HP is expecting Windows XP finally being killed off to have more of an impact on its PC sales than Windows 8 ever managed, with the OS retirement expected to open up a huge market of upgraders who have so far held off from buying fresh hardware. The change in platforms, as Windows XP extended
It’s not exactly the best birthday present ever, but today HP announced that webOS devices running version 2.1 and up will receive an automatic update to the App Catalog. The new code is needed to replace security certificate set to expire on July 23 that grants access to webOS cloud services. For the select few running older versions of webOS, fear not, for updating your devices merely requires manual navigation to the App Catalog, then grab and install the “HP App Catalog Update” application. Got it? Good.
Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Software, Mobile, HP
Now we’ve covered the first wave of Haswell-powered PCs and laptops, how about something to whet your appetite for later this year? While investigating Intel’s fanless tablet reference design, HP told us that its own iteration — one that was apparently also on stage during Intel’s Computex events — will be coming soon. While the tablet (or hybrid) wasn’t being shown publicly at the event, an official announcement is coming later this year. We thought we wouldn’t get to see a fanless Intel Core portable until Haswell’s successor, Broadwell (and its even smaller 14nm chips) started doing the rounds in a few years, but some clever hardware design could mean we see space-hogging, power-consuming fans dropped a little early.
HP will soon have an NFC-enabled Bluetooth speaker to go along with its NFC-enabled mouse, not that we reckon the two will ever have much to say to each other. The manufacturer’s Wireless Portable Speaker (model no. S9500) has just been revealed in an FCC filing, where it managed to pass inspection without giving away a great deal of information beyond its physical styling (more retro than HP’s current wireless speaker) and the name of the engineer who signed the test report (“Apple,” confusingly). Beyond that, we know this speaker would have to pair manually with a Slate 7, since that tablet lacks NFC. Also, the Quick Setup Guide says “First Edition: June 2013”, which suggests an official launch could be just around the corner — potentially alongside other unknown, NFC-enabled products from HP.
Filed under: Cellphones, Portable Audio/Video, Tablets, Wireless, Mobile, HP
Source: FCC
HP has introduced the LTE-enabled version of its ElitePad 900 Windows 8 tablet. Powered by a 1.8GHz Intel Atom Z2760 processor, the tablet sports a 10.1-inch 1280 x 800 touchscreen display, a 2GB RAM, a 64GB SSD, a microSD card slot, dual cameras (Full HD front & 8MP rear), NFC, WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0, LTE connectivity and runs on Windows 8 Pro 32-bit OS. The LTE-enabled ElitePad 900 will go on sale from mid-June for 113,000 Yen (about $1,119). [HP]
HP has officially entered into the Chromebook market with their new $329 Pavilion 14 Chromebook. As a laptop, it doesn’t deviate too far from HP standards, and it still sports the same curves and style that you’d expect out of a laptop from the company. Plus, despite being a Chromebook, it feels more like a traditional Windows laptop with it’s fairly spacious keyboard and trackpad, along with the 14-inch display. However, looks aren’t everything, and it’s the internal hardware and performance that can make or break a notebook. Is the Pavilion 14 worthy of a spot on your college laptop shortlist for the upcoming school year? Let’s find out.
The Pavilion 14 — unlike traditional Chromebooks that we’ve seen before — sports a standard laptop design for those that will want something a bit more full-size, but with minimalistic elements. It sports an Intel Celeron processor, which we don’t see too often anymore in laptops, but it’s enough to power a lightweight operating system like Chrome OS. It’s clocked at a mere 1.1GHz, and is paired with 2GB of RAM, along with a 16GB solid state drive, so nothing too spectacular spec-wise, but that was expected.
