It looks like a MacBook Pro. It feels like a MacBook Pro—aluminum body, chiclet keys, even a buttonless trackpad. But the Envy’s got an HP logo etched onto its lid. And it might just be better.

Don’t act surprised that the Envy 13 and 15 have chiclet keyboards and buttonless multitouch trackpads because HP certainly isn’t hiding the fact that they absolutely stole their look and ergonomics from the Macbook Pros. The $1,700 13-inch Envy isn’t as powerful as the $1,800 Envy 15‘s mobile Core i7 processor, but it’s more like a MacBook Air at just over 3 pounds, and its beautiful screen has been in my dreams. Neither are as strong as the MacBook Pro’s unibody though—they’re a bit more flexy, but if unibodies rated a 9, these would be a 7 or 8.

Envy 13
The Envy 13 is almost more Air than Pro, at .8-inches thin and 3.74 pounds. (The Air is .76 inches thick and weighs 3 pounds.) Its screen, framed by the same style glossy black bezel as the unibody MacBook family, is absolutely stunning. Dubbed HP Radiance, the 410-nit display is apparently two times as bright as other LED displays and it looks it. Apple doesn’t list the MacBook Pro’s display brightness in nits, but the Envy’s display definitely looked brighter and clearer.

It pulls the dual processor trick the 13-inch Pros don’t, with switchable ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4330 graphics and an Intel ultra low voltage Core 2 Duo processor inside. Its removeable battery promises 7 hours of battery life, however its add-on extra battery is sweet: It magnetically clips to the bottom of the notebook to make it look like it is part of the actual build. HP promises 18 hours of juice with that thing clipped on. Did I mention it has Dr. Dre’s fingers all over it with Beats Audio integration?

Envy 15
Where the Envy 13 leaves off in performance the Envy 15 picks up. The 15.6-inch version looks pretty similar to the 13, but is laser etched all around (on the palmrest and the lid) and lacks the flush glass display with the high-quality Radiance technology. But it’ll outperform pretty much any other laptop out there so far, since it’ll have Intel’s next generation mobileCore i7 processors, ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4830 graphics and support for up to 16GB of RAM. The beast will also have two hard drive bays, which you can fill with SSDs. But it’s still only an inch thick and 5.18 pounds, making it that much more impressive.

Both will be available on October 15, though it’s probably worth waiting the extra week for Windows 7.

HP Redefines the Premium Notebook PC with ENVY
Precision-crafted, high-performance notebooks are bright, thin,deliver superb experience

PALO ALTO, Calif., Sept. 15, 2009 – HP today redefines the premium notebook PC experience with the introduction of the HP ENVY sub-brand, which offers customers precision-crafted, high-performance models featuring HP Metal Etching and concierge service and support.

The new HP ENVY 13 boasts the brightest display in its class, and the HP ENVY 15 is the company’s fastest consumer notebook PC ever. “HP ENVY includes the latest in materials and technology inside and out and pushes the technological and performance boundaries of what can be done in sleek, powerful and lightweight notebook PCs,” said Ted Clark, senior vice president and general manager, Notebook Global Business Unit, Personal Systems Group, HP. “Discerning consumers will get a premium experience and performance.”

With HP ENVY, the focus is on designing an entire premium experience to satisfy the most demanding customers – from the products to the packaging to the service and support.

Breakthrough HP Metal Etching on the lid and palmrest of the ENVY 15, and on the palmrest of the ENVY 13, subtly signals luxury. The combination of materials provides exceptional mobility and a compelling metal look and feel, while
using energy-responsible manufacturing methods.

The HP ENVY line – building upon the Voodoo ENVY legacy – includes leadingedge components optimized to yield power and performance. HP partnered with Beats by Dr. Dre to develop a unique, high-performance subsystem tuned
for today’s music and available exclusively on the HP Envy: Beats Audio. Envy users will feel the music – not just listen – and enjoy music the way the artist intended.

The lightweight heavyweight: ENVY 13
The ENVY 13 balances style and substance. Carefully crafted details inside and out will satisfy the cravings of demanding mobile customers.

The HP Radiance display is twice as bright as other notebook displays in its class – 410 nit (a measurement of display brightness) – and provides an exceptional movie and photo experience, even in high ambient light conditions. With 82
percent color gamut (versus standard 45-60 percent), photos appear richer with amazing color depth. Additionally, with fast 8-millisecond response time, customers can view movies with TV-like performance.

