Thursday, September 4th 2014
HP Unveils Five New Innovative and Stylish Consumer Products for Holiday
HP today announced a new lineup of sleek consumer PCs including, two new powerful HP ENVY x2 detachable PCs designed to deliver a notebook experience for productivity, but quickly transform to a tablet for entertainment and apps; the ultra-portable HP Pavilion x2 detachable PC designed for customers who want to simplify their life with a single device that transforms from tablet to laptop; and two new colorful HP Chromebooks that bring the power of the Chrome OS for a fast, simple, protected internet experience.
"Customers have told us they want devices that offer flexibility and performance while reflecting their personal sense of style," said Mike Nash, vice president, Product Management, Consumer Personal Systems, HP. "The products we are announcing today include innovative designs, vibrant color options, choice of operating system and computing power to enable the way that customers communicate, play and live."
Productivity and flexibility for work and play
HP further extends its award-winning HP ENVY portfolio with the addition of two new HP ENVY x2 detachable PCs. Available in 13.3-inch and 15.6-inch diagonal form factors, the HP ENVY x2 is powered by the latest-generation Intel Core M processor and keeps up with the most demanding tasks while delivering great battery life. A fabric-covered, backlit Bluetooth keyboard provides flexibility for customers to find the most comfortable position for them, whether attached or not, and covers the screen for protection on the go.
Music lovers will appreciate access to more music, videos and photos on the go with 500GB hybrid hard drive storage in the tablet on the HP Envy x2 15-inch or up to 256 GB of high-performance SSD on the HP Envy x2 13-inch, along with BeatsAudio.
HP also announced the new HP Pavilion x2, a full-featured 10-inch diagonal Windows tablet that shifts to a full-featured laptop with a detachable dual-purpose keyboard/cover that both protects the screen and serves as a multiposition stand. The HP Pavilion x2 is a portable, versatile, highly affordable 2-in-1 PC powered by the latest-generation Intel Atom processor, and features front-firing speakers with DTS sound and a battery that lasts up to 11.75 hours for serious staying power to shift from work to play without missing a beat.
Stylish new Chromebooks
Building on the success of its Chromebook offerings, HP is adding two new ultra-thin and light Chromebooks, the 11-inch HP Chromebook and full-size 14-inch HP Chromebook. Both include 100 GB of Google Drive cloud storage for two years, allowing customers to access Google Apps, work on documents independently or collaboratively, enjoy third-party apps such as Hulu or Netflix, or stream TV with Google Chromecast.
The 11-inch HP Chromebook is equipped with the latest Intel processor for blazing-fast internet access, an 11.6-inch diagonal HD display delivering crisp resolution and long battery life to keep customers productive. Style-conscious customers can choose from vibrant colors like Ocean Turquoise, Snow White or Twinkle Black.
The 14-inch HP Chromebook combines beautiful design, super-fast performance and a wide 14-inch FHD diagonal screen for a superior Chrome experience. Powered by the latest-generation NVIDIA Tegra K1 processor with world-class graphics performance, the HP Chromebook provides smooth multitasking while browsing the web, running productivity apps or streaming music. Tegra K1's breakthrough power efficiency gives the 14-inch HP Chromebook improved battery life. It also features a silent, slim, fanless design and is optimized for Google Hangouts, supporting Hangouts in HD. Available in Twinkle Black or Snow White with a choice of complementary accent color options, including Smoke Silver, Sorbet Orange, Ocean Turquoise or Neon Green, the 14-inch HP Chromebook stands out in a crowd.
Pricing and availability
"Customers have told us they want devices that offer flexibility and performance while reflecting their personal sense of style," said Mike Nash, vice president, Product Management, Consumer Personal Systems, HP. "The products we are announcing today include innovative designs, vibrant color options, choice of operating system and computing power to enable the way that customers communicate, play and live."
HP further extends its award-winning HP ENVY portfolio with the addition of two new HP ENVY x2 detachable PCs. Available in 13.3-inch and 15.6-inch diagonal form factors, the HP ENVY x2 is powered by the latest-generation Intel Core M processor and keeps up with the most demanding tasks while delivering great battery life. A fabric-covered, backlit Bluetooth keyboard provides flexibility for customers to find the most comfortable position for them, whether attached or not, and covers the screen for protection on the go.
Music lovers will appreciate access to more music, videos and photos on the go with 500GB hybrid hard drive storage in the tablet on the HP Envy x2 15-inch or up to 256 GB of high-performance SSD on the HP Envy x2 13-inch, along with BeatsAudio.
HP also announced the new HP Pavilion x2, a full-featured 10-inch diagonal Windows tablet that shifts to a full-featured laptop with a detachable dual-purpose keyboard/cover that both protects the screen and serves as a multiposition stand. The HP Pavilion x2 is a portable, versatile, highly affordable 2-in-1 PC powered by the latest-generation Intel Atom processor, and features front-firing speakers with DTS sound and a battery that lasts up to 11.75 hours for serious staying power to shift from work to play without missing a beat.