Essentially, if you didn’t notice the Chrome logo on the top corner of the laptop, you would think it was a regular Windows laptop from the face of it. The whole laptop is plastic-laden, and the top has an incredibly-reflective mirror surface that’s a bit of a fingerprint magnet. Opening up the notebook reveals the standard keyboard and trackpad, which aren’t anything special, but the larger size of the laptop makes for more typing room than what other Chromebooks offer. The trackpad is dimpled, adding a comfortable textured feel to your fingers. Unfortunately, using the trackpad isn’t smooth at all, and the cursor ends up skipping around quite a bit. I ended up having to use a mouse most of the time because I found the trackpad to be pretty intolerable.
Of course, the main seller for the Pavilion 14 is in the name. The laptop has a good-looking 14-inch display, which makes it one of the larger Chromebooks that we’ve seen, but the relatively low 1366×768 resolution leaves a bit to be desired. Then again, this is to be expected in a budget notebook like this. Connection options are a bit ample, however, with three USB 2.0 ports, an SD card reader, combination audio jack, Ethernet, and even a full-size HDMI port. Sadly, no USB 3.0 on this one, but we can’t be too surprised. There’s also no 3G or LTE chip built in, which we’ve seen in a lot of Chromebooks (as constant internet connectivity is vital to the platform), so you’ll end up having to tether to a smartphone to get internet on the go.
Other than that, there’s no optical disc drive, which is completely fine by us, but those wanting the opportunity to access the occasional disc will have to think twice. However, in this day and age, we’d be surprised if anyone actually needed to use a disc, and it certainly makes the entire package much lighter, coming in at a just bit over 3.5 pounds.
Overall, the design of the laptop feels solid for what you’re paying for, but plastic-built laptops will always have a hint of cheapness, and durability is always a concern in this case. The keyboard and trackpad are pretty cheap, but for the price you’re paying, you can’t expect anything too top tier.
We’ve talked about Chrome OS before in past Chromebook reviews, so I won’t go into a lot of redundant details here, but there a few things to note specifically. First off, the Chrome OS install on the Pavilion 14 is mostly stock, with only an “@HP” icon in the app launcher that takes you to the HP registration page for the Chromebook.
If you don’t know a lot about Chrome OS, it’s essentially just a browser, and while it does have a desktop of sorts, there’s no file browser exactly (just a “Downloads” folder and your Google Drive). You can also download apps, but they’re essentially just web apps that appear in the app launcher on the bottom-left. Clicking on one will simply open the web browser to that web app. You can pin apps to the “dock” of sorts, similar to pinning programs to the taskbar in Windows, and the bottom-right corner is where you can access settings, as well as toggle the WiFi and adjust the volume.
It’s hard to judge Chrome OS performance using pure numbers, as you can’t really run benchmarks, so we simply had to base the speed of the laptop on how fast apps opened and whether or not we experienced any significant lag while playing around with the Pavilion 14. Indeed, despite the slow Celeron processor, Chrome OS performed as we expected, and boot-up and shutdown times were extremely speedy. It wasn’t necessarily an instant-on type of boot-up, but it almost felt like an older computer waking up from sleep, taking about five or so seconds to get to the desktop. Shutting down was even a bit quicker, taking only about three seconds to go completely black.
One feature that may bother some users is that when you open the lid, the laptop will automatically turn on. Obviously, this feature will prevent you from having to press the power button, thus saving an extra step, but it was a bit cumbersome when I wanted to open up the laptop to show off the keyboard or trackpad to someone without having the whole thing boot up. I haven’t found a setting that will disable this feature either.
As for battery, HP claims that the Pavilion 14 can last for up to 4 hours and 15 minutes on a single charge, which isn’t very long at all, especially for such a low-powered machine. However, we were getting closer to five hours with light web browsing. Obviously, though, streaming any kind of video on YouTube or Netflix will see the battery life diminish quite a bit (about three hours in our testing), but that’s definitely to be expected. Sadly, though, we were hoping to get at least six or seven hours out of the battery during light use at least, especially since it’s a larger laptop with room for a bigger battery than most Chromebooks, so we were still a bit disappointed to only get five hours, despite exceeding HP’s own battery ratings.
