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Filed under: Laptops

HP’s ridiculously long lasting EliteBook 6930p just got done with a fresh round of torture testing from the savages over at PC Mag, and while their review unit didn’t have the optimal processor for pulling an all-nighter (followed by an all-dayer) without even a lick of the AC outlet, critics did find the unit to be fairly impressive in most every other regard. It should be pointed out, however, that the review crew sure showed a lot of love to the ThinkPad T400, noting that Lenovo’s machine deserved a “super-elite” status if the 6930p was worthy of being “elite.” Comparisons aside, they were impressed with its performance in all-around computing and the “sleek yet rugged” design, but it still came up one red dot shy of a perfect score. Is it a fit for you? Depends on your needs, but chances are you’ll have a much better idea after digesting the writeup in full down in the read link.

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Source: Darren Murph

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Filed under: Laptops

HP’s got the Special Edition itch again, and it’s scratching it with both hands as evidenced by the newest dv4t and dv5t SE notebooks. Starting with the former, we’ve got a flashily designed 14.1-incher with a WXGA panel, 4GB of DDR2 RAM, a handful of Core 2 Duo CPU choices, NVIDIA’s 512MB GeForce 9200M GS, up to 400GB of hard drive space, WiFi, optional WWAN and an integrated HDTV hybrid tuner. The equally fashionable Pavilion dv5t SE sports a 15.4-inch LCD, a GMA4500MHD integrated graphics set, optional Blu-ray writer and most everything already mentioned on its smaller sibling. You can snatch either of these up for $1,099.99 / $949 (or higher) right now, but we’d make sure you really dig the tattoos before making a decision you’ll regret forever.

[Via Notebooks]

Read - HP Pavilion dv4t Special Edition
Read - HP Pavilion dv5t Special Edition

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Source: Darren Murph

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Filed under: Cellphones

Details on this one are about as light as can be at the moment, but The Wall Street Journal has it that HP is aiming to expand its iPAQ smartphone line into the consumer market with a new model that it’ll market to both average consumers and corporate users alike. According to “people briefed on the plan,” the phone will have both a touchscreen and a keypad and, naturally, it’ll run Windows Mobile 6.1 — oh, and it’ll be able to “send and receive emails, and access the Internet.” While there’s no indication of a price just yet, word is the device will be available in Europe first within the next two months, with a worldwide release to follow sometime thereafter.

[Via Gearlog]

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Source: Donald Melanson

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In a departure from HP’s original iPaq smartphone mission, the company is planning a consumer-oriented smartphone that may or may not be the slider-QWERTY phone codenamed “Oak.” Greg at MobileCrunch writes:

Back in January, word got out of a new WinMo 6.1 touchscreen handset floating around the Hewlett Packard labs. Called the Oak and tentatively set for a September launch on Vodafone, it had a number pad on its face and a slide-out QWERTY keyboard packed away underneath. Unfortunately, all’s been mum on the matter since the initial leak. September came and went, and the Oak didn’t make an appearance.

Current consumer smartphones like the Palm Centro and the T-Mobile Wing are selling well and adding higher-end functions to lower-end phones seems to be the trend, especially considering the coming rise of Android. But can HP sell outside of the IT departments that traditionally bought its PDAs and smartphones?

Source: John Biggs

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Filed under: Laptops, Tablet PCs

HP’s exceptionally fresh EliteBook 2730p tablet was recently reviewed by the notebook mavens over at GottaBeMobile, and right out of the gate, they delivered the line that tells all: “The HP 2730p EliteBook tablet is more than worthy of your consideration as your next or your first tablet PC.” So, what did this thing do right in order to garner such a recommendation? Let’s see — overly satisfactory performance, an excellent design, smile-worthy battery life (4-hours in normal use on a single 6-cell), and perfectly implemented inking / tablet features. Granted, not everything was rosy, as the WXGA (1,280 x 800) screen left a little to be desired and the keyboard layout was similarly scolded. Overall, the unit still performed well enough to make it into their short list, but it sounds like you may want to try one in person before buying blind.

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Source: Darren Murph

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Filed under: Laptops

First things first: LaptopMag’s Pavilion HDX 16 was entirely more equipped than the basic $1,249 unit that was uncovered last night, so it makes sense that they were swooning over the (optional) 1080p display and the (optional) Blu-ray drive. Granted, those extras will cost you, but it’s items such as those that made this notebook so appealing to critics. Overall, the unit performed well in all of the areas that mattered, with strong WiFi scores, decent battery life and excellent processing power. Of note, reviewers did wish for a smoother touchpad and more responsive touch-sensitive buttons, but outside of that, we didn’t hear too many complaints. Looking for the 30 second version? “Overall, the HDX 16 is a desktop replacement in a mainstream notebook’s body that delivers great value for the price.” Got it?

Read - Hands-on
Read - Full review

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Source: Darren Murph

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Filed under: Laptops

Generally speaking, HP’s Mini-Note 2133 is pretty well loved the world over. Sure, there are a few things that could use tweaking, but what good gadget couldn’t use even a small dose of overhaul? Nevertheless, a few reports have been trickling in suggesting that HP’s netbook is suddenly going dark and refusing to start back up. Folks are apparently being told that it’s a motherboard power failure, though it doesn’t seem to have become widespread just yet… or has it? Let us know in comments below.

[Via Chris Rue]

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Source: Darren Murph

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Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

Sure, it’s all well and cute to think of “cloud computing” as being a magical data-fairy, but storing and processing all your fancy new CalDAV-enabled Google Calendar entries and MobileMe emails costs money, kid — and that means it’s hard for researchers to accurately simulate and build cloud research projects, since they don’t have the resources to build large enough data centers. HP, Intel, and Yahoo are teaming up to alleviate that problem, though — the three behemoths are going to build six cloud-computer research data centers around the world, stocked with anywhere from 1,000 to 4,000 nodes each, with the goal of bringing them online later this year for pre-selected researchers to work on scaling, security, management, and new applications for the cloud. Three of the data centers will be hosted at HP, Intel, and Yahoo, and the other three will be at the the University of Illinois, the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore, and the Steinbuch Centre for Computing in Germany.

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Source: Nilay Patel

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