The HP business lines of all-in-one (AIO) computers were enhanced today with two new models. Joining the product lineup are the HP Compaq Pro 6300, and HP Compaq Elite 8300 all-in-one models. An upgrade option is available for the HP Compaq Elite 8300 to add multi-touch capability to the display. All three models will be available in September.
HP has announced a program that will provide free Box cloud storage for customers who purchase select Compaq pro-level desktop machines. The computer maker appears to be expanding its collaboration with the cloud service provider, following a similar promotion that brought 50GB in free storage for the TouchPad tablet.
Tech investor and temporary Compaq CEO Ben Rosen has mentioned in a look back at Steve Jobs' life that the Apple executive at one point had considered returning the Mac to a non-exclusive. Jobs in mid-1999 had raised the prospects of putting the Mac OS on Compaq PCs as an additional choice next to Windows. The aim would have been to give the Mac OS extra credibility by putting it on computers from the world's largest Windows PC builder, possibly overturning the industry.
Apple managed to widen its lead in real-world satisfaction on Tuesday in a new ACSI (American Consumer Satisfaction Index) study for computers. The Mac designer moved up a point in its satisfaction score to its highest yet, at 87 points. Windows PC builders were virtually flat and still about 10 points lower on average, with only HP and its trailing budget brand Compaq moving up a point.
HP on Monday announced a new all-in-one desktop has joined its lineup. The Compaq 8200 Elite is the first of the company's enterprise desktops to offer Intel's Sandy Bridge-era Core processors with vPro technology for remote IT management. It centers on a 23-inch LED-lit display with an integrated webcam, microphone and speakers.
Verizon Wireless on Tuesday revealed it will launch the Compaq Mini CQ10-688nr netbook with built-in 4G LTE on August 4. First introduced at its 4G event at CES this year, the netbook will have fast broadband access to the web and the HP Cloud Drive for uploading or accessing cloud-based files. The LTE download speeds as usual are said to range from between 5Mbps and 12Mbps, while upload speeds range from 2Mbps to 5Mbps in 4G coverage areas.
HP has brought out the Compaq 100B Small Form Factor Business PC. The 100B incorporates an AMD Fusion-based E-350 1.6 GHz dual-core chip with an integrated AMD Radeon HD 6310 graphics processor to give it uncharacteristically fast graphics for the size. Built around a micro ITX motherboard, the 100B takes up about half the space of a traditional ATX or mini-ATX based business desktop.
A determination (PDF) by the court in the wake of NVIDIA's class-action settlement has left Mac users and many others angered at unfair treatment. Judge James Ware declared "without merit" objections from those who were told the only replacement option was an entry-level Compaq CQ-56 notebook. The sub-$500 notebook "meets or exceeds nearly all of the specifications" of the systems whose graphics failed, Judge Ware claimed, further believing that any missing components could be added in.
A publicly posted online guide from Verizon has shown at least two devices talked about for its network but so far never confirmed or even put into doubt. The BlackBerry PlayBook has shown up in its Wi-Fi form with a "coming soon" badge. Its mention is unusual given Verizon's sudden indecisiveness on the tablet in April even after RIM promised a Verizon model in March.
Qualcomm scored an important if now largely symbolic victory in its dispute with Smartbook AG over the "smartbook" label. Germany's Patent and Trademark Office ruled that Smartbook AG's two trademarks on the formal name couldn't be applied to the generic term, which Qualcomm applied to any small, ultralight notebook using a cellphone-class processor and OS. Qualcomm can now use the term freely as long as it isn't in the formal context.
A rare and possibly one-off upset occurred on Tuesday as HP scored higher than Apple in Rescuecom's reliability charts. Judging its scores on the Windows PC builder's estimated 25 percent market share relative to the 7.2 percent share of calls Rescuecom received, it gave HP a score of 346 where Apple was a distant second at 179, making up an estimated 8.8 percent of the market but 4.9 percent of the calls. Lenovo's ThinkCentre and ThinkPad lines scored 177, while one-time leader ASUS fell to 144. Toshiba trailed behind at 96 and had disproportionately more calls (8.8 percent) than it did market share (8.4 percent).
HP on Tuesday catered to its business desktop users with four new PCs that brought out its first all-in-one aimed chiefly at small business owners. The simply titled 100B is designed for companies that want a cheap computer they can get running quickly. AMD's new 1.6GHz E-350 Fusion chip both keeps the cost down but also gives it enough visual performance to handle HD video on its 20-inch, 1600x900 displays.
Apple today managed to get its best-ever score on the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) and maintain its lead over Windows PCs. Happiness with Macs climbed from 84 points last year to an all-time high of 86 this year. It has a nine-point lead over the maximum 77 point score for Windows PCs, the largest gap of any category in the ACSI.
Apple today managed to hold on to and in some cases widen its lead in a reader-guided study of satisfaction with their computers and mobile devices. The company's MacBooks led the way in PC Mag's studies with an overall score of 9.2; the figure was the highest in any category, not just notebooks, and kept it in front of ASUS' 8.5. Most sat between 7.9 and 8.1, while HP's Compaq label trailed the pack at 7.3.
