HP’s EliteBooks pack mics on both sides for clearer Skyping

Posted on 07/02/2018 by Engadget RSS Feed

Laptop updates are no longer confined to boring iterative improvements year after year. We're starting to see useful new features being introduced to PCs, even if they aren't the most groundbreaking ideas. Case in point: HP's new business notebooks w...

HP built a privacy screen into its EliteBook laptops

Posted on 25/08/2016 by Engadget RSS Feed

Now you can watch all the adult content you want on the go. HP has designed a new integrated privacy screen in partnership with 3M to combat what the company calls "visual hacking." In other words: creepers looking over your shoulder. The Sure View s...

HP’s new business laptop is stylish enough even for regular folks

Posted on 05/01/2016 by Dana Wollman

For the most part, HP showed up to this year's CES with -- you guessed it -- consumer-tech products. In addition, though, it also snuck in a few business-class devices. Wait, wait: Where you guys going? Before you run for the hills, know that we chos...

HP intros eight business laptops, including two Ultrabooks; prices at $499

Posted on 01/10/2013 by Dana Wollman

It was just two weeks ago that HP spat out a bunch of new consumer laptops ahead of the holiday shopping season. Now that those products are official, HP is shifting its attention to business customers: the company just unveiled five corporate-friendly notebooks, two of which qualify as Ultrabooks. Starting with the outfit's higher-end EliteBook line, we've got three models: the 12-inch 820, the 14-inch 840 and the 15-inch 850. Like previous generations of EliteBooks, they meet the military's MIL-SPEC-810G standards for ruggedness, but this time, they're 40 percent thinner and 28 percent lighter. Across the board, you're looking at magnesium lids, which have been painted with four coats of paint to minimize scratches; the keyboard deck, meanwhile, is made of aluminum. Speaking of the keyboard area, all three models sport backlit keys, with a special finish applied to the buttons to help keep them fresh over the three-year warranty period.

Interestingly, battery life is the same on all units (up to 12 hours), though the 14-incher, specifically, can be paired with an optional slice battery for a total of 33 hours of juice. On the inside, all of them run Haswell processors, as you'd imagine, though only the 840 and 850 meet Intel's Ultrabook specification. Once it comes time for your IT guy to configure this, he can get any of the three machines with an optional touchscreen, along with an LTE radio and either an SSD, HDD or hybrid hard drive. As for IT support, these are vPro CPUs, as you'd expect, and there's also TPM on board for added security. Additionally, as on previous models, the entire back shell is removable with a single latch, making it easy to swap out components. Finally, HP included an all-important Ethernet jack, complete with a drop-down jaw, along with a SmartCard reader, docking connector and legacy VGA port. All are available today with pricing as follows: the 12-inch 820 starts at $859, the 840 goes from $799 ($949 with a touchscreen), and the 850 costs $939.

Filed under: Laptops, HP

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HP’s EliteBook Folio Ultrabook getting a 1,600 x 900 screen option in March

Posted on 05/01/2013 by Dana Wollman

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.

Filed under: Laptops, HP

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HP EliteBook Folio 9470 review: a business Ultrabook turns out to be one of our favorites

Posted on 21/12/2012 by Dana Wollman

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It's sort of wild to think that at this time last year we had only reviewed a handful of Ultrabooks. So few, in fact, that we could count them on one hand: Acer, ASUS, Lenovo and Toshiba. HP made five, with the Folio 13, an ultraportable that was aimed at the business market, but that ended up being our top all-around pick thanks to its stellar battery life, comfortable keyboard and wide port selection. Since then, of course, HP's gone a little overboard with the ultraportables, with glass ones, metal ones, expensive ones, budget ones. Ultrabooks that aren't actually Ultrabooks! It's a vast, sometimes confusing selection.

Now, though, almost a year after we reviewed the Folio 13, HP is back where it started with another business offering. The EliteBook Folio ($1,049 and up) has a 14-inch screen this time, and is the first Ultrabook in HP's high-end EliteBook line, typically aimed at corporations and other businesses with IT departments. We know, we know: "pre-boot authentication" aren't exactly the sexiest words in the English language, and indeed, we usually just review laptops aimed at consumers. The thing is, though, the EliteBook Folio isn't your typical corporate box: with a magnesium frame and soft-touch finish, it's attractive enough that it could pass for your personal laptop. So does it perform well enough to use as a work-play machine? Read on to find out.

Gallery: HP EliteBook Folio 9470 review

Continue reading HP EliteBook Folio 9470 review: a business Ultrabook turns out to be one of our favorites

Filed under: Laptops, HP

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HP announces the EliteBook Revolve, a Windows 8 convertible for the business crowd (video)

Posted on 05/12/2012 by Dana Wollman

See that laptop up there? Basically, HP has announced something like that every year for we don't even know how long. It's always a convertible PC of the traditional sort, one with a fixed screen that swivels around and can fold down into tablet mode. It always supports a mix of pen and finger input. It's always made of sturdy magnesium alloy. And it's almost always aimed at businesses.

All that's true of the EliteBook Revolve, the laptop HP unveiled today and which we've so helpfully featured in the photo gallery below. The difference, of course, is that this is the company's first old-school convertible to run Windows 8, whose finger-friendliness has the potential to change the way we interact with PCs like this. As it happens, you could configure the Revolve with Windows 7 and you could buy an optional pen to go with it, but obviously, if you'd prefer to use your fingers, you'll have a lot more luck here than you would have with earlier models.

