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Hewlett-Packard and Verizon Wireless introduced two notebooks at the 2011 Consumer Electronics Show Jan. 6 that are designed for use on the carrier’s new 4G LTE (Long-Term Evolution) network. Unwieldy in name but slim in size, they’re the HP Pavilion dm1-3010nr and the Compaq CQ10-688nr.
Slated to arrive during the first half of the year, the notebooks are said to offer download speeds of 5M to 12M bps and upload speeds of 2M to 5M bps in 4G coverage areas-which currently is 38 cities and 60 airports strong.
“As the first notebook PCs to use the Verizon 4G LTE network, they demonstrate our commitment to bringing our customers a wide breadth of devices to suit their mobile needs,” Marni Walden, chief marketing officer for Verizon, said in a statement.
The 11.6-inch Pavilion is less than an inch thick and runs an Advanced Micro Devices accelerated processing unit that’s integrated with a Microsoft DirectX 11-capable graphics unit. The battery is said to run 9.5 hours, and there’s 320GB of storage, a full-size keyboard and HP CoolSense Technology, which combines hardware and cooling software for a notebook that, according to HP, “feels noticeably cooler.”
Also included is GPS for mapping and navigation, an HDMI port, and a multiformat digital media card reader.
The tinier Compaq CQ10-688nr features a 10.1-inch LED display and is likewise less than an inch thick. It runs an Intel Atom N455 processor, has a six-cell battery for 8.5 hours of juice, a multiformat digital media card reader, a Webcam and WLAN connectivity in addition to 4G. Like the new Pavilion, the Compaq can also act as a mobile hot spot, enabling other devices to hop on WiFi via an integrated Internet Connection Sharing app.
Neither HP nor Verizon offered pricing details for the notebooks.
Verizon had a busy time at CES, additionally introducing four 4G-enabled smartphones-the HTC Thunderbolt, the Motorola Droid Bionic 4G, the LG Revolution and the not-yet-named “Samsung 4G LTE Smartphone.” Joining them will be the Motorola Xoom tablet, a 4G-enabled version of the Samsung Galaxy Tab (which Samsung will discuss in more detail at the Mobile World Event in Barcelona this February) and two mobile hot spots, the Novatel MiFi 4510L and the Samsung 4G LTE Mobile Hotspot.
It took Verizon three years to get its LTE network in place, and the result, said Verizon CEO Dan Mead in a Jan. 6 statement, is “true magic-the sum of a powerful network, applications, software systems and devices that bring 4G LTE to life.”
Verizon’s 4G network currently covers one-third of Americans. Over the next 18 months, it plans to bump that to two-thirds, before expanding its 4G service across the full reach of its 3G footprint by 2013. Among the next markets to be added are Detroit; Raleigh-Durham, N.C.; Memphis, Tenn.; Milwaukee; Honolulu; Boise, Idaho; Mobile, Ala.; Little Rock, Ark.; Sioux Falls, S.D.; and Salt Lake City.