CES 2013] The HP Pavilion line has always been about “bang for the buck”, so introducing IPS displays in that line-up makes sense. Most of the models (22xi, 23xi, 25xi and 27xi) feature a 1080p resolution, but the smallest 20xi does not (it tops at 1600×900), and it’s probably OK for a mid-range 20″ monitor. All of them offer a variety of input options, namely VGA, HDMI, DVI-D.
The IPS is the star of the show here, because if it wasn’t for that special detail, the rest of the specifications aren’t out of the ordinary, and the design itself is decent, but not fantastic either. That said, check the prices: the 20xi will cost $129.99 and the 27xi will sell for an MSRP of $339.99 which seems to land right in the normal price range (street price) for this type of IPS monitors. What do you think? What’s your monitor brand of choice these days?
[CES 2013] With the recent official launch launch of Windows 8 we have seen our share of new PCs and laptops, however there are more to come at CES. HP is coming to the show with two new AMD-powered Sleekbook running Windows 8, the HP Pavilion TouchSmart Sleekbook (multi-touch version) and HP Pavilion Sleekbook (non-touch).
Both devices sport a 15.6-inch high-definition display (1366×768) in a thin, light and elegant body and runs an AMD Ultrathin A6-4455M Accelerated Processor (2.1GHz up to 2.6Ghz) with 4GB DDR3 SDRAM (max supported 8GB).
[CES 2013] At CES 2013 HP is launching a new 27″ LCD IPS monitor under the Envy brand. The HP Envy 27″ display has been designed to look good on a desk, and one of the primary objectives of the designers was to make the bezels very thin. It’s hard to see on the photos, but if you’re not familiar with the IPS display technology, it is a type of LCD display which has been optimized for having great view angles and color reproduction. For example, mobile devices like the iPad use an IPS display. At the moment, this is one of the best technology available for large displays as OLED is simple too expensive at that size. (more…)
[CES 2013] The HP U160 is a USB powered notebook monitor that can be folded inside a very practical case which acts as a stand when unfolded. The thin, light and elegant body weighs only 3.4 pounds and is only 1.02 inches thick.
The HP U160 looks like the perfect monitor to have when on-the-go, and during the briefing with HP, we thought that it could be a useful gadget to bring for our trips to international conferences like CES, MWC or CEATEC, to increase our productivity. The 15.6 inch LCD display features 1366×768 resolution, 16:9 ratio and is powered via USB 2.0 or above. When we saw it in action, the responsiveness was good and the framerate was fluid.
The u160 will be available in January for only $179 (starting price), I am sure that the attractive price and design will make it one of the sought-after device for road warriors. Last but not least, the device is ENERGY STAR qualified, meaning it is quite eco-friendly: it is made with arsenic free glass and BFR/PVC free plastics and mercury-free LED backlighting.
[CES 2013] The thing with computers is that you need a screen, and when it comes to business, companies want something that is cost-effective, predictable and easy to maintain. That’s what HP is aiming for with this HP ProDisplay line of monitors that feature four models: P191 (18.5″), P201m (20″) and P221 (21.5″). Seriously, call me a naive consumer, but I don’t really understand why there is a need for four models to cover a price range of $129 to $179 and size variations that seem relatively small.
In any case, CTOs may find it comforting that while these monitors won’t win any design awards, they have plenty of “Green” labels, including: Energy Star, EPEAT Gold, BFR/PVC-Free, Arsenic Free and Mercury-free LED. Well, there’s nothing wrong with doing business without polluting (too much), right?
It’s pretty clear HP is all about monitors at this year’s CES — in fact, that’s pretty much all it announced, with the exception of a couple laptops. All told, we’ve detailed 10 models here, and that’s not even counting that USB-powered one we wrote up in a separate post. You can find all the gory details after the break, because we’re assuming you don’t want Engadget’s home page taken up by paragraphs on resolution, contrast ratio and brightness ratings. (Or do you?) For those of you who just plan on skimming, all you really need to know is that the displays range in size from 20 to 27 inches, and cost anywhere from $130 to $500. And some of them, like the one pictured above, are damn gorgeous. Meet us past the break where we’ll break down all the particulars.
In case you haven’t noticed, HP’s presence at CES 2013 pretty much boils down to monitors: the company just unleashed nearly a dozen models and, uh, very little else. As it is, we decided to round up most of the new displays into a single news post, but there’s one we felt deserved its own story. That would be the U160, HP’s first USB-powered monitor. Now of course, this is hardly the first USB display to hit the market, but it is the first made by HP, which seemed noteworthy enough, given how big a player HP is in the monitor space.