The ENVY 13’s strong performance is delivered in a small frame – less than an inch thin and weighing 3.74 pounds.(1) The exterior’s aluminum and magnesium construction provides durability in a sleek design. An etched-metal palmrest
further sets the PC apart from others, and a VGA webcam(3) optimized for low light also is included.

HP placed the same focus on design into its optional Slim Fit Extended-Life Notebook Battery. Taking the form of a “slice,” it preserves the sleek look of the ENVY 13 while giving users up to 18 hours of battery life with the extended-life battery.(2) The standard battery is user-replaceable. ATI Switchable Graphics technology dynamically switches between ATI Mobility Radeon™ HD 4330 discrete graphics and the Intel® integrated graphics processor for either high-powered graphics processing or low power consumption for long battery life without booting the notebook. The Intel Core™ 2 Duo processor provides the power of dual processor cores while delivering extended battery life when the notebook is unplugged.

Designed with the most demanding mobile user in mind, the ENVY 13 notebook’s premium AC adapter is small and light. It draws minimal power, has built-in surge protection and includes a rubberized strap that keeps the cables
organized and the adapter from slipping off a slick surface. An optional HP USB Ethernet Adapter also is available.

The performance powerhouse: ENVY 15
This lean, mean, dream machine is HP’s fastest consumer notebook. The full metal case features a sleek, subtly crafted, laser-etched metal design on the lid that is repeated on the palmrest. The magnesium alloy casing provides
lightweight durability in a 1-inch thin, 5.18-pound package. (1)Customers have maximum speed and mobility with the future Intel Core i7 processor(4) and up to 16 gigabytes (GB) of DDR3 1,066-MHz system memory in four SODIMM memory slots. Versatile storage options include the ability to add two solid-state drives in a RAID-0 configuration to improve the overall speed of the ENVY 15 while providing excellent disk performance. Creative users will appreciate the ENVY 15 notebook’s performance and full versions of Corel® Paint Shop Pro® Photo X2 and Corel VideoStudio® Pro X2 for creating photo and video content.

Power users and gamers can take advantage of premium graphics performance via ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4830 graphics with 1 GB of dedicated video memory for visually intense applications, DirectX® 10.1 games and highdefinition video playback.

A choice of two 15.6-inch HP Brightview high-resolution LED backlit displays, including the Full High Definition LED HP Ultra BrightView Widescreen Display with up to 300-nits brightness, provides a superb display experience for a
notebook in this class. A Nightvision VGA webcam that is optimized for low-light or zero-light conditions is standard on the HP ENVY 15, incorporating an infrared LED that assists the webcam(3) by providing the necessary illumination in dark environments.

The ENVY 15 has an optional Slim Fit Extended-Life Notebook Battery, giving users up to seven hours of battery life.(2)

Designing the ENVY experience
The HP ENVY line includes a 360-degree approach to product design – from the products to the packaging:
• Building upon HP’s success with instant-on technology, HP QuickWeb allows customers to access key applications without booting the PC. In less than 30 seconds, users can access the Internet, music, videos and photos, and
email.(3)
• HP Clickpad integrates the buttons into the touchpad and allows for fluid movements, while also allowing users to disable the clickpad if desired.
• The keyboard’s direct-action keys (versus typical function keys) allow users to quickly access often-used commands such as print and volume adjustment.
• Minimal desktop clutter and trial software adds to notebooks’ simplicity.
• An optional external optical drive complements the ENVY design and gives users the flexibility to carry the extra weight only when necessary. Two USB ports also transform the drive into a dock for additional capability.
• The ENVY 13 and 15 are presented in streamlined paper carton boxes using minimal ink. Included in the packaging is a simplified setup poster and documentation contained within an SD card.

Concierge service and support
The ENVY experience extends to premium service and support via the awardwinning HP Total Care program. This includes expert agents dedicated to addressing ENVY customers’ questions via phone, online chat and email as well
as next-day shipping for hardware customer service.

Pricing and availability
The HP ENVY 13 and ENVY 15 are expected to be available in the United States on Oct. 18 with a starting price of $1,699 and $1,799, respectively.(5) Register for availability notification at www.hpdirect.com/go/newfromhp.
Additional information about HP ENVY is available at www.hp.com/go/ENVY.

[HP]

Apple blogger and Mac repair guy Josh Carr relates a heart-warming story of cars, broken computers and utter laziness, all of which culminate in a happy ending.

