HP: Seeking to Change the Workstation Market with HP Z1

The HP Z1, dubbed an all-in-one workstation, made its debut at SolidWorks World in San Diego, California (Feb. 12-15, 2012). The press event itself drew a large crowd, making it nearly impossible for any reporter to get a good photo of the unit. (If you could imagine the high-tech equivalent of a Lady Gaga spotting, you’d get an idea what it was like.)

Tom Salomone, HP’s marketing manager for workstations, pointed out what might be one of the most noticeable characteristics of the machine: “There’s just one wire—the power cable.”

The rest—the cluster of cables that connect the usual tower to the monitor—are no longer necessary because, as Salomone explained, “We’ve taken all the components in the tower unit, and we’ve expertly designed it into the back of the monitor.” The unit comes with wireless keyboard and mouse, further reducing cable entanglement. That makes the unit ideal for office environments where space might be limited and users prefer a simpler, sleeker hardware setup.

The HP Z1 produces processing power comparable to the HP Z210, a classic workstation in HP’s professional solutions family. But the all-in-one machine is able to deliver the same performance in a consolidated form factor—without the tower unit. (Hence, Salomone’s favorite punchline when pitching the machine: “Power without the tower.”)

The all-in-one form is already available in consumer PC market and Mac market, but the HP Z1, the company believes, is the first of its kind in the professional workstation market. The HP Z workstations are known for, among other things, their tool-less chassis—the housing that can be removed and snapped back into place without screws and pliers.

“The Z1 is even simpler,” said Salomone. “You open it, just like you would a car hood, and all the components are laid out right in front of you.” The unit also accommodates dual-monitor setup, allowing you to add a second monitor to display your program windows in greater screen space. Aside from its tech specs and horsepower, Salomone believed, “People will like it for its form ... You don’t have to attach and detach things when you move it from one conference room to the next. Those become very simple.”

The HP Z1’s price starts at $1,800. It’s slightly more than purchasing a traditional tower workstation and a monitor, but, as Salomone pointed out, “the added cost is to cover the integration.” The compact form factor and the simplicity of the all-in-one workstation, HP believes, will offer values for the price.

For more, listen to the podcast below with Tom Salomone, HP’s marketing manager for workstations.