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HP spices up ProBooks with Core 2010 CPUs, ClickPads and caviar paint
No offense to the previous ProBooks s-series, but we think HP may have finally removed the last pieces of boring from the line. The new crop of business laptops – if you can even call them that anymore – are available with 13.3, 14, 15.6 and 17.3-inch display sizes, and can be configured with Intel's latest Core i3, i5 and i7 processors. There are too many configurations to list, but the $900 15.6-inch ProBook 4520s with a Core i5 CPU and a 500GB 7,200RPM drive sounds like a deal to us. Fear not graphics mavens, you can configure any of the models with ATI's Mobility Radeon HD 5350 GPU. Specs aside, we were pretty enamored with the externals – all are clad in a brushed aluminum case and a matte surface lid that's available in "caviar" brown or a reddish "bordeaux." Our fingers were big fans of the chiclet keyboard, but the addition of the ClickPad with its integrated mouse buttons makes us a bit anxious, you know, given the issues we've had with those on the Mini 210 and Envys. We'd be remiss if we didn't mention HP's new Day Starter software that lets the workaholics amongst you check a configured Outlook calender while the laptop boots up in the background -- it doesn't work yet with Google Cal, we asked. You should be able to start configuring the lappies in the next few weeks, but hit the break for some hands-on pics and the full PR. %Gallery-86683% %Gallery-86684%
HP ProBook 4710s hands-on
We just had a quick run-in with the 17-inch version of HP's new ProBook s-series laptops. The design is almost startlingly nondescript, but not so minimal that it feels like they aren't trying. Build quality isn't legendary -- there's a little bit of keyboard flex, as noted by Laptop, and the whole thing feels a bit overly plastic -- but on the plus side it's lighter than it looks and should certainly hold up well to most pursuits. The keys have a bit of casual wobble to them, but they're clacky in the right sort of way, and very well defined. The screen is oh-so-thankfully non-glossy, and plenty fine to look at, but the lid on the back is regretfully smudgetastic. Overall it seems like there's plenty there for the money, but it's not going to have high-end business buyers confused in the slightest.
