HP CULV and Core i7 notebooks leak

HP's impending plans to revamp its notebook line have likely been uncovered in advance today courtesy of a pair of leaks (one, two). Leading the group should be the Pavilion dv8, one of the first systems to use Intel's mobile Core i7; it should be an 18.4-inch desktop replacement with an early 1.6GHz quad-core processor that scales up to 2.8GHz when it can ramp down one or more cores. It's also expected that the system would come with a Blu-ray drive as well as 4GB of RAM and 640GB of storage, likely spread across two disks.

Dutch pricing puts the system at about 1427 Euros, or the equivalent of $2,043.

The tips further point to HP launching two models using Intel's CULV (Consumer Ultra Low Voltage) processors. The 11.6-inch Pavilion dm1 and 13.3-inch dm3 are poised to replace the dv2 and should drop the AMD Athlon Neo for a 1.2GHz dual-core processor. The dm1 would be the basic model of the two with 2GB of RAM and a 320GB hard drive, but the dm3 should have double the memory and a larger 500GB hard drive. Either's prices should sit above netbooks with the dm1 costing the equivalent of $690 in Europe where the dm3 would cost about $970.

Other leaks touch on HP's sub-brands. Voodoo is finally poised to update its line with the Envy 15, a larger and likely faster version of the ultraportable it unveiled last year. The Compaq Mini 311c in turn would be a crossover netbook with the usual 1.6GHz Atom, 1GB of RAM and 160GB hard drive but also an 11.6-inch display and NVIDIA's Ion LE to provide much smoother graphics than Intel's option. It may boast longevity with a 6-cell battery as stock and could be priced at about $479; the Envy 15 hasn't received pricing.

All of the systems are poised to be unveiled soon, but they may not ship until October as most of the systems are due to ship with Windows 7 Home Premium. [via Engadget]

By Electronista Staff