Stylish new Chromebooks
Building on the success of its Chromebook offerings, HP is adding two new ultra-thin and light Chromebooks, the 11-inch HP Chromebook and full-size 14-inch HP Chromebook. Both include 100 GB of Google Drive cloud storage for two years, allowing customers to access Google Apps, work on documents independently or collaboratively, enjoy third-party apps such as Hulu or Netflix, or stream TV with Google Chromecast.
The 11-inch HP Chromebook is equipped with the latest Intel processor for blazing-fast internet access, an 11.6-inch diagonal HD display delivering crisp resolution and long battery life to keep customers productive. Style-conscious customers can choose from vibrant colors like Ocean Turquoise, Snow White or Twinkle Black.
The 14-inch HP Chromebook combines beautiful design, super-fast performance and a wide 14-inch FHD diagonal screen for a superior Chrome experience. Powered by the latest-generation NVIDIA Tegra K1 processor with world-class graphics performance, the HP Chromebook provides smooth multitasking while browsing the web, running productivity apps or streaming music. Tegra K1's breakthrough power efficiency gives the 14-inch HP Chromebook improved battery life. It also features a silent, slim, fanless design and is optimized for Google Hangouts, supporting Hangouts in HD. Available in Twinkle Black or Snow White with a choice of complementary accent color options, including Smoke Silver, Sorbet Orange, Ocean Turquoise or Neon Green, the 14-inch HP Chromebook stands out in a crowd.
Pricing and availability
- The 13.3-inch HP ENVY x2 is expected to be available in the United States on Oct. 29 for a starting price of $1,049.99.
- The 15.6-inch HP ENVY x2 is expected to be available Nov. 5 for a starting price of $949.99.
- The HP Pavilion x2 is expected to be available in the United States beginning on Oct. 29 for a starting price of $329.99.
- The 11-inch HP Chromebook is expected to be available in the United States on Oct. 5 for a starting price of $279.99.
- The 14-inch HP Chromebook is expected to be available in the United States beginning on Oct. 22 for a starting price of $299.99.
8 Comments on HP Unveils Five New Innovative and Stylish Consumer Products for Holiday
The technical side of it is the fact that AMD's CPUs are simply more powerful and the iGPUs are in a league of their own. The only thing that Intel has on its side is the better power consumption.
The thing is that everybody desires the performance offered by AMD and you actually CAN get a 29000 mAh Li-Poly battery brick for just 130 $ and get more than 40 hours of autonomy. (don't worry, it's not bigger than a slim external DVD-Writer)
If you go Intel, you will pay more and you CAN'T add a more powerful CPU when needed while the GPU performance is just NOT EXISTENT.
I honestly can't recommend an Intel Atom based portable to a customer. What could I say to him?!
"Pay more for this! You'll get lower CPU performance, even worse iGPU performance, but you'll have 2 hours more battery life."
Successfully selling Intel would force me to be disingenuous to my clients and hype Intel marketing and the sole technological advantage while ignoring the AMD alternative and misinforming the customer.
That's a big NO-NO in the consulting world.
They pay for technical expertize and you must present the situation the way it is.
If they specifically say they want to play some previously modern games at low settings on a clunker of a laptop then sure, tell them to buy a brick and go AMD, but it would be a great disservice to the vast majority most.
Never did I say that "I personally prefer" or that "I'm fine with a power brick", but you attempt to put those words into my mouth while lacking the technical arguments.
We present our customers with all the options: if you desire max CPU+ iGPU performance, go for AMD with a chance to pay less and you have the power brick option IF you also desire extreme extra autonomy.
If you don't need iGPU performance, now or in the future, and you also don't foresee any scenario where more iGPU performance or more CPU performance will ever be needed, then Intel's Atom is an option.
Usually Intel based solutions are more expensive, but in this case, tablets & netbooks/affordable laptops, this can be offset by the fact that you might get better battery life out of the box.
An extra 40 hours of autonomy is not a "superfluous accessory to lug around" :) And it is just optional, for trips and scenarios where you know you'll need more than 3 ~ 4 hours of battery life and you won't have any power outlet available.
Now here's a preference :) This time truly coming from me, not from what you imagine I think. ;)
If I would have to chose between an Intel portable with 5 hours of autonomy along with its 0.7 Kg power charger and an AMD portable with 3.5 hours of autonomy and a 1.1 Kg power brick that gets me an extra 40 hours of autonomy, guess what I would "lug around"?! :)
On the other hand, this would mean that I would build a scenario for the customer and we never do that.
We discuss with them and build scenarios together, based on their previous usage models and all the options (AMD and Intel) are always presented, but the recommendations are based on practical experience.
With AMD you actually have options while with Intel you don't have any options if you desire more CPU or GPU power. And if you want more than 5 hours of battery life you again must go for a power brick, even if you have an Intel powered laptop.
P.S. Who said anything about gaming?! I'm talking about business/productivity usage here.
You again lack the technical arguments and bring up fictional talking points.