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HP's EliteBooks pack mics on both sides for clearer Skyping
Laptop updates are no longer confined to boring iterative improvements year after year. We're starting to see useful new features being introduced to PCs, even if they aren't the most groundbreaking ideas. Case in point: HP's new business notebooks will not only sport the latest eighth-generation Intel Core chipsets, but also come with "world-facing" mics for clearer conference calls, among other new tools.
HP built a privacy screen into its EliteBook laptops
Now you can watch all the adult content you want on the go. HP has designed a new integrated privacy screen in partnership with 3M to combat what the company calls "visual hacking." In other words: creepers looking over your shoulder. The Sure View screen will be available on touchscreen versions of the company's Elitebook 840 and 1040 laptops in September, and on nontouch ones in October. I got an early look at the new panels, which were mostly useful and effective.
HP's new business laptop is stylish enough even for regular folks
For the most part, HP showed up to this year's CES with -- you guessed it -- consumer-tech products. In addition, though, it also snuck in a few business class devices. Wait, wait: Where are you guys going? Before you run for the hills, know that we chose to feature the EliteBook Folio, the company's new 12.5-inch enterprise laptop, because the design actually looks pretty sick. HP squeezed a 4K, nearly bezel-less screen into the notebook's slim frame, translating to a sharp 352 pixels per inch. The colors should also be vibrant: The display recognizes 95 percent of Adobe's RGB gamut, as opposed to 72 percent or so on more mainstream systems. At the same time, the machined-aluminum chassis is notably svelte, at 12.4 mm (0.49 inches) thick, and weighs less than 1 kg (2.2 pounds). It's especially obvious when you push the screen flat at an 180-degree angle.
HP's newest laptop is sexy, but you can't buy it until next year
Last week we ran our review of the Lenovo Yoga 3 Pro, a 13-inch laptop that weighs a scant 2.6 pounds and measures just half an inch thick. It was impressive, to be sure, but it won't be the last: Thanks to Intel's new Core M chips, we're about to see a ton of impossibly thin notebooks. The latest comes from HP, whose just-announced EliteBook Folio 1020 weighs as little as 2.2 pounds and measures 15.7mm thick. We say "as little as" because when the thing goes on sale early next year, it'll be available in two flavors: a regular version that weighs 1.2 kg (2.6 pounds) and a special edition that comes in at 1kg (that's the 2.2-pound one). Both are light, as I found in my brief time with them, but the 1kg model is noticeably lighter, so you might want to wait for that to arrive, if either of these strikes your fancy.
HP intros eight business laptops, including two Ultrabooks; prices at $499
It was just two weeks ago that HP spat out a bunch of new consumer laptops ahead of the holiday shopping season. Now that those products are official, HP is shifting its attention to business customers: the company just unveiled five corporate-friendly notebooks, two of which qualify as Ultrabooks. Starting with the outfit's higher-end EliteBook line, we've got three models: the 12-inch 820, the 14-inch 840 and the 15-inch 850. Like previous generations of EliteBooks, they meet the military's MIL-SPEC-810G standards for ruggedness, but this time, they're 40 percent thinner and 28 percent lighter. Across the board, you're looking at magnesium lids, which have been painted with four coats of paint to minimize scratches; the keyboard deck, meanwhile, is made of aluminum. Speaking of the keyboard area, all three models sport backlit keys, with a special finish applied to the buttons to help keep them fresh over the three-year warranty period. Interestingly, battery life is the same on all units (up to 12 hours), though the 14-incher, specifically, can be paired with an optional slice battery for a total of 33 hours of juice. On the inside, all of them run Haswell processors, as you'd imagine, though only the 840 and 850 meet Intel's Ultrabook specification. Once it comes time for your IT guy to configure this, he can get any of the three machines with an LTE radio and either an SSD, HDD or hybrid hard drive. The 840 in particular has a touchscreen option; the other two don't. As for IT support, these are vPro CPUs, as you'd expect, and there's also TPM on board for added security. Additionally, as on previous models, the entire back shell is removable with a single latch, making it easy to swap out components. Finally, HP included an all-important Ethernet jack, complete with a drop-down jaw, along with a SmartCard reader, docking connector and legacy VGA port. All are available today with pricing as follows: the 12-inch 820 starts at $859, the 840 goes from $799 ($949 with a touchscreen), and the 850 costs $939.