It’s also important to note that even turning off the power completely and closing the lid for overnight storage still eats away at battery life from what we’ve found. We stopped playing around with the laptop for the night when it had around 82% left in the battery. We made sure to completely shut it down for the night, but when we booted it up in the morning, we noticed the battery was mysteriously drained to 72%, hinting to the possibility that the Chromebook actually doesn’t shut down completely without taking the battery out, probably to make sure it boots up quickly without hesitation.
The HP Pavilion 14 is the company’s first stab at a Chromebook, and instead of just mostly copying what Samsung and Acer have done with their Chromebook options, HP made a one-of-a-kind option, with the minimalistic performance and operating system mixed with the look and feel of a standard Windows laptop. However, this isn’t the notebook for everyone. Chrome OS is a very niche operating system, and it’s really only suited for casual users who surf the web, check email, stream media, etc. The Pavilion 14 isn’t the cheapest Chromebook option, but the larger 14-inch display is the real kicker here, and it’s perfect for those that want a lightweight OS in a slightly larger package.
HP Pavilion 14 Chromebook Review is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Intel’s Kirk Skaugen was relaxed about “me too” thin-and-light devices trailing behind Ultrabooks like Remoras. Perhaps it’s because of our lukewarm reception of devices like HP’s Envy Sleekbook 6z, which we found to be a little lumpen. While we liked its understated design, the sluggish AMD internals and flaky trackpad meant we weren’t feeling particularly fondly on this piece of hardware. This is where you come in. Why not dream up a budget laptop that could hit the same price point but without the flaws — the more imaginative, the better.
We have recently spent some time working (and playing) with the HP Spectre XT TouchSmart notebook computer. Specifically, we have been using the 15-4010nr Ultrabook model. This is a Windows 8 machine and it happens to be sporting a 15.6-inch Full HD IPS display and as implied by the TouchSmart in the name — this one is a touchscreen notebook. The notebook looks good, feels solid and has specs to match. Of course, on the flip side of that, the HP Spectre XT TouchSmart isn’t the lowest priced notebook on the market. The pricing starts at $1,399.99 and while we cannot say whether this notebook will be needed by all, we can share some opinions that will help you answer that question for yourself. With that, read on for our full HP Spectre XT TouchSmart 15-4010nr Ultrabook review.
Before we get into the specs of the notebook, lets first talk bout the notebook itself. The TouchSmart looks really nice, albeit a bit similar to the HP Envy Spectre XT, but that is not necessarily a bad thing. HP has the TouchSmart decked out in an aluminum and brushed silver finish. The lid of the notebook has a shiny silver HP logo and there is also the “Hewlett Packard’ branding on the side. While the outside is pretty muted in terms of brands and logos, the inside has a little bit more going on. That is not to say HP went overboard, but there are two Beats Audio logos and two HP logos on the inside.
Otherwise, the notebook has what you want and need and it has all the items in places that seem to make sense. You have the standards such as the keyboard and trackpad, however the speakers, power button, air vents and all ports are nicely placed. And in the case of the ports, they are nicely laid out for easy access. Take for example, we found it a plus to have USB ports on both sides of the notebook.
The keyboard itself was nicely spaced and to be honest, rather comfortable to type on. The keyboard is also backlit. The same can be said about the trackpad (which happens to be glass) as it just worked nicely. The trackpad performed well for everything from scrolling to Windows 8 gestures and it even has an integrated left and right click option. Of course, while the trackpad can be used for gestures and scrolling — this particular notebook does ship with a touchscreen display.
In this case you will be getting a 15.6-inch Full HD IPS display with a resolution of 1920 x 1080. Touching (pun intended) a bit on the display, while we are not fully convinced of the need for a touchscreen display on a notebook, it did manage to get quite a bit of use during our testing.
In fact, after using the HP Spectre TouchSmart for a while, we found ourselves reaching up to touch other notebook displays. Basically, this notebook proved comfortable and powerful enough for our everyday needs. In fact, the power was probably a bit overkill for our use case which consists mostly of web browsing, documents and some light image and video editing.
