packaging is about as exciting as a shoe box, which is pretty unfortunate for such an exciting product. Meanwhile, someone on the other end of the internet went to the trouble of actually ripping apart their Mini 311, so the rest of us can see how HP squeezed that ION in there without getting our hands dirty. Spoiler alert: doesn't look too hard to us. Video of the unboxing is after the break.

Read - MyHPMini.com teardown
Read - NewGadgets.de unboxing

HP Pavilion dv3 with multitouch screen spotted in the wild, we go hands-on

Our curious British fingers managed to stumble upon a European HP Pavilion dv3 blessed with Windows 7 and multitouch on both the screen and the trackpad. The keyboard was great to type on with negligible flex, but the trackpad suffers from the same glossy issues on other recent HPs -- although it responded to our multitouch gestures better than the capacitive screen did. Our major annoyance came from the attempts to rotate pictures on the screen: we learned the hard way that the laptop (or Windows 7 itself) seemed to prefer more exaggerated rotation gestures than the MacBooks -- perhaps one would get used to it over time. The hinge is fairly solid, but we still preferred holding the screen while touching it. On a brighter note we totally dig the inclusion of an HDMI port and an eSATA port, plus you'll get up to seven hours of sweet battery juice from this 2.24kg (4.94 pounds) machine. Read on for our hands-on video and photo gallery.

HP's Pavilion dv3 and dm1 wash ashore on European land

As one of the last two Vista holdouts on HP's online laptop store (the other being HDX16), we were wondering what was going on with the Pavilion dv3. Well, it's still not stateside, but Germany and the UK can apparently pick up the Windows 7-equipped touchscreen dv3-2200 now for £799.99 / €899 (somewhere between $1,305 and $1,350, respectively, in comparable US currency), with difference of pricing based on the separate listings. Additionally, we spotted the 11.6-inch dm1-1000 -- which was also leaked alongside the dv3 -- with a 1.2GHz Celeron processor and that hot new OS from Redmond. We're sure it'll come to the US eventually, but for now we're just gonna have to wait ever, ever so patiently.

[Thanks, Adam and everyone]

Read - Official HP dm1-1000 page
Read - Official HP dv3-2200 page
Read - PC World UK listing for dv3

HP Pavillion dm3t and its terrible touchpad get reviewed

The dm3 series of laptops might be HP's biggest potential seller. Hitting that 13-inch sweet spot, they are neither too small, nor too big, neither underpowered, nor overly encumbered, and -- unlike the Envy 13 -- they're actually priced within reach. Laptop Magazine had a $839 configuration in for review, and were immediately impressed with the ultrathin aluminum-clad body, describing it as "one of the best looking notebooks of the year." Opening it up, they found a "thoughtfully designed" keyboard, above-average display and speakers, and a stonking 9 hours of battery life under a WiFi-enabled web browsing test. Their gripes related to a heat issue on the bottom left side and, more significantly, an overly glossy touchpad that refused to play nice and left the reviewers feeling like they were fighting, rather than using, it. Read link shall enlighten you on the full spec and relative performance of the ULV processor inside.

Beastly HDX 18 no longer available from HP, dv8 to blame?

We fully understand that the market for 18.4-inch gaming laptops is a niche one, so we suppose this all makes sense from a business perspective, but still -- we can't help but shed a tear. HP's beastly, benchmark-smashing HDX 18 (and HDX 18t) has been forcibly removed from the outfit's website, with even cached links leading to a customization page turning up "Sorry!" portals. The marginally smaller HDX 16 remains alive and well, but it seems as if the 18-inch dv8 is your only option now when selecting a larger-than-life lappie from the folks at HP. Gotta keep keepin' on, we guess.

