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HP now shipping select Envy 15 models with USB 3.0
Welcome to the most recent benchmark we've been referring to as "the future." HP has become what appears to be the first company to actually ship a laptop featuring USB 3.0. According to a rep speaking with CNET, if you order an Envy 15 with a Core i7 processor and an ATI 5830 GPU, the new ports come along for the ride. Feeling patient? Not to worry, we're pretty sure this crazy USB 3.0 thing isn't an isolated incident -- expect more machines to support it soon enough, including HP's own EliteBook in just a few weeks' time.
HP Envy 14, Envy 17, and new EliteBooks leak onto the scene
The tap that keeps on leaking has inadvertently let loose an internal "notebook index" document that corroborates earlier rumblings of a forthcoming Envy 14. Sourced from HP's Korean site, this little ditty reveals Envy 14 and Envy 17 models, which both tick the 'HP external USB DVD Drive' category, bringing up the intriguing possibility of a 17-inch laptop without an integrated optical drive. The bigger machine is also listed alongside "new" 6- and 9-cell battery packs, but other internal specs remain unknown. In other news, successors to the Elitebook 2730p tablet, 2530p ultraportable and 8730w desktop replacement have been spotted, with 16:9 display ratios on the smaller machines and 16:10 on the 17-inch workstation. Hit the read link for more details, and keep it locked to the Engadget channel as CES hits in a few days' time, when a lot of these sketchy leaks will be replaced by exhaustive spec sheets and full-color, in-the-metal photography. [Thanks, Billy]
HP Envy 15 review
There are laptops and then there are laptops. The Envy 15 has fallen into that second category ever since we got our hands-on: it's the first PC we've seen that really equals the MacBook Pro's unibody design and it packs a scorching-fast Intel Core i7 processor, ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4850 graphics and Beats speakers. On paper, this is easily the hottest laptop we've seen in some time, but has HP really managed to deliver on that promise? We spent a few days with this $1,800 monster, so read on to see if it lives up to the hype. %Gallery-80038%
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]
HP Envy 15 FCC filing reveals magnesium casing, Linux options
Okay, so here's a big way the HP's new Envy 15 isn't like the MacBook Pro: its case is made of magnesium, not aluminum. Take that, haters. Of course, there's still the note-perfect reproduction of the MBP's unibody looks, that buttonless glass multitouch trackpad, and the overall sense that HP's designers did their homework in an Apple store to deal with, but hey, at least you're getting a Core i7 processor when this thing launches on October 18th, right? Oh, and in case you're not into Windows 7, you're in luck -- there are quite a few references to Linux scattered about, so we'd expect a penguin-friendly configuration to be announced at some point. [Warning: PDF read link] [Via Wireless Goodness]
HP and Dr. Dre team up to shill a limited edition Envy 15
When we saw the HP-branded Envy leak a whole four days ago we certainly didn't expect to get any news on the beast so soon, but 'lo and behold! The new Envy is here, and we've been getting plenty of positive feedback from HP fanboys the world o'er regarding the new sub-brand. Who could find fault with a Windows machine that features everything we love about those new MacBooks, including the chicklet keyboard, unibody aluminum chasis, thin-and-light physique, multitouch trackpad, and all the Microsoft OS action you so obviously crave, wrapped ever-so-lovingly in a Hewlett Packard shell? We'll tell you who: Lady Gaga. That's right, the popular recording artist and all-around good American just found out that HP has teamed up with Dr. Dre to create a limited edition Envy 15 laptop and is a little perturbed that she wasn't involved in the branding. How dare they think that a matte black chassis and bright red "Beats" logo would be enough to sell this bad boy? We'll tell you what -- if you feel for her plight, you might think about spending some of your heard earned cash on a pair of her headphones. The rest of us can feel content to peep the gallery below and think about what might have been. %Gallery-73404%
HP ENVY 13 and 15 bring luxury to the everyman, look like MacBooks
There's no getting around it, so we'll just say right at the outset: HP's new ENVY 13 and 15 laptops might've been built on the "Voodoo ENVY legacy," but they sure look a lot like Apple's unibody MacBook Pros. Of course, there's much more than meets the eye. The ENVY 13 is a bit of a mix between a traditional 13-incher and a real thin and light, weighing in at 3.74 pounds and packing in Radeon HD 4330 discrete graphics, but still forgoing an internal disc drive. The 13.1-inch WXGA display is the real draw, offering impressive colors (82% color gamut) and brightness (410 nit). The other big winner is the optional Slim Fit extended life battery, a slice which snaps onto the bottom of the laptop, hardly protrudes, and more than doubles the standard 7 hour quoted battery life. The laptop body is magnesium coated with aluminum -- which gives it the texture of a MacBook Pro, but a bit less of the weight. In our non-scientific tests the build wasn't exactly as rigid as a MBP, but still quite a bit stronger than the average laptop -- and quite nice to the touch. The MacBook-style glass clickpad, however, is not an exciting addition in our book, since the software to support the automagical detection of left and right click -- not to mention zoom, rotate and scroll gestures -- just wasn't very tight. Please, give us back our buttons. HP's ENVY 15 isn't much of a "thin and light," really, more of a straight up premium 15-incher crammed into a 1-inch thick 5.18 pound form factor. It keeps the ENVY 13's unibody-style construction, and, sadly, the single button glass trackpad, but also works in a new Core i7 processor, makes room for dual SSD drives and adds high-end Radeon HD 4830 graphics with 1GB of VRAM. The 15.6-inch LCD isn't quite as stellar as the 13, at 300 nits, but HP did manage to include support for a Slim Fit battery for the ENVY 15 -- though with non-switchable discreet graphics, you're not going to get much longevity out of this laptop either way. The two laptops start at $1,699 and $1,799, respectively (a far cry from the original ENVY 133's $2,100 starting price), and will be available on October 18th with Windows 7 pre-loaded. Check out video of the ENVY 13 after the break. %Gallery-72803% %Gallery-72809%