HP's EliteBook Folio Ultrabook getting a 1,600 x 900 screen option in March
We'll be the first to admit we've reviewed an overwhelming number of Windows 8 laptops lately, but perhaps you remember the HP EliteBook Folio? If you don't, here's a one-sentence summary: it's a fantastic machine, with long battery life, fast performance and a generous warranty, but it's stuck with a fairly low-res 1,366 x 768 display. As it turns out, HP is already working on a better screen. A spokesperson for the company confirmed to us that a 1,600 x 900 option will be offered to US and European customers starting in early March. No word yet on how much that upgrade will cost, but if the pixel count was the main reason you ruled it out the first time around, it might be worth a second look -- so long as you're willing to wait another two months for it, of course. Update: An HP rep clarified that the 1,600 x 900 screen option is now expected to be available worldwide, not just in the US and Europe.
HP EliteBook Folio 9470 review: a business Ultrabook turns out to be one of our favorites
More Info HP unveils second business Ultrabook, the EliteBook Folio Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon review HP Folio 13 review It's sort of wild to think that at this time last year we had only reviewed a handful of Ultrabooks. So few, in fact, that we could count them on one hand: Acer, ASUS, Lenovo and Toshiba. HP made five, with the Folio 13, an ultraportable that was aimed at the business market, but that ended up being our top all-around pick thanks to its stellar battery life, comfortable keyboard and wide port selection. Since then, of course, HP's gone a little overboard with the ultraportables, with glass ones, metal ones, expensive ones, budget ones. Ultrabooks that aren't actually Ultrabooks! It's a vast, sometimes confusing selection. Now, though, almost a year after we reviewed the Folio 13, HP is back where it started with another business offering. The EliteBook Folio ($1,049 and up) has a 14-inch screen this time, and is the first Ultrabook in HP's high-end EliteBook line, typically aimed at corporations and other businesses with IT departments. We know, we know: "pre-boot authentication" aren't exactly the sexiest words in the English language, and indeed, we usually just review laptops aimed at consumers. The thing is, though, the EliteBook Folio isn't your typical corporate box: with a magnesium frame and soft-touch finish, it's attractive enough that it could pass for your personal laptop. So does it perform well enough to use as a work-play machine? Read on to find out.
HP announces the EliteBook Revolve, a Windows 8 convertible for the business crowd (video)
See that laptop up there? Basically, HP has announced something like that every year for we don't even know how long. It's always a convertible PC of the traditional sort, one with a fixed screen that swivels around and can fold down into tablet mode. It always supports a mix of pen and finger input. It's always made of sturdy magnesium alloy. And it's almost always aimed at businesses. All that's true of the EliteBook Revolve, the laptop HP unveiled today and which we've so helpfully featured in the photo gallery below. The difference, of course, is that this is the company's first old-school convertible to run Windows 8, whose finger-friendliness has the potential to change the way we interact with PCs like this. As it happens, you could configure the Revolve with Windows 7 and you could buy an optional pen to go with it, but obviously, if you'd prefer to use your fingers, you'll have a lot more luck here than you would have with earlier models. In terms of design, this is indeed made of mag-alloy, with a total weight of three pounds, and it was tested in accordance with the military's MIL-STD 810G standards. Unlike previous EliteBooks, though, it sports soft, rubbery surfaces instead of the brushed metal we've come to expect from HP's high-end business machines. Lift the lid and you'll find a backlit keyboard and an 11.6-inch Gorilla Glass screen, with resolution capped at 1,366 x 768. Inside, it has pretty much the exact specs you'd expect to find on any new Ultrabook: up to 256GB of solid-state storage and your choice of Core i3, i5 and i7 CPUs. And though it doesn't quite make up for the middling resolution, there's at least an open memory slot, allowing folks to go beyond the standard four gigs. Rounding out the list, this thing has built-in NFC, TPM and a SIM slot supporting LTE in the US and HSPA+ everywhere else. That answers just about everything -- everything except for price, anyway. HP says the Revolve won't actually go on sale until sometime in March, so until then, your guess is as good as ours.