HP tackled the very top of the LCD market today through the ZR30w. The 30-inch screen is one of the few and HP's first to get an S-IPS panel that gives it very high color accuracy for photo and video pros. Over one billion colors are visible, and it covers the entire sRGB color space as well as 99 percent of Adobe RGB.
HP on Friday afternoon grew the size of its battery recall program to include 54,000 more notebooks. The exchange mostly covers older dv2000, dv6000, dv9000 and Compaq portables made between August 2007 and July 2008. It follows after HP received 38 more reports of batteries catching fire, 11 of which inflicted "minor personal injury" on the users.
HP has added a parcel of new desktops today that, in its business line, include its smallest-ever desktop using AMD. The Compaq-labeled 6005 Pro has the footprint of a piece of paper but can use desktop-level processors. It's small enough to fit on the back of a display and is also HP's first truly green PC, dropping BFRs (bromide flame retardants) and PVC plastics.
HP has released its Compaq Presario CQ1 all-in-one nettop PC earlier than expected. The Presario CQ1-1020 uses a single-core 1.66GHz Intel Atom processor along with an 18.5-inch display with a 1366x768 resolution. Onboard graphics are handled by Intel's integrated GMA 3150 chipset.
Consumer Reports today gave Apple a major lead in its rankings for both desktop and notebook technical support [subscription required]. Among more than 7,000 readers, Apple's help scored 87 and 86 points in each category and was much higher-rated than any other computer manufacturer. Lenovo came closest in notebooks with just 63 points, while Dell fell far behind in desktops with a 55-point score.
HP ahead of Mobile World Congress has confirmed the Airlife 100. The company's first smartbook, the 10-inch touchscreen system is much like the concept design shown at CES and switches away from x86 to ARM, likely a 1GHz Snapdragon. The switch, along with the use of a 16GB flash drive, gives the system 12 hours of battery life (and 10 days of standby) even though the design is thinner than a typical Atom-based Mini netbook.
HP in an FCC filing submitted in just the past day has confirmed that it plans to bring its concept smartbook to reality. The device shows up at the US agency using the previously hinted Airlife badge and would be titled the HP Compaq Airlife 100. Little is shown about what the device would use, though the FCC label shows an icon for what's likely a SIM card slot for 3G.
A new Customer Experience Index published this week by Forrester has given Apple the lead in computers but still well behind others in service. As a company, Apple has reached an overall rank of 35th in shopper satisfaction and is significantly ahead of Windows PC builders: its closest rival is HP, at a distant 62nd place. Further down are Toshiba at 71st place followed by Acer (79th), HP's sub-brand Compaq (89th) and Dell (97th).
HP's most significant CES unveiling includes a sweeping update to its Mini netbooks to bring them in step with Intel's Pine Trail platform. Heading up the range is the 10-inch Mini 5102, the company's first touchscreen netbook. It supports native multi-touch for Windows 7 and is targeted at the relative high end with an aluminum chassis like the EliteBooks and a Broadcom HD decoder that can process 1080p video.
Pro desktops at HP were served today by the launch of a new workstation and a pair of small desktops, including the first ever Windows PC to lack toxins. The fastest in the line is the company's latest Z series workstation, the Z200; a step below the Z400, it will be the company's new entry level workstation and should use Core i3 and Core i5 as well as the Xeon 3400 series quad-core chips. Its performance aims at the mid-range with up to 16GB of RAM, Quadro FX 1800 video and options like a Blu-ray burner or an X-Fi Titanium sound card.
HP's main cross-platform contributions at CES today have centered on five displays. Fronting the group, the Notebook Projection Companion is HP's first projector explicitly designed for portability and measures just 4.4 inches long and 0.9 pounds even though it can throw an image as large as 60 inches when 8.5 feet away. Its native resolution is small but widescreen friendly at 852x600.
A recently spotted Excel document on HP's website reveals the computer maker will soon release two new Envy-series notebooks, the previously leaked Envy 14 and a larger Envy 17. While the leak only shows the model names, HP's traditional naming convention indicates the former will have a 14-inch screen while the latter will sport a 17-inch display. It's also more than likely that the Envy 17 will have a 1920x1080-pixel display, with the Envy 14 using a 1600x900 panel.
Apple has taken the lead as the most reliable computer maker thanks to ASUS' over-dependence on netbooks, a new RESCUECOM study says. Where ASUS led the rankings in the third quarter of 2008 and in the spring this year, Apple has surged back to earn a reliability score of 374 for the third quarter this year, or more than twice ASUS' third-place 166 score. Much of ASUS' fall is attributed to first-wave Eee PC netbooks getting older and failing in relatively large numbers due to their poorer build quality.
HP's sub-label Compaq tonight received three upgraded systems to ready itself for Windows 7. The Presario CQ61z refreshes the familiar 15.6-inch CQ60 with a more modern 2GHz AMD Sempron whose choice helps put the system at a particularly low $400 price (post-rebate) even while brand-new. The refresh further adds Mobility Radeon HD 4200 video in place of the older NVIDIA hardware but still has 2GB of RAM and a 160GB hard drive.
