Hasta La Gadget!

With back-to-school season upon us and Intel’s Haswell launch just around the corner, now’s a great time for PC makers to start unveiling their summer lineups. Two weeks ago we heard from Sony and today it’s HP’s turn: the company just refreshed everything from its mainstream notebooks to its high-performance machines. Heck, even the pint-sized dm1 got a makeover. With the exception of that machine (now called the Pavilion TouchSmart Notebook), everything here will be offered with Haswell. There’s a little something for everybody, and it’s all waiting for you in a neat summary after the break. Join us as we break it down.

Update: We’ve added one more model to the list, and we think you’re going to like it: an Ultrabook with a 3,200 x 1,800 display. HP hadn’t meant to announce it today, but you know the internet — sometimes the cat gets out of the bag anyway. In any case, we’ve added a quick blurb, as well as hands-on photos. Enjoy!

Filed under: Laptops, HP

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It’s no secret that Rahul Sood, who now runs Microsoft’s Bing Fund, feels a twinge of bitterness towards his previous employer. Having worked for HP until 2010, and having endowed it with the Envy sub-brand, he’s since been forced to watch from the sidelines while the mothership floundered. But it’s not the u-turns or bad investments that have jerked Sood’s chain this time — it’s actually the slightly awkward (and potentially emotional) branding of a model in HP’s desktop range. After seeing details of the product pop up online, he tweeted:

“Thought I’d seen everything… then I saw the ‘HP ENVY H8’ desktop… what the heck guys? Is this code for I give up?”

Tom’s Hardware reached out to Sood for an explanation and got a carefully-worded response in which he implied that HP has become preoccupied with the “logo on the box” at the expense of “culture” and “community.” Meanwhile, the old Pavilion h8 has somehow slipped by unnoticed.

Filed under: Misc, Laptops, HP

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Source: Tom’s Hardware, @rahulsood (Twitter)

Didn’t you hear? All of HP’s top-shelf product consumer products will henceforth have the word “Spectre” in the name. So, it makes sense that the company would expand beyond laptops and release a futuristic desktop bearing the same branding. Indeed, the company just announced the Spectre One, a 23.6-inch all-in-one with a skinny design and nice-to-have features like NFC.

Though that aluminum frame and tilting 1080p display are pleasing to look at, the real story isn’t what the Spectre One has, so much as what’s missing. You see, in order to get the system down to 11.5mm thick, the design team had to forgo certain features you might otherwise expect — features like a TV tuner, touchscreen and even an optical drive. It’s a gamble, to be sure, but HP is betting that fashion-forward, tech-savvy users won’t really mind. (The jury is out on whether a Windows 8 all-in-one without touch is a missed opportunity.) In any case, HP did include four USB ports (two of them 3.0), HDMI input, an Ethernet jack, Beats Audio and a memory card reader, with optional discrete graphics and SSDs. The components are also easily serviceable via a back door, if tinkering is your idea of fun. Lastly, the One ships with a keyboard, Magic Trackpad-style wireless touchpad and two NFC tags, which can be assigned to favorite websites.

In addition to the Spectre One, HP also trotted out three other all-in-ones. At the mid-range, you’ll find the Envy 20 and 23, which have 20- and 23-inch screens, respectively, with 1,920 x 1,080 resolution. Rounding out the list, the company announced the low-end Pavilion 20, another 1080p system. Put simply, the two Envy systems have touchscreens, Beats Audio and will be offered with Ivy Bridge processors only; the Pavilion is non-touch, and will be offered with both Intel and AMD chips. Whichever you choose, HP’s old Magic Canvas UI for Windows is gone; in its place, the “Connected Suite,” which includes a mix of desktop and mobile apps for sharing photos, streaming music and remote access. Though the mobile applications work with iOS and Android devices, you’ll need a Windows 8 laptop on one end of the setup — specifically, an HP PC. That’s right: for now, at least, the software will only work on the company’s own computers.

The Envy 20, Envy 23 and Pavilion 20 will all be available on October 23rd, with the budget Pavilion going for $499 and the two Envys starting at $849 and $1,099, respectively. The Spectre One doesn’t arrive until November 14th, but when it does it will cost $1,299.

Continue reading HP announces Spectre One desktop, three other all-in-ones

Filed under: Desktops

HP announces Spectre One desktop, three other all-in-ones originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 10 Sep 2012 00:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If you thought laptop / tablet mashups were trendy, we can think of at least one other theme you’re going to see repeated ad nauseam over the coming months: PC makers putting touchscreens on things that didn’t used to have them. That’s right, in addition to all those funky-looking hybrids, you’re going to see lots of familiar-looking laptops get upgraded with touch in time for the Windows 8 launch. Exhibit A: HP, which just announced two conventional notebooks with touch. This includes a finger-friendly version of the 14-inch Envy 4 Ultrabook, as well as the Spectre XT TouchSmart Ultrabook, a 15-inch version of the Spectre XT announced earlier this year. Both will be available during the holiday season. That’s the short version, but if you follow past the break, we’ve got a lot to talk about in the way of specs. Join us, will you?

Continue reading HP announces 15-inch Spectre XT TouchSmart Ultrabook, Envy 4 Ultrabook with touch

Filed under: Laptops

HP announces 15-inch Spectre XT TouchSmart Ultrabook, Envy 4 Ultrabook with touch originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Aug 2012 00:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nobody likes the hassle of setting up a new computer, and if it’s one of your biggest gripes about getting a new PC, HP’s brand new All-in-One desktop line might be what you’re looking for. Announced today, the company has four new models, each one suited for different consumers. First up we have the Compaq Elite 8300 All-in-One PC: designed for business users, featuring security and management features with optional touch capability.

Next we have the HP Compaq Pro 6300 All-in-One: designed for most everyday business and public sector computing requirements. Then we have the HP Envy 23 All-in-One PC for the higher-end users, and lastly the HP Pavilion 23 All-in-One for regular users who want a computer for everyday use. We won’t go into full details about the computers’ specs here, but you can find out more at their respective product pages (links below) and the official HP blog (for a hands on preview of the ENVY 23 and Pavilion 23). HP’s new All-in-One PCs will start from $649.99 and will go on sale on September (Compaq Elite 8300 and Pro 6300) and August (ENVY and Pavilion).

[Press Release | Compaq Elite 8300 | Compaq Pro 6300]

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: HP offering one-year warranty extension to a few line of Pavilion desktop PCs, Envy Spectre XT: an ultra-thin that means business,