Looking at the notebook you will see the webcam sitting centered above the display. Specifically, the webcam is an HP TrueVision HD webcam with an integrated dual array microphone. Shifting to the sides of the notebook and you will find Ethernet, full-sized HDMI, Thunderbolt and pair of USB 3.0 ports on the left side with a full-sized SD card slot, 3.5mm headphone jack, one USB 2.0 port, charging connector and a Kensington lock slot on the right hand side.
Shifting over to the software and we start with a 64-bit edition of Windows 8. That of course is to say that you will see the now familiar array of tiles. In this respect there isn’t much in terms of surprise, the notebook has the usual array of shortcuts such as Games, Music, Video and Camera as well as Internet Explorer, Mail, Messaging, Calendar, SkyDrive and the Store. Plus, you will find some third party goodies including Netflix, Kindle, eBay and a few others.
Perhaps the nicer part here is the additional software that has been installed. HP ships the Spectre XT TouchSmart with the full versions of Adobe Photoshop Elements and Premier Elements. Users will also be able to find help in the form of the HP Support Assistant app, which is a default tile.
Otherwise, there is a trial version of Microsoft Office. Norton Internet Security is also included, and free for the first two years. Basically, there is Windows 8 with the expected goodies as well as a few extra perks for those looking to do some image editing or movie creating.
In terms of the performance — the keyboard feel solid, the trackpad was smooth and the display is bright and crisp. There was also Beats Audio along with those previously mentioned four speakers. As far as the sound quality, while the sound certainly was not what you are going to get from a full set of desktop speakers, we would describe it as being above what we would consider good for a laptop.
| Manufacturer | Hewlett Packard | Product Type | Notebook |
| Operating System | Microsoft Windows 8 (64-bit) | ||
| Motherboard | Hewlett-Packard 1886 | ||
| Processor | Intel Core i7-3517U | ||
| Processor ID | GenuineIntel Family 6 Model 58 Stepping 9 | ||
| Processor Frequency | 2.39 GHz | Processors | 1 |
| Threads | 4 | Cores | 2 |
| L1 Instruction Cache | 32.0 KB | L1 Data Cache | 32.0 KB |
| L2 Cache | 256 KB | L3 Cache | 4.00 MB |
| Memory | 7.90 GB DDR3 SDRAM 799MHz | FSB | 99.8 MHz |
| BIOS | Insyde F.04 | ||
Along with, the Spectre XT TouchSmart ran rather nice to use day to day. Our unit was equipped with a 1.9GHz Intel Core i7-3517U processor, 8GB of RAM, a 500GB (5400RPM) hard drive and Intel HD Graphics 4000. Looking at those specs and we probably would have been more surprised had the notebook not run smoothly. Our usage included everything from streaming a movie from Netflix and some television with Hulu Plus, to watching a movie stored locally, to some music and audiobooks and of course, web browsing. Plenty of web browsing.
There was also a little bit of light video editing and plenty of image editing. Battery life on the other hand felt lacking. We were able to get a few solid hours, but it seems to be short as compared to some of the other currently available notebooks.
| Section | Description | Score | Total Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| Windows x86 (64-bit) – Microsoft Windows 8 (64-bit) | |||
| Integer | Processor integer performance | 6188 | 8357 |
| Floating Point | Processor floating point performance | 11274 | |
| Memory | Memory performance | 7591 | |
| Stream | Memory bandwidth performance | 7271 | |
Aside from the HP Spectre XT TouchSmart’s battery life, the overall experience was rather pleasant and comfortable. Not only did the notebook perform well, but it did so looking really nice — both in terms of the exterior casing and the quality of the display. While we wouldn’t hesitate to offer a recommendation, we could see the price being an issue for some. That is not to say the Spectre XT TouchSmart isn’t worth what HP is asking, but just that there are plenty of less expensive options to choose from.
HP Spectre XT TouchSmart Notebook Review is written by Robert Nelson & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours — all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