[Thanks, pyro92005]

Verizon rolls out HP Mini 311, Mini 110 netbooks

The cat may have gotten out of the bag ahead of the Windows 7 launch, but Verizon has just now gotten official with its latest subsidized netbook offerings, which include some unfortunately pricey 3G-equipped versions of HP's Mini 311 and Mini 110. As expected, the 311 is the first one out of the gate (available right now), and packs an 11.6-inch screen, an Atom N270 backed up by NVIDIA's ION chipset, 2GB of RAM, a 160GB hard drive, Windows 7 Home Premium and, last but not least, a price tag of $249.99 on contract and after a $100 mail-in rebate. The Mini 110, on the other hand, kicks things back a whole generation to Windows XP and straight-up Intel internals, and will be available for $199.99 (on contract and after rebate again) sometime in mid-November -- in the meantime, you can still pick up the carrier's HP Mini 1151NR netbook while supplies last.

HP unleashes Compaq L2105tm touchscreen, multitouch monitor


HP's just rather quietly announced a new display hot on the heels of tomorrow's Windows 7 launch. This 21.5-inch, 1080p bad boy boasts an optical multitouch panel with one finger scrolling and two finger mousing capabilities. Stylus fans will also be overjoyed to hear that the Compaq L2105tm has a stylus of its own that tucks into the side of the monitor when not in use. HP is calling this one the first "Windows 7 certified" monitor, meaning you should be able to pull it right out of the box, plug it in and get moving. The Compaq L2105tm will be available tomorrow for $299. Full press release is after the break.

[Via Display Blog]

Verizon prepping HP Mini 311, Mini 110 for launch

Wait, hold up -- before you sprint down to your Verizon store (sprint... Verizon... never mind) to pick up that catchily-named Gateway LT2016u that just launched, you might want to mull over the next batch of netbooks primed to hit the carrier's outlets in the coming days. Subsidized netbooks still haven't proven themselves as viable products -- at least, so long as they're not subsidized down to $0 -- but Verizon's ready to keep on trying with the launch of a global 3G-equipped HP Mini 311 on October 22. Sickeningly, they want a full $249.99 on contract after $100 mail-in rebate -- but in exchange, you'll be getting ION, Windows 7, 1366 x 768 resolution on a 11.6-inch display, and a 1.6GHz Atom N270. Moving on, the carrier's current Mini 1151 will ride off into the sunset and be replaced by a Windows XP-equipped Mini 110 featuring a 160GB hard drive and 1GB of RAM; it'll launch once 1151 stock is depleted for $199.99 after rebate with a new two-year deal. Follow the break for details and specs on the 110 (spoiler: it's like pretty much every other 110, but with more voodoo subsidy math).

HP Envy, dv8 Quad, Mini 311, and numerous other Windows 7 machines now available to order

Since today really needs a good heap of news to somewhat balance out yesterday's glut, HP has updated its online store to give it an abundance of new and revised Windows 7 machines, including the Envy series (Beats edition and all), Pavilion dm3 with AMD Neo or Intel CULV chips, Core i7-packing dv6t/ dv7t / dv8t Quad editions, and the not-so-netbook CQ61. We're still not seeing the previously-leaked dm1 ultraportable anywhere, but the Mini 311 and a slightly updated Mini 110 are, with the option to jump from Windows XP to 7 for a cool $50 / $30 respectively. Most everything in the store, desktops and laptops, has been updated to at least include Windows 7 as the standard shipping OS, and while all claim free 2-day shipping, estimated shipping dates begin sometime the week after 7's Oct 22nd launch -- no early chances here, folks. Browse the read links and keep an eye on the shiny red "new" icons (no flashing GIFs, we're afraid) for the entire revised lineup.

Update: As a number of you have pointed, the Envy product page is a bit, well, sloppy. Typos and missing commas notwithstanding, it seems to biggest laugh is the cost of customization, i.e. $800 more to downgrade from a 500GB HDD to 320GB or 250GB (same price), or $900 more to downgrade from 6GB or 4GB of DDR3 memory. Yeah, it might be best to hold off on that one until HP get the kinks worked out.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]

Read - Desktop lineup
Read - Laptop lineup
Read - Envy series lineup
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