In terms of design, this is indeed made of mag-alloy, with a total weight of three pounds, and it was tested in accordance with the military's MIL-STD 810G standards. Unlike previous EliteBooks, though, it sports soft, rubbery surfaces instead of the brushed metal we've come to expect from HP's high-end business machines. Lift the lid and you'll find a backlit keyboard and an 11.6-inch Gorilla Glass screen, with resolution capped at 1,366 x 768. Inside, it has pretty much the exact specs you'd expect to find on any new Ultrabook: up to 256GB of solid-state storage and your choice of Core i3, i5 and i7 CPUs. And though it doesn't quite make up for the middling resolution, there's at least an open memory slot, allowing folks to go beyond the standard four gigs. Rounding out the list, this thing has built-in NFC, TPM and a SIM slot supporting LTE in the US and HSPA+ everywhere else. That answers just about everything -- everything except for price, anyway. HP says the Revolve won't actually go on sale until sometime in March, so until then, your guess is as good as ours.

Gallery: HP EliteBook Revolve hands-on

Gallery: HP EliteBook Revolve

Continue reading HP announces the EliteBook Revolve, a Windows 8 convertible for the business crowd (video)

Filed under: Laptops, HP

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HP takes EliteBook W-series on a trip to Ivy Bridge, throws in Z220 Xeon workstation for good measure

Posted on 04/06/2012 by Jon Fingas

HP takes EliteBook Wseries on a trip to Ivy Bridge, throws in Z220 Xeon workstation for good measure

HP has been rolling out a steady stream of Ivy Bridge-based upgrades over the past few weeks, and now it's the turn of the pro-oriented EliteBook W-series to get the long-awaited upgrade. The 8470W, 8570W and 8770W draw on Intel's faster dual Core i5 and quad Core i7 chips with respective choices of 14-, 15.6- and 17.3-inch screens. All of them pack AMD's FirePro for video duties, although big spenders at the larger two sizes can opt for one of NVIDIA's Quadro K-series graphics chips as well as an IPS-based display for color-sensitive work. Options will get you niceties such as a 24GB SSD cache, 3G and up to 16GB of RAM, although the EliteBooks' signature military-spec resistances to dust, shock and temperature are thankfully par for the course. The range costs $1,329, $1,449 and $1,699 as you move up the screen size ladder, and all three will be available before June is over.

If you prefer your workstations to be more powerful but slightly more stationary, you're still welcome in HP's world: the equally fresh Z220 desktop carries Intel's new quad-core Xeon E3 processor or, if that's a bit too rich for your blood, a Pentium or quad Core i7. AMD FirePro and NVIDIA Quadro video cards are both made-to-order upgrades, and the modern underpinnings add both USB 3.0 as well as headroom for up to 32GB of RAM, if the fear of paging to disk keeps you awake at night. HP has both tower and small form factor versions of the Z220 starting off at $699, and they too will be ready to stretch IT budgets later this month.

Gallery: HP EliteBook W-series and Z220 workstation

Continue reading HP takes EliteBook W-series on a trip to Ivy Bridge, throws in Z220 Xeon workstation for good measure

HP takes EliteBook W-series on a trip to Ivy Bridge, throws in Z220 Xeon workstation for good measure originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 04 Jun 2012 00:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HP refreshes EliteBook line with five new models, Ivy Bridge and optional LTE

Posted on 09/05/2012 by Sarah Silbert

HP is in full-on laptop-unveiling mode, and the company's business line isn't getting left out -- in fact, it has five new models -- including an 11-incher, a first for this series. The boardroom-bound EliteBooks are making the step up to Ivy Bridge, but it's also adding the option of LTE across the board. All models will ship with SRS Premium Sounds PRO and an optional 720p webcam. We have a complete breakdown of the models past the break, and you can find hands-on shots, along with the official press release below.

Gallery: HP EliteBook Folio hands-on

Gallery: HP EliteBook 2170p

Gallery: HP EliteBook 2570p

Gallery: HP EliteBook 8470p

Gallery: HP EliteBook 8570p

Continue reading HP refreshes EliteBook line with five new models, Ivy Bridge and optional LTE

HP refreshes EliteBook line with five new models, Ivy Bridge and optional LTE originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 08 May 2012 23:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HP unveils second business Ultrabook, the EliteBook Folio

Posted on 09/05/2012 by Sarah Silbert

We actually have one more EliteBook to introduce, and this time it's an Ultrabook. The EliteBook Folio 9470m is ready to sidle up next to the Folio 13, HP's first business-grade Ultrabook, as a higher-end option. The 14-inch Folio is thin and light, starting at 3.6 pounds, but the 0.75-inch chassis makes room for an impressive collection of ports, including USB 3.0, Ethernet, DisplayPort and VGA. Since this Ivy Bridge laptop is balancing its Ultrabook identity with a business classification, it features an embedded TPM security chip, a smart card reader, security lock slot, full volume encryption and a security screw. Pricing starts at $1,149, and HP will begin shipping in October. Skip past the break for the presser, and check out our hands-on gallery below.

Gallery: HP EliteBook Folio hands-on

Gallery: HP EliteBook Folio