HP steps up game in light and thin notebook arena

MANILA, Philippines - Next month, as the world celebrates Oktoberfest by consuming barrels of beer, HP is also poised to roll out its own “barrel of fun” which can be as intoxicating if high-performance mobile computing is your thing.

HP recently unveiled in Singapore new models of the HP Pavilion and HP ProBook notebook PCs coming to Asia-Pacific customers next month. With much fanfare, company officials also unveiled its latest line of premium notebooks, the HP Envy.

The new HP Envy sub-brand builds on the legacy of the HP Voodoo Envy, and includes leading-edge components optimized to deliver a new standard of computing power and performance. Available in two models, the HP Envy13 claims to have the brightest display in its class, while the HP Envy15 takes the title of being HP’s fastest consumer notebook PC ever.

The new HP Envy leaves no doubt how the company is stepping up its game in the light and thin notebook arena, one that is widely dominated by Apple. In an interview with regional IT press, See Chin Teik, senior vice president of the Personal Systems Group of HP Asia-Pacific and Japan, said they feel that the ultra light and thin notebook market is underserved and HP wants to offer consumers a new option.

“Thin is a new category for us. Of course we will still continue to sell our full-sized traditional notebook PCs but we feel the (thin) notebook market is underserved. People who want to buy notebooks in this category now have a new option. We target the HP Envy for the premium market,” said See.

The HP Envy13’s form factor is 0.8-inch thin and 1.69-kilo light. It has a 13.1-inch Radiance Display that is twice as bright as other notebook displays in its class. The HP Envy15, on the other hand, is only an inch thin and weighs 2.35 kilos. It offers a choice between two 15.6-inch HPBrightView High-Definition LED backlit displays, including the Full High-Definition LED HP Ultra BrightView Widescreen display with up to 300 nit (a measurement of display brightness).

“Thin and light notebooks define (what’s) heavyweight in terms of mobility and performance. With our new portfolio, HP has redefined high-end notebook PCs,” asserted See.

Specs of Envy

HP Envy15 users can enjoy maximum computing speed and mobility with the future Intel Core i7 processor and up to 16GB of DDR31066 MHz system memory with four SODIMM memory slots. This notebook model also allows adding of two solid-state drives (SSDs) in a RAID-0 configuration to improve overall speed while providing ultimate disk performance.

In addition, the HP Envy15 comes preloaded with Corel Photo & Video for creating digital content. In addition, HP partnered with Beats by Dr. Dre to develop a unique, high-performance subsystem tuned for today’s music and available exclusively on the HP Envy: Beats Audio so users cannot just hear but also feel the music.

Both HP Envy models use switchable discrete graphics to give users control of the graphics processing unit (GPU) to deliver optimum performance or battery life. The HP Envy15, for example, uses ATI Mobility Radeon 4830 discrete graphics for visually intensive applications, DirectX10 games and high-definition playback.

An optional slim battery extends the life of the new Envy series. The HP Envy13 even has a small and light adapter that draws minimal power and has a built-in surge protection. An optional HP USB Ethernet adapter and external optical drive are also available.

Both HP Envy models feature the HP Clickpad that integrates the buttons into the touchpad while also allowing users to disable the right mouse key if desired. The keyboard’s direct Action Keys also allow users to quickly access often used commands like print and volume adjustments, compared to typical function keys.

With a low-light VGA webcam and 82 percent versus standard 45-60 percent color gamut, the HP Envy13 renders photos with more color depth. The HP Envy15, on the other hand, is fitted with a NightVision VGA webcam with ambient light sensor that automatically adjusts to its surroundings and is optimized for lowlight or zero lighting conditions.

ProBook & Pavilion

HP’s new notebook portfolio includes the HP ProBook 5310m, one of the world’s thinnest full-performance notebooks, and the HP Pavilion dm1 and dm3 consumer notebooks.

The HP ProBook 5310m has an Intel Core2 Duo SP9300 processor under its hood, but it is also available at a scaled-down model that runs on Intel Celeron Dual-Core.

Designed for mobile professionals, the HP ProBook 5310m weighs 1.72 kilos and is 0.93-inch thin. It boasts of a 13.3-inch diagonal LED high-definition display and a good eight-hour battery life.

This particular model also uses the HP QuickWeb application that resides outside the notebook’s operating system. This means users can connect to the Internet at a touch of a button even before the notebook itself completely boots up. In addition, HP QuickLook 3 allows users to read and edit e-mail, calendar entries and contacts without having to boot up the notebook.

As an added plus, the new HP ProBook 5310m is made without the use of harmful substances like PVC.

Continuing with the thin and light focus, HP also introduced the new HP Pavilion dm1 and HP Pavilion dm3 notebooks, which are ideal for those who want the portability of a mini notebook and the functionality of a full-featured notebook.

The 11.6-inch HP Pavilion dm1 starts from 1.36 kilos and features a choice of Intel Celeron Dual-Core processor and Intel Pentium processor.

The HP Pavilion dm3 is only an inch thin, weighs 1.91 kilos and is available in brushed aluminum chassis and multiple processor and graphic options, including the latest Intel Core2 Duo or AMD Neo Dual-Core processors, and Intel unified, ATI or NVIDIA discrete graphics.

When configured with the AMD Neo and ATI combination, the HP Pavilion dm3 offers PowerXpress, which provides performance graphics when plugged in, and switches to unified graphics life when unplugged for longer battery life.

Pre-loaded with HP MediaSmart software, the HP Pavilion dm3 has new direct function media keys for quick access to controls, while a variety of high-capacity hard drive options of up to 500 gigabytes offer ample room for storage.

The HP Pavilion dm3 also supports optional built-in WWAN for wireless connectivity and includes a low-light VGA HP webcam and digital microphone. An optional lightweight, external optical disc drive with Blu-ray capability is also available.

Last but not the least is the HP Pavilion dv2 entertainment notebook PC with Windows 7 which, like all the new HP notebooks, will be officially available starting Oct. 22 with a choice of Microsoft Windows 7 Basic, Premium or Pro. The only exception is the HP ProBook 5310m, which is offered with Microsoft Windows XP or Vista.

But to go thin and light, one must have a bit of a fat wallet. The starting prices of the new HP notebooks are as follows:

• HP ProBook 5310m for $699 with Intel Celeron Dual-Core and $899 with Intel Core 2 Duo;

• HP Pavilion dm1 for $699;

• HP Pavilion dm3 for $799;

• HP Pavilion dv2 for $649;

• HP Envy13 for $1,699; and

• HP Envy15 for $1,899.

Now, any of these can instead buy you a lot of beer next month, but as See said during the notebooks’ launch, “HP is the No. 1 PC vendor… discover what we can give,” which, of course, is nothing alcoholic but something that should last long after the last barrel is gone.