Highlights of the May 5 Launch
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Here are some highlights of the product launch:
-HP is including new standard software called Power Assistant, which keeps the
user up-to-date on everything important about the machine, including battery
life and application CPU usage.
-Another standard feature on all the new HP laptops and notebooks is something
called HP DayStarter, an application that runs in the BIOS while the computer
is booting up. DayStarter displays the next 12 hours of events on the user's
Outlook calendar and displays exactly how much battery power is left via a
power meter.
-The HP 425 Notebook is powered by the newest AMD
dual-core processors, and features an energy-efficient 14.0-inch diagonal LED-backlit
display, optional 2-megapixel Webcam and integrated WiFi. It also comes with AMD
Vision Pro with ATI Mobility Radeon HD
Graphics, and an HDMI port allows the user to connect directly to HD displays.
-The HP ProBook 6450b Notebook PC provides business-level performance with
Intel Core i74 and i54 processors and a 14-inch-diagonal HD, LED-backlit
display. It features connectivity that includes optional HP Mobile Broadband;
the new Central Management for HP ProtectTools is a much-requested addition,
according to HP. Users get a choice between UMA or high-performance discrete
graphics cards.
-Designed for video editing, the HP ProBook 4425s weighs only 4.71 lb, so it is
easy to move around. It features low-power consumption ATI
integrated graphics and the new ArcSoft TotalMedia Suite that allows the user
to play, edit and create video and audio files. Multimedia controls for video,
such as play, rewind and fast-forward, are now integrated into the keyboard,
simplifying work with video and audio files, and it comes with an HDMI port.
-Beats by Dr. Dre is a high-quality new sound system-software and headset-being
sold by Monster. Rap artist Dr. Dre has lent his name to this high-end sound
system that could allow a laptop to be used for public entertainment purposes.
eWEEK was able to test this headset and software directly against the standard
system, and the sound is much deeper, richer and clearer by a wide margin.
These notebooks are available now on the HP Web site and will be appearing in
retail markets during the next several weeks.
Go
here for a slide show on these new laptops.
Chris Preimesberger was named Editor-in-Chief of Features & Analysis at eWEEK in November 2011. Previously he served eWEEK as Senior Writer, covering a range of IT sectors that include data center systems, cloud computing, storage, virtualization, green IT, e-discovery and IT governance. His blog, Storage Station, is considered a go-to information source. Chris won a national Folio Award for magazine writing in November 2011 for a cover story on Salesforce.com and CEO-founder Marc Benioff, and he has served as a judge for the SIIA Codie Awards since 2005. In previous IT journalism, Chris was a founding editor of both IT Manager's Journal and DevX.com and was managing editor of Software Development magazine. His diverse resume also includes: sportswriter for the Los Angeles Daily News, covering NCAA and NBA basketball, television critic for the Palo Alto Times Tribune, and Sports Information Director at Stanford University. He has served as a correspondent for The Associated Press, covering Stanford and NCAA tournament basketball, since 1983. He has covered a number of major events, including the 1984 Democratic National Convention, a Presidential press conference at the White House in 1993, the Emmy Awards (three times), two Rose Bowls, the Fiesta Bowl, several NCAA men's and women's basketball tournaments, a Formula One Grand Prix auto race, a heavyweight boxing championship bout (Ali vs. Spinks, 1978), and the 1985 Super Bowl. A 1975 graduate of Pepperdine University in Malibu, Calif., Chris has won more than a dozen regional and national awards for his work. He and his wife, Rebecca, have four children and reside in Redwood City, Calif.Follow on Twitter: editingwhiz