HP takes EliteBook W-series on a trip to Ivy Bridge, throws in Z220 Xeon workstation for good measure
HP has been rolling out a steady stream of Ivy Bridge-based upgrades over the past few weeks, and now it's the turn of the pro-oriented EliteBook W-series to get the long-awaited upgrade. The 8470W, 8570W and 8770W draw on Intel's faster dual Core i5 and quad Core i7 chips with respective choices of 14-, 15.6- and 17.3-inch screens. All of them pack AMD's FirePro for video duties, although big spenders at the larger two sizes can opt for one of NVIDIA's Quadro K-series graphics chips as well as an IPS-based display for color-sensitive work. Options will get you niceties such as a 24GB SSD cache, 3G and up to 16GB of RAM, although the EliteBooks' signature military-spec resistances to dust, shock and temperature are thankfully par for the course. The range costs $1,329, $1,449 and $1,699 as you move up the screen size ladder, and all three will be available before June is over. If you prefer your workstations to be more powerful but slightly more stationary, you're still welcome in HP's world: the equally fresh Z220 desktop carries Intel's new quad-core Xeon E3 processor or, if that's a bit too rich for your blood, a Pentium or quad Core i7. AMD FirePro and NVIDIA Quadro video cards are both made-to-order upgrades, and the modern underpinnings add both USB 3.0 as well as headroom for up to 32GB of RAM, if the fear of paging to disk keeps you awake at night. HP has both tower and small form factor versions of the Z220 starting off at $699, and they too will be ready to stretch IT budgets later this month. %Gallery-156730%
HP refreshes EliteBook line with five new models, Ivy Bridge and optional LTE
HP is in full-on laptop-unveiling mode, and the company's business line isn't getting left out -- in fact, it has five new models -- including an 11-incher, a first for this series. The boardroom-bound EliteBooks are making the step up to Ivy Bridge, but it's also adding the option of LTE across the board. All models will ship with SRS Premium Sounds PRO and an optional 720p webcam. We have a complete breakdown of the models past the break, and you can find hands-on shots, along with the official press release below.
HP unveils second business Ultrabook, the EliteBook Folio
We actually have one more EliteBook to introduce, and this time it's an Ultrabook. The EliteBook Folio 9470m is ready to sidle up next to the Folio 13, HP's first business-grade Ultrabook, as a higher-end option. The 14-inch Folio is thin and light, starting at 3.6 pounds, but the 0.75-inch chassis makes room for an impressive collection of ports, including USB 3.0, Ethernet, DisplayPort and VGA. Since this Ivy Bridge laptop is balancing its Ultrabook identity with a business classification, it features an embedded TPM security chip, a smart card reader, security lock slot, full volume encryption and a security screw. Pricing starts at $1,149, and HP will begin shipping in October. Skip past the break for the presser, and check out our hands-on gallery below.
Ivy Bridge-packing HP EliteBook gets reviewed, scores well in early tests
Hear that? That, friends, is the sound of someone in Intel's PR department banging his head against a desk. Though we've read more than a few rumors about the company's forthcoming Ivy Bridge chips, Intel has yet to fully detail the new platform, and has controlled the flow of information so tightly that laptop makers won't even use the words Ivy Bridge when talking about upcoming systems. (It's always "next-generation Intel Core processors," but we digress.) So it's a pleasant surprise, then, to see a review of an Ivy Bridge system before Intel even makes its official announcement. Laptop Reviews has apparently been testing a yet-to-be-announced HP EliteBook 8470p with an unspecified Core i7 processor, integrated Intel HD 4000 graphics, 8GB of RAM and an Intel 320 solid-state drive. Though the testing team doesn't have much to say about battery life, the raw performance scores are quite impressive, surpassing those belonging to heavy hitters like the HP Envy 17 and Lenovo ThinkPad W520 workstation. Then again, Laptop Reviews is quick to admit that that SSD may have helped boost scores beyond what you'd see in an Ivy Bridge system with a good old-fashioned hard drive. On the graphics side, too, the spankin' new HD 4000 provides a nice (read: several-thousand-point) boost over systems running HD 3000, though we'll have to wait a little longer for real-world gaming tests, it seems. That's the abridged version, but we encourage you to hit up the source link for some more detailed remarks, along with comparisons to other systems.