A customer brought a rather bashed up 13” black MacBook in for repair and when Josh asked what had happened, the customer admitted he’d driven over it. Yes, he drove over his own computer. More on that in a second.

Amazingly, despite a thorough crushing, the MacBook worked just fine, although it needed a new display and optical drive. A few bucks and a couple of hours later and the MacBook was as good as new and the customer very happy.

Which brings us back to the manner of the poor computer’s compression. Just how do you drive over your own laptop? Step one: put it on the floor next to the wheel. Step two: forget about it while doing something else. Step three: Decide to drive the car to your own mailbox which is “just down the road”. And here we see the problem. Everybody gets distracted, and maybe leaves something where they shouldn’t. But most people, I’d like to believe, could perhaps walk the short distance to their mailbox.

MacBook Car-nage: Surviving a drive-over [TUAW]

Photos: Josh Carr/TUAW

While you’re kicking back this weekend, sipping some cold suds and soaking up the last rays of summer, remember that school is starting up again soon. It doesn’t matter if you’ve been out of academia for decades are about to start college or have a wee one about to commence second grade, we here at Wired have got all your gear needs covered.

First off we take four different (legal) study aids to task. Many have claimed that these herbal supplements can improve cognitive function. Our intrepid writer, Alexis Fitts, tried four different herbal remedies in our very, ahem, scientific tests.

You can read I Dream of Genius: Herbal Drugs Promise Big Neural Gains in its entirety at our reviews site.

We also take up another important academic activity, drinking beer! Science editor and noted brewski connoisseur, Betsy Mason pitted two kegerators head to head in a winner-take-all brouhaha.

She also built our very own DIY kegerator, Beer Robot. You know the legend. You follow him on twitter.  Now find out how he came to be.

Can’t get your fill of beer? Scope our gallery of crazy, custom pimped out kegerators too.

Then we also assembled gadgets perfect for kids entering grade school, teens in high school, and those about to embark on college:

Top Gear For Primary School Tykes

High School Gear For The Gossip Girl Set

The Best Gadgets For College Kids

Sony wowed us this morning with its Vaio X Series, but details are now emerging. According to this video, the .55-inch thin system may be more netbook than notebook. And boy, do I want to hold it in my arms.

Thanks to its 11.2 inch display it looks really compact and that carbon fiber outside and keyboard, oh that keyboard, make my mouth water. As for what is on the inside, we don’t know much. The guys at NetbookNews say there is discussion of an Intel Atom processor (they seem to be hoping for the next generation Pineview CPU), but we won’t be surprised if they go with Intel’s new ULV offering. Either way it is something low powered since Sony has been touting crazy all day battery life (from the video though the battery doesn’t seem to be replaceable).

Now it would be typical Sony to jack up the price on this 1.5 pound baby, but I am thinking it might not be as high as some anticipate (crossing my fingers for under $750). Don’t forget Sony was saying a few months ago it wants to enter the low cost ultraportable space. Our sources tell us this sweet lappie will launch sometime in October with Windows 7. [Netbook News]

Asus, which set the netbooks market on fire with its Eee PCs, has some exciting new products coming up for release this year. Leaked slides of the company’s product roadmap for the U.S. show it is planning to introduce a new netbook with a 12-inch display and Nvidia’s Ion graphics chip and a tablet PC with multi-touch capability.

The new netbooks are expected to be priced from $300 to $500, says the Netbook News website.

Despite an overall slowdown in PC sales due to the weak economic environment, the netbook market has been going gangbusters. Sales of netbooks grew 40 percent in the second quarter, almost twice that of the growth rate of larger notebook PCs, says DisplaySearch, a research arm of the NPD Group.

Asus’ 1201N netbook is likely to have a 12-inch display, an Atom N270 processor, 2 GB RAM and 250 GB storage. It will also include Bluetooth and Wi-Fi capability and at $500 will be among the company’s premium products. The netbook is expected to be available in mid-October.

Around that time, Asus will also have a convertible tablet PC running Windows 7, says Netbook News. The $550 T91 convertible tablet is expected to come with a 32 GB solid state drive.

Check out a slide of the Asus Eee PC roadmap for details about upcoming netbook configurations and the company’s planned releases for the year.

[via Engadget]

Photo: Asus Eee PC (Axel Buhrmann/Flickr)