HP’s new EliteBook & ProBook series address BYOD trend

Responding to some of the changes in the workforce, HP’s EliteBooks and ProBooks are designed to marry the demands from both IT departments and business users. Employees increasingly want lightweight, stylish and functional computing devices, while IT insists upon durable and secure devices.

“Now, the end user is as important as the IT managers and business leaders,” remarks A. Jay Gupta, director commercial notebook products, HP, when it comes to selecting computers.

In response to these complex demands, HP’s design team is going to refresh each of the products over the next six to eight weeks in the EliteBook and ProBook lines.

The HP EliteBook 800 series:

• Designed for business users who are also frequent travelers, these products are up to 40 percent thinner and 28 percent lighter than previous models (the 8000 series.)
• The stylish outside casing is done in a graphite black, with meteorite gray accents. The chassis is one piece of magnesium, and it reinforced with aluminum accents. To enable users to work in low-light environments, an optional back-lit keyboard is available.
• The Ethernet port often takes up more room on the side of a notebook PC than users and designers would like. To provide the function of the port yet still provide a thin unit, HP uses a durable drop-jaw hinge Ethernet port without sacrificing space or requiring an additional dongle or adapter.
• HP Trust Circles is software on the 800 series which helps users and IT departments further control who see which files. Users create “Trust Circles” and invite colleagues into them; thereby ensuring that only trusted contacts can access specific files.
• HP Sure Start technology ships with EliteBooks. It is a hardware-based solution which detects and remedies malware and security BIOS attacks. It also includes HP Sure Start Crisis Recover Mode which, in roughly 30 seconds, automatically detects an attack on the system’s BIOS, corrects it, and replaces the corrupt BIOS Boot Block with a clean copy from memory.
• Three products are available now in the U.S.: HP EliteBook 820 G1, HP EliteBook 840 G1, and the HP EliteBook 850 G1.

The HP ProBook 600 series

The notebooks are presented as “thinner, tougher taskmasters.” Offering highly configurable business notebooks, enabling IT departments to add or subtract the necessary functions on a per user basis.

Features:

• Optional 4G LTE WWAN
• To aid with web conferencing, each ProBook has a USB 3.0 and DisplayPort 1.2 paired with HD+ and FD display options and top-mounted speakers.
• Intel processors ship in the HP ProBook 640 G1 (14-inch display) HP ProBook 650 G1 (15.6-inch screen and DTS Sound);
• AMD processors ship with the HP ProBook 645 G1 (AMD 35W quad-core or dual-core APUs) and the ProBook 655 G1 notebook (AMD Radeon HD 8000G Series graphics.) The 655 G1 is 19 percent thinner than previous models.
• Availability: between Nov 18^th and the 25^th in the U.S., with pricing starting just under $699.

The small business option:

The HP ProBook 400 series includes three notebooks: HP ProBook 440 G1, 450 G1, and 470 G1.

• (To help understand the sizes, 440 = 14-inch display, 450 = 15-inch display, and 470 = 17-inch display)
• Intel core i3, i5, i7 processors power the computers, ensuring fast processing.
• The ProBook 450 G1 features an optional touch interface on a premium shatter-, reflection-, smudge-, and scratch-resistant screen.
• Availability: Immediate, with prices starting at $499.

HP Security Jacket for the HP ElitePad

• Using a single- or multi-factor user authentication via a light jacket design, it allows device and network access to those previously approved. It includes a Smart Card Reader, enabling FIPS 140-2 encryption solutions, with an optional fingerprint reader. HDMI ports and USB 3.0 offer connectivity. More info:
• Available now, starting at $249 with integrated smart card reader and $439 with the optional fingerprint reader.

Here’s the Canadian pricing and availability on HP’s new commercial laptops:

• EliteBook 820 – Starting from $999, Available in Canada end of October
• EliteBook 840 – Starting from $949, Available in Canada end of October
• EliteBook 850 – Starting from $949, Available in Canada end of October
• ProBook 440 – Starting from $699, Available in Canada end of October
• ProBook 450 – Starting from $729, Available in Canada end of October
• ProBook 455 – Starting from $579, Available in Canada end of October