Hasta La Gadget!

In addition to unveiling all those laptops, HP just announced a boatload of peripherals. Of the bunch, the most compelling might be the NFC-enabled Touch to Pair Mouse, which, as the name suggests, can be paired with another device simply through tapping. (Good thing lots of computers currently have NFC, right?) If, by chance, you don’t have NFC on your laptop — and you probably don’t — the mouse will function just fine as a regular old Bluetooth device. Look for it in November for $39. Elsewhere on the wireless mouse front, HP announced the X6000 (pictured), which has four-way tilt scrolling and can be used on most surfaces, including glass. That arrives this month for $59. Finally, if your tastes are a bit simpler, there’s also the Wireless Mouse X4500 and X5500, which will be available this month for $29 and $39, respectively.

Beyond mice, HP also trotted out the $29 Wireless Classic Desktop keyboard, along with the $49 Wireless Elite v2. For audio lovers, there’s the HP Portable Bluetooth Speaker, which will go on sale next month for a cool $79. Eighty bucks (or thereabouts) will also get you a 90W universal power adapter that claims to be compatible with most notebooks. It also has a built-in USB port, allowing you to charge a mobile device at the same time. Rounding out the list is the Webcam HD 4310, an $89 shooter capable of 1080p video, autofocus, autoexposure and three-way video calling. All that in more digestible form in the PR after the break.

Continue reading HP unveils first NFC-enabled mouse, various other PC accessories

Filed under: Peripherals

HP unveils first NFC-enabled mouse, various other PC accessories originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 20 Sep 2012 00:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If you’ve been waiting for some spankin’ new designs for HP’s business machines, we hate to disappoint you, but we’ve only got a spec bump to report here. The company just announced that it’s freshening up its ProBook 4445s, 4446s and 4545s with AMD’s newish Trinity-series APUs. While it was at it, the outfit also announced the Compaq Pro 6305 desktop, which is also powered by AMD’s A-Series chips (the A10, A8, A6 and A4, to be exact). The refreshed ProBook 4545s is available now, starting at $499. (The 4445s and 4446s will only be available in Japan and other Asia-Pacific countries.) Meanwhile, the Compaq Pro 6305 desktop lands October 8th, starting at $539 with both Windows 7 and Win 8 configurations available.

Continue reading HP refreshes four of its business PCs with AMD Trinity chips

Filed under: Desktops, Laptops

HP refreshes four of its business PCs with AMD Trinity chips originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 20 Sep 2012 00:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It wouldn’t me a seasonal HP product launch without dozens of PCs and at least one monitor, right? This go-round, the company is launching the x2401, a 24-inch, 1080p display with a slim, 11mm-thick frame. Though the last two monitors we saw from HP were IPS, this one makes use of MVA technology to help ensure wide viewing angles. If you’re looking to add a display to your setup, this one has a DisplayPort socket and HDMI-in. (You can also mount it to the wall, if that’s your bag.) Expect it to arrive on November 7th for $249. Additionally, HP will sell a business-oriented version, the L2401x, the main difference being that the commercial version has a three-year warranty, instead of one. Not bad, considering the business version costs only ten bucks more.

Continue reading HP’s 24-inch x2401 monitor is just 11mm thick, arrives in November for $249

Filed under: Displays

HP’s 24-inch x2401 monitor is just 11mm thick, arrives in November for $249 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 20 Sep 2012 00:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Budget laptops, in general, used to be clunky hunks of plastic, more three-dimensional than thin, a collection of loosely grouped computer parts. Because of the recent Ultrabook (Intel’s thin-and-fast laptop) craze, even mid-to-low range computers sport a durable, solid build. In order to bill a computer as an ultrabook, manufacturers have to place a strong emphasis on maximizing the space and efficiency of laptop internals. The Envy 4 isn’t Macbook Air thin, but it’s close, and it’s a lot nicer than a chunky desktop replacement. It’s because of this that the HP Envy 4 is a great laptop. It’s not the best laptop out there, but it’s incredibly useable on a daily basis, and I can certainly recommend it over almost all laptops at its price point made last year. If a rising tide raises all boats, the HP Envy 4 is a ship you want to be on.

While the fit and finish is great on the HP Envy 4, you can’t help but feel as if there’s some corners that have been cut. HP has declared its high end laptops the Envy Spectre line, and left the Envy 4 as a mid-budget laptop. It’s billed as an ultrabook, but it’s two-part construction outs it as a laptop’s laptop: solid, heavy, but portable. And it’s running Windows 7, which is going to be superseded by the cutting-edge Windows 8 in October. It might not be the lightest, the fastest, or the newest, but could it be the right computer for you?

(more…)

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: HP Envy 17 and HP Envy 17 3D Update, HP ENVY Ultrabook and Sleekbook,

HP CEO Meg Whitman has taken on a lot since stepping into the position last September, and one thing she’s focused on has been making HP’s line of PCs and laptops more aesthetically pleasing. Whitman tells The Wall Street Journal that the laptop she was given when she started at the company was “a brick,” and that now one of her goals is turning that around. Where she’s pulling inspiration from may surprise you, too.

The WSJ write-up pegs Whitman with a desire to have the design of HP’s machines rival that of Apple‘s. “I don’t think we kept up with the innovation,” she said. “The whole market has moved to something that is more beautiful.” That part is definitely true – lately we’ve seen the market leaning toward some incredibly sleek-looking Ultrabooks, which go for excellent design and speed over raw power.

When Whitman took over in September 2011, HP’s laptops were all designed by different teams, meaning that there wasn’t any one common theme that immediately told consumers “this is an HP machine.” In the time since, HP has doubled the size of its PC team, and appointed HP PC executive Stacy Wolff to devise a look and feel that all HP machines could share. We’ve seen the fruits of that labor with HP’s latest line up of machines, which includes the Envy X2, the Spectre XT, and the Envy One. All of them are sleek looking products, and it’s easy to see that HP was taking some design cues from Apple when it sat down at the drawing board.

“Apple taught us that design really matters,” Whitman said, continuing by claiming that the company has “made a lot of progress” with its latest machines. Though HP has undeniably come up with a common look for its new products, it will undoubtedly have some stiff competition from the other Windows 8 manufacturers out there, who are all touting some impressive laptops and all-in-one PCs of their own. Have a look at our story timeline below for more on HP’s recent exploits.

HP CEO sings the praises of Apple design is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
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