HP Greets New Year with Product Rollout

Mini PCs that can recognize an owner’s face, tablet PCs with engraved aluminum display panels, workstations with ready-to-use video conferencing software—these are just a few of of the new toys with which HP plans to entice you this year. By the time you’re reading this, many of them might be on the way to Las Vegas in crates and cardboard boxes, getting ready to greet you on the exhibit floor of 2010 CES (Jan 7-10).

Bite-Size PCs

The resurgence of netbooks prompted HP to think small. Available in black crystal, Sonoma red, or Pacific blue, the new HP Mini 210, 2102, and 5102 weighs less than 3 lbs each. While 210 (starting $299) is described as a “companion PC for consumers,” 2102 (starting $329) is listed as “ideal for mobile professionals.” 5102 (starting $399) is HP’s first touch-enabled netbook. Less than one-inch thick, they make sleek, slim eye candies. Intel Atom CPUs and HD screens give these bite-size machines impressive processing power and visual experience.

For security, you may rely on the built-in face recognition software. When this feature is activated, critical points on your face (for example, the distance between your pupils, the tip of your nose, and your lips) act like password. The stubborn mini will refuse to unlock itself if the face it sees in the integrated camera is an unauthorized user. But if you’re the paranoid type that think even that’s not secure enough (perhaps you worry that someone might trick the software with a photograph), you can combine it with password protection.

The minis come with HP CloudDrive software so you can deposit your documents in virtual storage. It also comes with HP QuickSync software so you can synchronize it with your primary PC. If you’re planning to be away from sockets and outlets, you can have up to 10 hours of battery life.

An Illustrated Touch

HP TouchSmart tm2 (starting $949) is an upgrade of the HP tx2. The new touch-enabled tablet is clearly designed to appeal to those with a sense of aesthetics. It’s decorated with swirling patterns (dubbed Riptide) on the back of its rotatable, reversible display panel. The protective sleeve features matching design. You can use it either as a notebook or a sketch pad. In case of the latter, you may use the preloaded Corel Paint it! Touch software to paint with your fingertips, right on the touch-sensitive HD display. In photo editing and image sorting applications, you may use your fingers to zoom, pan, and rotate. Its processing power comes from an Intel Core 2 Duo chip, reinforced by an ATI Mobility Radeon card.

Notable Notebooks

The new lineup features HP ProBook 6440b/6540b (starting $949) and HP EliteBook (starting $1,249). Available with 14-inch or 15-inch display, ProBook comes with a 2 MP Webcam and spill-resistant keyboard. EliteBook is built to meet military-standard durability tests and preloaded with HP SkyRoom video-conferencing software. For graphics, you can choose Intel Unified Mobile Access (UMA) or NVIDIA cards.

Workhorse

Conforming to the skittish consumers’ frugality, HP meets them with an entry-level workstation, HP Z200 (starting $769, available in February). It’s aimed at “small business segments with engineers and designers using Autodesk AutoCAD, photographers using Adobe Photoshop, and power office users,” according to HP’s spec sheet. It runs on Intel Core dual-core processors or Intel Xeon quad-core. The tool-free chassis lets you open up the unit to service it or upgrade it without fidgeting with screwdrivers. Expanded PCIe, FireWire, a whopping 11 USB slots, SATA, eSATA, storage bays, and an optional Blu-Ray writer round out the setup.

Energy and Environment

Social and environmental consciousness is evidently the new principle in HP’s product development. ProBook comes with HP Power Assistant to let you know how much power you’re consuming. TouchSmarth tm2 is supposedly BFR/PCV-free, as part of HP’s move  to eliminate “all uses of brominated flame retardants (BFRs) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) in its computing products by 2011.” The workstation Z200 boasts “ENERGY STAR 5.0 qualification, 89% efficient power supplies, and HP WattSaver technology, which, when activated, consumes less than 1 watt in off mode.”

In many of its packaging, HP declares it now uses “molded pulp,” made of completely recycled content from post-consumer and industrial-paper materials. It also plans to use “plastic pallets for consumer and commercial freight shipments, which reduce CO2 emissions by reducing weight.”

A complete lineup of this launch is listed below with starting prices:

• HP TouchSmart tm2 ($949, available now)
• HP Mini 210, 2102, 5102 ($299, $329, $399 respectively, available now)
• HP ProBook 6440b, 6540b Notebook PCs ($949, available now)
• HP EliteBook Notebook PCs ($1,099-$1,499, available now)
• HP Pavillion Elite HPE (price unknown, available now)
• HP Compaq 8000f Elite Business PC ($849, available February)
• HP Compaq 8100 Elite Business PC ($849, available February)
• HP Compaq 8000 Elite Business PC ($799, available now)
• HP Z200 Workstation ($769, available February)
• HP ZR22w and HP ZR24w Performance Displays ($289-$425, available February)
• HP Compaq LE19f and HP Compaq LA22f Widescreen LCDs ($179, available February)
• HP Compaq L2105tm 21.5-inch Widescreen Touch Monitor ($299, available now)

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