HP has acknowledged that it’s been working on a Windows 8 tablet; it just hasn’t mentioned whether or not the rumored Slate 8 is part of its plans. Imagine our surprise, then, when we’re told that HP’s 60-second “Make It Matter” commercial ends with an unannounced yet familiar-looking tablet right at the 56-second mark. There’s only a fleeting glimpse, but it shows a metallic-looking body with a large black antenna window — the combination of which would fit in with the Slate 8’s purported aesthetics. We’ve asked HP whether or not this is a clever teaser for a real product or just as conceptual as the rest of the ad, and we’ll let you know if we hear back on the subject. In the meantime, you can inspect the video evidence for yourself after the break.
If you’ve ever wanted to know what it’s like inside a HP laptop factory, check out the video embedded above. According to reports online, this video was found by a Reddit user on his brand new HP laptop inside the My Documents folder. We have no idea how the video ended up on the laptop, but it’s probably a test video that the workers forgot to delete before sending the laptop off. Some special effects even get added in the second half of the clip.
Fortunately nothing out of the ordinary was caught on camera. Since most of us will probably never step foot inside one of these factories, I guess it gives us an interesting perspective on what goes on behind the scenes before we purchase our laptops.
Have you ever wondered how your computer gets made? Ever thought about the people who put it together? What about how life is like inside a computer factory? This video, which was found inside a brand new HP laptop, answers all your questions. More »
A Reddit user found this video recorded on his brand new HP laptop. It was stored in the My Documents folder and clearly depicts the mundanity of life inside a hardware manufacturing plant. This was taken in the Quanta Chongqing Manufacturing City in Chongqing and the worker seems to be testing the camera on this particular model.
Usually evidence of this testing is wiped out. It wasn’t in this case.
Essentially, you’re looking at the face of modern manufacturing. He’s not mistreated, he’s not chained to his desk, but he’s building the same thing, over and over again, a prospect not many of us would relish. It’s a mundane view inside a fairly secret world that we as consumers rarely get to see.
Dell is reportedly jockeying to join the Windows RT tablet club, petitioning Microsoft to take HP’s spot in the strictly-controlled roster of companies permitted to create ARM-based Windows slates. With HP dropping out of RT development in favor of focusing on Windows 8 models instead, Dell is in talks to replace it, the China Times reports, seemingly confirming previous reports that Microsoft is putting a six-company limit on who can build one of the first wave of Windows RT tablet models (including its own Surface).
Back in December, rumors broke that Microsoft had focused its Windows-on-ARM development on three chipset companies: NVIDIA, Qualcomm and Texas Instruments. Each of those three was encouraged to pick at most two manufacturers to work with on Windows RT tablets, with NVIDIA said to have opted for ASUS and Lenovo, Qualcomm for Samsung and HP, and Texas Instruments for Toshiba.
That leaves companies like Acer and Sony out in the cold, and at the time Dell as well, though the company is now believed to be targeting HP’s spot working with Qualcomm. Although Microsoft’s own Windows RT tablet does present an unusual challenge in the marketplace, the relatively small number of OEMs involved could mean more attention for each.
Word of Microsoft’s strictness around the quality of proposed Windows RT hardware had already been surfacing. HTC, for instance, is believed to have suggested one system but had its plans rejected by Microsoft; the company is conspicuously absent from the launch line-up.
Windows RT – along with Windows 8 for x86 systems – is expected to arrive on October 26, though not all of the manufacturers involved will necessarily have RT-based slates at that point.
China Times is reporting that Microsoft is only letting an elite few companies build Windows RT tablets in order to focus its research and development resources. It reportedly asked three chipmakers to pick up to two OEMs to bring inside the tent, with NVIDIA grabbing ASUS and Lenovo, TI snagging Toshiba and Qualcomm selecting Samsung and HP. However, the latter company dropped out of the program to concentrate on x86 machines, so it’s rumored that Dell’s currently jockeying to take its place. The first wave of completed tablets will arrive on October 26th, and Redmond won’t open up the market until January next year — so expect Windows RT to be the buzz-word CES 2013.
HP’s new ENVY 4 Ultrabook has landed on the SlashGear test bench this week. Complete with a sleek and impressive design, dual-stereo Beats Audio speakers, and Intel’s 3rd Gen Ivy Bridge dual-core i5 processor. Back in May we received our first glance at the new ENVY Ultrabook, but today we’ve given it another look in a quick hands-on video. More details, pictures, and specs are available after the break.
HP’s new ENVY 4 and 6 Ultrabooks have recently hit the shelves and to start things off we’ve unboxed the ENVY 4, and got our paws all over this new aluminum wrapped laptop. HP’s equipped these new Ultrabooks with a sleek design, impressive power under the hood, and kept them well in range of Intel’s “Ultrabook” standard. Coming in under 4 lbs (3.86 to be exact) and only 0.78″ thick the ENVY 4 is what we’re looking at today so here’s our quick unboxing video:
HP ENVY 4 Ultrabook hands-on & unboxing
As you saw from the video above, the specs are rather decent for an $800 machine. You’ll get a clear and vivid 14-inch Brightview LED 1366 x 768 display, 1.7 GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 processor (3317U), 4GB of DDR3 RAM, a 500GB HD (no SSD here) 3 USB ports, Ethernet, HDMI, SD slot for storage, integrated Intel HD Graphics 4000, and more.
The build quality for our initial impressions are nice, but certainly no MacBook Air. It’s topped in a midnight black brushed aluminum, and finished with a soft-touch matte coating on the sides and bottom — which nicely fits the Beats Audio red color scheme. All of this comes in under an inch being only 0.78″ thick and weighing less than 4 lbs.
Of course you’ll be running on Windows 7 x64, and you’ll probably want to upgrade to Windows 8 — or will you? The HP ENVY 4 Ultrabook has a nice sleek design, a slim bezel around the 14-inch LED display, a mildly powerful processor under the hood, and we’ll surely be taking it all for a spin in our full review early next week. The lack of an SSD for storage is my only concern compared to the competition, but this does come in at a decent price. Stay tuned and let us know if you have any questions for our full review.
HP’s plans to open-source webOS included mention of Enyo 2.0, a framework designed to spread webOS’ learnings to other platforms — to spread the love around, so to speak. The code foundation, while behind schedule, has just left beta: any developer with a mind to producing web apps can now create interface elements and whole apps using the technology derived from Palm’s legacy. Any reasonably modern browser will run the end result, whether it’s running Android, iOS or a full-fledged desktop release. We may never recreate the exact feeling of using an HP TouchPad on our iPads and Galaxy Tabs, but we know that some of its software design heritage will carry on.
While it’s not quite as protracted as the long, slow slug-out between Apple and Samsung, HTC’s patent contentions with Cupertino have just been augmented, with two more filings tossed into the pot. The IP in question originally belonged to HP, before being scooped up by the Taiwanese phone maker and pertains to Apple Remote Desktop and Apple Profile Manager along with other embedded network features in iOS and OS X. Apple’s run of luck in this area might not be the greatest just now, but then they do say things come in threes.
Here we have another newly launched slim desktop PC from HP, the Pavilion s5-1350jp/CT. The system comes with a 3.30GHz Intel Core i3-2120 processor, an Intel H61 chipset, an Intel HD graphics, a 4GB DDR3 RAM, a 500GB hard drive, a DVD Super Multi Drive and runs on Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit (SP1) OS. The s5-1350jp/CT sells for 49,980 Yen (about $634). [HP]
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.
YouTube | Email this | Comments