HP EliteBook 8460w, 8560w, and 8760w mobile workstations all go on sale
If Dell's latest 17-inch powerhouse is too beastly for your next business trip, HP has begun selling its trio of new EliteBook mobile workstations, with screen sizes as small as 14 inches. In the case of both the 14-inch 8460w and the 15.6-inch 8560w, you get discrete graphics standard and can choose a $1,000 Core i7-2820QM processor, among less pricey options. (With the 15-inch iteration, you can also opt for a 1 billion-color DreamColor display.) Admittedly, you will have to step up to the 17-inch 8760w if you want a Core i7-2920XM CPU, AMD FirePro or NVIDIA Quadro graphics with up to 4GB of memory, and up to three hard drives with RAID 5 support. As promised, they're going for $1,299, $1,239, and $1,899, respectively -- in case your corporate card's just begging for its next hit. [Thanks, Fuzzball]
HP tries to sneak CFast slot by us in EliteBook 8560w
HP must have thought it could sneak this one by us -- and it would have succeeded too, if it wasn't for those meddling tipsters. A close examination of the recently announced EliteBook 8560w's press shot reveals it has a CFast slot, an interesting tidbit not mentioned in the release or the spec sheet. This is, to our knowledge, the first notebook to ship with a slot for the updated CompactFlash format, though the lack of cameras and other devices using the medium makes it a somewhat superfluous feature at the moment. Still, with transfer rates significantly faster than current CompactFlash cards and twice that of SDXC cards (with room to grow), we assume its only a matter of time before Nikon and Canon slap these bad boys in a few high-end shooters. Closeup shot after the break. [Thanks, Reznov]
HP gets down to business with redesigned and refreshed EliteBook and ProBook laptops (hands-on)
Two weeks ago "consumers" got totally redesigned HP Pavilion dv and g-series laptops, leaving those poor guys in the conference room with nothing but their "old" Calpella-based machines and sad Excel spreadsheets. Well, it's their turn now alright -- HP's been stirring up brand new EliteBook and ProBooks for the guys and gals in suits (though, we're really of the mind that these laptops are for anyone looking for some tough and powerful hardware). All ten of the new machines (yep, 10!) have been given new metal designs, Intel's latest Sandy Bridge processors, facial recognition software, and an easy-access latch to get to the hard drive and RAM. And there's more -- hit the jump for a break down and impressions of each of the models, and don't forget to check those galleries below for some shots of these rigs in the flesh. %Gallery-117316% %Gallery-117319%
HP crams Fermi-based Quadro 5000M GPU inside 17-inch EliteBook
Gotta live up to the name, right HP? NVIDIA's new pro graphics solution for mobile creatives, the Quadro 5000M, was unsheathed only yesterday but HP appears to have been first in line to get some of that new 40nm goodness. Electronista reports that the world leader in PC shipments is readying a 5000M solution for its 8740w EliteBook, which will bring 320 CUDA cores and a jumbo 2GB of dedicated memory to the party. That comes replete with the latest DirectX 11 and OpenGL 4.1 compatibility, naturally, as well as a bunch of pro-friendly computational enhancements. Dell's also going to be offering a 5000M-equipped rig, but lest you get too excited, bear in mind that getting the current best Quadro-equipped 17-incher from HP costs north of $3,000, so affordability is clearly not a priority here. Skip past the break for NVIDIA's joyous press release announcing the new Quadro chips.
