HP broadened its consumer line of notebooks this week with a new Pavilion x2 model and three new entries in its Envy line of high-end performance laptops.
“Customers want devices that are portable without sacrificing battery life or power,” said Kevin Frost, HP’s vice-president and general manager, consumer personal systems, in a statement. “For 2015, we are reinventing our Envy notebook product line to deliver great battery life, thinner and lighter designs, bright, high resolution displays and Bang & Olufsen audio for better entertainment, communications and productivity experiences.”
The HP Pavilion x2 detachable notebook uses a latchless magnetic connector to separate and move between laptop and tablet mode, as well as a stand mode for watching movies and a tent mode for playing games. It comes white, red and silver and weighs in at 2.48 pounds, or 1.29 pounds when just using the tablet. It comes with a 10” diagonal HD IPS display and features a USB Type-C connector for faster charging and data transfer. HP promises nearly 11 hours of battery life while playing HD video for the x2, which is powered by a quad-core Intel Atom processor with up to 64GB of storage and a micro SD card reader. Availability is scheduled for July 21, starting at US$299.99.
The new HP Envy notebook models boast a new look including a curved profile and elevated lift hinge for more comfortable typing and better air circulation. The 14” and 15.6” models come with a choice of fifth generation Intel Core i5 and i7 processors as well as NVidia GeForce 940M or GTX 950M discrete graphics. On the 15.6” model, customers can also choose between AMD FX and A10 accelerated processors and AMD Radeon R7 or R6 graphics. Storage for both models tops out at 2TB, with hybrid hard drive and solid-state-disk options and up 16GB of memory. AMD configurations top put at 1TB of storage and 8GB memory.
The Envy 14 comes with either a diagonal HD or Full HD non-touch display. The 15.6” Intel model comes with a choice of HD, Full HD and Quad HD+ panel options with optional touch, while the AMD model comes with HD touch or non-touch displays. Both models include at least one USB 3.0 port that supports HP Sleep and Charge, and an optical drive can be added to the 15.6” Intel model. Battery life is from 7.5 to 10.5 hours, depending on model. The new Envy notebooks are scheduled for availability in July, with the 14” model starting at US$699.99 and the AMD and Intel models of the 15.6” Envy starting at US$629.99 and $799.99, respectively.
The HP Envy 17.3” model was designed with premium materials to support video editing and gaming on the go. It supports fifth generation Intel Core i7 processors and NVidia GeForce 940M or GTX 950M discrete graphics. Customers can choose dual hard drives with standard, hybrid and solid state options topping out at 4TB. It comes with four USB 3.0 ports — one with HP Sleep and Charge – plus a full-sized HDMI port, an RJ45 port and an optional optical drive. It boasts a Full HD IPS display with optional touch and up to 10 hours of usage from the 62 watt-hour battery. Availability is expected in July, starting at US$999.99.