In any case, this has a matte 15-inch screen with 1,366 x 768 resolution, and comes with a built-in leather case allowing you to prop it up for presentations and whatnot. It weighs 3.4 pounds and measures 1.2 inches thick, which for comparison’s sake means it’s slightly heavier than whatever Ultrabook you’re carrying around. Interestingly, HP won’t discuss the other specs in great detail, except to say that the contrast ratio and brightness levels are comparable to most notebook screens. So we guess you’ll just have to take HP’s word for it? In any case, if you’ve been looking for a travel monitor and fancy this one, it goes on sale this month for $179.
Geez Louise, folks. HP’s notebook lineup is starting to get confusing. So confusing, in fact, that we feel compelled to offer a little primer before we get to what it is the company announced today. Rewinding to sometime last year, the company came out with its firstUltrabooks. Then it unveiled so-called Sleekbooks, which basically hold the same promise as Ultrabooks, except that for whatever reason (AMD processors, a too-thick chassis) they don’t meet Intel’s official Ultrabook requirements. Still with us? Alrighty. Well, since then HP has released Sleekbooks under its mid-range Envy brand, and also its lower-cost Pavilion line. That’s a lot of thin-and-light laptops that aren’t technically Ultrabooks.
Anyway, flash back to the present and we’ve got two new Pavilion Sleekbooks, one of which has a touchscreen. They’re officially called the Pavilion TouchSmart Sleekbook and the Pavilion Sleekbook and, well, you can guess which is which. Regardless of the model, some key features remain the same: both have 15.6-inch (1,366 x 768) displays, replaceable batteries and numpads, along with trackpads that support Windows 8 gestures (that’s true of most new laptops, actually). Both make use of the company’s CoolSense technology, which we can easily vouch for by now, having tested so many HP notebooks. As for design, these look more or less like the Pavilion Sleekbooks announced back in September, with three color choices and HP’s Imprint finish, whose in-laid pattern does a good job hiding fingerprints.
It’s in the spec department that these two laptops start to differ. Though both models will be offered with AMD Trinity processors only, the TouchSmart starts with an AMD A8 chip and 6GB of RAM, while the non-touch version starts with an A6 APU and four gigs of memory. The hard drive capacity varies, too: the non-touch one starts with 500GB of space, while the TouchSmart has 750GB. As you can imagine, the touchscreen version is thicker, but only slightly: it measures 23mm thick, versus 21mm. Look for the non-touch Sleekbook to go on sale this month, starting at $499. The TouchSmart will land in February, priced from $699. In the meantime, we’ve got hands-on shots of both waiting for you after the break.
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.
What we’ve got here is the HP EliteBook Folio 9470m Ultrabook, a business-oriented notebook made to work in the Windows 8 environment with an amalgamation of hardware that’s precision-tuned to suit your in- and out-of-office needs. At first glance, this machine doesn’t strike one as the most unique piece of machinery on the planet – it’s a silver laptop, after all. But what it lacks in unique aesthetics, it more than makes up for in details that we’d consider suggesting this device to friends for on their own.
Hardware
This machine measures in at 13.3 x 9.09 x 0.75 in (33.8 x 23.1 x 1.89 cm) and works with a lovely 14-inch LED-backlit HD anti-glare 1366 x 768 pixel resolution display and is cased in mostly hard and soft plastic. While the bulk of this machine is metal, its ever-so-slightly soft along the top and the bottom while a ridge of almost rubbery soft plastic runs along the head – above the display, the area that you’ll use to pull the notebook open – very well placed. This notebook is 3.6 pounds – not the lightest Ultrabook in the universe – and is 0.74-inches thick.
Along the sides you’ve got more ports than you’re going to know what to do with, including 2x USB 3.0, 1x USB 3.0 (charging), DisplayPort 1.1a, VGA, AC power, headphone/mic jack, RJ-45, and a single SD/MMC card slot. You’ve also got an ethernet port so you can hard-wire to the web if you’re not all about wi-fi connectivity. You’ve also got a Kensington lock slot so you can keep the machine secure if you’re at a trade show or in a particularly nefarious office setting.
Note also that HP has made a point of assuring the public that their Elite line of products is hardcore – have a peek at our HP Making of Elite Tour Roundup to see our adventures all those months ago – smashing inside!
Also important if you want to keep your machine secure is the built-in HP Fingerprint Sensor which appears on the right side of your palm rest – make sure you’re not eating too much cake before you try to get read. Up to the right above your keyboard you’ve got dedicated on/off switches for both wi-fi and sound (muting, basically), and up and to the left you’ve got your power button – heavy metal!
The model we’ve got here works with a 3rd Gen (Ivy Bridge) Intel Core i5-3427U (2.80/1.80 GHz, 3 MB L3 cache, 2 cores) and has a Mobile Intel QM77 Express chipset. You’ll be able to see some standard performance results in the benchmark listing we’ve got below, but know this: this machine is performing at a 2013 level. It’s swift and powerful, more than ready to take on your standard business needs.