HP EliteBook 8740w pumped up with Intel Core 2010 CPUs, ATI / NVIDIA graphics
Fear not mobile workstation lovers, it may have taken HP a bit more time to refresh its 17-inch EliteBook 8740w, but it's officially here now and ready to champ at the bit with a combo of cutting edge features / specs. We'll start with the externals first -- the 7.8-pound, magnesium-alloy chassis is covered in the same gunmetal finish as the other recently-announced Elitebooks, and the 17-inch HP Dreamcolor screen is nothing short of stunning. It has 64 times the colors of other displays and can be ordered with HP's Mobile Display Assistant color calibrator. Inside the workstation is rather frightful -- it can be configured with a choice of Intel Core i5 or i7 processors and [either] ATI 's newest FirePro M7820 or NVIDIA Quadro FX GPUs. While the 8740w starts at $1,999, the $3,899 spec'd version happens to be HP's most powerful mobile workstation ever with a quad-core Core i7 processor, 7,200rpm 320GB hard drive, and NVIDIA Quadtro FX 3800M graphics with 1GB of DDR3 RAM. We were told that the 8740w would be shipping in early April, but it appears that you can order them up right now at the source link. %Gallery-88824% %Gallery-88825%
HP adds EliteBook 2540p and 2740p to the lineup, brings the power and the touch
Thought HP was done unleashing its new line of semi-rugged EliteBooks at CES? So did we, but apparently it needed just a little bit more time to pull the 12.1-inch 2540p and 2740p out of the oven. An update to the 2530p, the 3.8-pound 2540p still has the same magnesium alloy chassis that's met all those super-tough MIL-STD 810G military standard tests, but its innards have been freshened up with the alluring scent of Intel's 2010 Core processors. Prices start at $1,099, but in typical HP fashion it will be configurable online with tons of juicy options, including standard and low voltage Core i5 and i7 processors and a range of 7,200RPM and SSD drives. Up next is the 2740p which packs much of the same internal spec options as the 2540p (sans the low-voltage CPUs), but puts them into a convertible tablet form factor. Starting at $1,599, its capacitive multitouch 12.1-inch display now supports both pen and finger input and thus pits it head-to-head with Lenovo's ThinkPad X201t, though from our hands-on we found the 3.8-pound 2740p to be much slimmer and lighter. A lot of that has to do with its flush battery, but if adding some juice (and thickness) is your thing, you can add a slate battery (or two!) to the bottom of the system. Both the 2540p and 2740p will be available later this month, but hit the hands-on gallery below to get a look at these magnesium puppies up close. %Gallery-86687% %Gallery-86688%
HP's 8440 and 8540 EliteBooks ready to ship with Core i7 inside
HP promised us a mobile workstation refresh in February, and sure enough, today we are staring down the retail pages for its quartet of upgraded business laptops. The new top of the line EliteBook models come in 14- (8440p/w) and 15.6-inch (8540p/w) varieties, with the w-appended models sporting appropriately beefed up NVIDIA Quadro FX graphics with up to 1GB of dedicated GDDR5. If you want to grab one for under a grand, you'll have to make do with the reasonably powerful Core i5-520M / 2GB DDR3 RAM combo, but we're most excited by the future customization options, which include a low-voltage Core i7-820QM CPU with 8MB of internal cache, up to 16GB of RAM, and up to 256GB in SSD storage. Course, we can't put prices to these spectacular beasts just yet, as HP is still only offering preconfigured rigs, but we think it'll be less than five figures. [Thanks, Jared]
HP EliteBook 8440w lives up to its "workstation" title, says the reviewing masses
Since the royal unveiling of HP's six new Elitebooks and ProBooks last week, the Elitebook 8440w (w standing for workstation) has been making the review rounds, and receiving overwhelmingly positive feedback from the chaps at Notebook Review, LAPTOP and Computer Shopper. All were impressed by the Core i7-620M and NVIDIA Quadro FX 380M power that's been crammed into the 14-inch chassis, but unsurprisingly that causes some warm underside temperatures. Other than that, the 8440w received high praise for its durable gunmetal-build and "exceedingly" comfortable keyboard, but the touchpad was noted as being too small. Actually, the guys over at Notebook Review even go as far to say that the laptop would be "absolutely perfect" if that pad and its buttons weren't so squished. Now that's quite a bold statement. All in all, the 8440w seems like a solid and very mobile workstation, but hit up the sources if you're dying to know more about the $1,650 rig.