Software
The security and business-friendly options you’ve got on this machine are just what your manager’s been looking for, including HP’s ProtecTools suite with so many tools to keep people out of your computer that you’ll forget why they wanted to get in in the first place – pre-boot authentication and a password vault included! You’ve also got SpareKey for when you forget your own password. And of course, a Trusted Platform Module (TPM) built-in.
You also get a tossing of apps that HP’s decided to add-in above what Microsoft’s Windows 7 or 8 gives you, including such gems as PowerDVD and PDF Complete. You do get Evernote right out of the box though, a good incentive to keep taking notes on your smartphone as well as your laptop. You get the option of working with Windows 7 Pro, Windows 7 Home Premium, or the version of Microsoft’s OS that we’re working with here, Windows 8.
If you do choose Windows 8, you’ll need some time to get used to the gestures you’ll be needing to make your own in order to get friendly with your everyday average apps. If you’ve got no touchscreen (this device does not have one, mind you), you’ll be dragging two fingers to the right or the left to navigate your Live Tiles. If you don’t know what that means, we suggest you pick this machine up with Windows 7, without a doubt.
The display on this machine is decent, but not spectacular. The same can be said about the speaker system. HP didn’t put as much effort into this machine’s entertainment abilities as it has with some of its more eye and ear-pleasing machines like the HP ENVY Spectre XT Ultrabook. This Folio machine is, on the other hand, one of the more well-put-together business-minded machines we’ve seen through the past 12 months.
System – LENOVO 344422U
Manufacturer
Lenovo
Product Type
Notebook
Operating System
Microsoft Windows 7 Professional (64-bit)
Motherboard
LENOVO 344422U
Processor
Intel Core i7-3667U
Processor ID
GenuineIntel Family 6 Model 58 Stepping 9
Processor Frequency
2.00 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
3.73 GB DDR3 SDRAM 666MHz
FSB
99.8 MHz
BIOS
LENOVO G6ET22WW (1.01 )
Have a peek below at our standard benchmark test results for this machine and remember that it’s not an entertainment machine, and certainly isn’t made for gaming. Instead you’ve got a bit of a worker her made for a worker, inside and out.
Benchmark Score – Hewlett-Packard HP EliteBook Folio 9470m
Section
Description
Score
Total Score
Windows x86 (64-bit) – Microsoft Windows 8 Pro (64-bit)
Integer
Processor integer performance
3538
5029
Floating Point
Processor floating point performance
6639
Memory
Memory performance
4933
Stream
Memory bandwidth performance
4812
Battery Life / Options
On the bottom of this machine you’ve got both a docking connector and a secondary battery connector. HP doesn’t mess around when it comes to a strong accessories ecosystem and will certainly have your back when you look to expand with extra long-life-loving batteries and/or if you want to dock this beast up at your house when you get home from the cube. That said, the battery life on this machine is rated by HP for “up to 9 hours and 30 minutes” with its HP Long Life 4-cell (52 WHr) Li-Ion unit, and we’ve seen it bringing on easily 5-6 hours of up-time while using it for medium-to-heavy lifting on an average day.
Lifting, in this case, consists of editing enough video and photos for a full day of work on SlashGear, browsing massive amounts of content on the web, and items as simple as editing text documents (plus lots, lots more, of course). If you’re all about document editing and basic reading, you’ll have no trouble reaching up further for the beastly time HP suggests.
Wrap-up
With the HP EliteBook Folio 9470m Ultrabook you’re getting one of the nicest business-minded computers on the market today. Priced at $1,349.00 USD straight from HP, you’re going to get what you paid for. This is a machine you’re going to be able to use for years to come, and with the hardware this Ultrabook comes with right out of the box, it’s unlikely you’ll need to update your innards any time soon.
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[CES 2013] At CES 2013 HP is launching a new 27″ LCD IPS monitor under the Envy brand. The HP Envy 27″ display has been designed to look good on a desk, and one of the primary objectives of the designers was to make the bezels very thin. It’s hard to see on the photos, but if you’re not familiar with the IPS display technology, it is a type of LCD display which has been optimized for having great view angles and color reproduction. For example, mobile devices like the iPad use an IPS display. At the moment, this is one of the best technology available for large displays as OLED is simple too expensive at that size. 
[CES 2013] The thing with computers is that you need a screen, and when it comes to business, companies want something that is cost-effective, predictable and easy to maintain. That’s what HP is aiming for with this HP ProDisplay line of monitors that feature four models: P191 (18.5″), P201m (20″) and P221 (21.5″). Seriously, call me a naive consumer, but I don’t really understand why there is a need for four models to cover a price range of $129 to $179 and size variations that seem relatively small.