HP on Tuesday announced the release of its new family of desktop PCs aimed at businesses, in the form of the Compaq 6000 Pro and HP Compaq 6005 Pro. The main difference involves the choice of CPUs, with the Compaq 6000 Pro available with a number of Intel chips, including various Core 2 quads, Core 2 Duos, dual core Pentiums and Celerons, while the Compaq 9005 Pro can be had with chips from AMD's Sempron, Athlon II, and dual-core, triple-core or quad-core Phenom II processors.
HP as part of its sweeping Tuesday updates announced it will soon begin shipping seven new business oriented LCD monitors, including the 17-inch HP Compaq LA1751g, 18.5-inch HP LE1851w, 19-inch LA1905wg and LA1951g, 20-inch HP LE2001w, 22-inch LA2205wg and 24-inch LA2405wg. The five new HP Compaq LA monitors share most if not all specs, with the same 1,000:1 static contrast ratio (3,000:1 dynamic), 250cd/m2 brightness (300cd/m2 in the LA2405wg) and 5ms pixel response times. They all also sport DVI, DisplayPort and VGA video inputs.
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.
Apple continues to hold first place in tracking conducted by the American Consumer Satisfaction Index, says Fortune. The company has scored 84 out of 100 in a 2009 study, leaving it in a dominant position over rival computer builders. It has also dropped a point since 2008 however, when it achieved its highest-ever score.
HP has released a pair of business notebooks, with the 14.0-inch Compaq 515 and 15.6-inch Compaq 610. Either sports an LED-backlit display with 1366x768 resolution, and the 515's processing power coming from a choice of AMD Athlon X2 or Turion X2 processors paired with as much as 8GB of RAM. Graphics processing is handled by the integrated ATI Radeon HD 3200 GPU. Otherwise, users can opt for a 250GB hard drive, and there is a standard-issue DVD burner and optional 2-megapixel webcam. Wi-Fi is integrated, and the systems start at 5lbs with a standard 6-cell battery.
Walmart on Thursday announced it will offer a notebook for less than $300 on Sunday, with the 15.6-inch Compaq Presario CQ60-419WM. Part of Walmart's early back to school sale, the notebook is powered by a 2.1GHz AMD Sempron processor and otherwise offers 3GB of RAM, a 160GB hard drive preloaded with Windows Vista and a DVD burner. There is Wi-Fi capability, and an NVIDIA GeForce 8200M chipset providers graphics processing. A six-cell battery is standard fare with the CQ60.
Best Buy and Sprint sought to lure customers into shops today with a special promo for the Compaq Mini 110. Normally $390, the netbook now costs 99 cents when tied to a two-year data plan and bought through one of Best Buy's stores. Carriers like AT&T and Verizon currently offer only partial discounts, typically offering their own systems for $200 on the same terms. No mention is made of whether or not the deal will expire, though it should need a monthly $60 plan that allows 5GB of data per month.
Verizon today ramped up FiOS with speed upgrades for all its regular tiers as well as the addition of a new middle tier. A new 35Mbps plan offers a balance between more typical speeds and the 50Mbps maximum tier; it also has the same 20Mbps upload speeds as the previous symmetric 20/20 tier and the 50Mbps service; the speed would let it upload an hour-long 720p HDTV show in 20 minutes. The carrier doesn't say how much this version of its fiber optic service would cost but says it's only available in bundles with TV or phone service.
HP today issued a US-wide recall through the Consumer Product Safety Commission for 70,000 notebook batteries. The recall affects most Compaq and HP home models sold from August 2007 through March 2008 and is prompted by HP's fears that the lithium-ion pack could overheat, catching fire and potentially burning owners. It cites two incidents in which the battery burst due to internal pressure and caused minor area damage but no injuries.
Forrester today issued a report on customer experience with computers that gave Apple a significant lead over competitors. The Mac producer received an 80 percent score, or "good," on a combination of ease of use, meeting needs and a pleasurable experience. Its next-closest rival, Gateway, scored just 66 percent, or "okay." Other competitors fared worse, with HP and its sub-label Compaq receiving 64 percent and 63 percent scores that are considered "poor;" Dell has dipped to 58 percent.
HP's Compaq brand has launched a 10.2-inch netbook in Europe, the Compaq Mini 700, which boasts a 1.6GHz Intel Atom CPU along with integrated GMA950 graphics processor and 1GB of RAM. The Mini 700 also sports a 1024x600 resolution display and a keyboard sized at 92 percent of a full-size computer's in a package that is just under one inch thick. Options include a Wi-Fi module, Bluetooth capabilities and HSDPA network access. The netbook's 1.8-inch, 60GB, 4,200RPM hard disk drive comes pre-loaded with Windows XP home.
HP on Thursday broke new ground for itself by introducing its first-ever Linux desktop aimed at small offices and schools. The HP Compaq dc5850 now has the option of SUSE Linux preinstalled rather than having to choose FreeDOS and install the open-source software afterwards. It also comes preloaded with multiple similarly open-source apps such as OpenOffice as well as its web browser, e-mail and IM suites; schools also get access to about 40 educational games and learning tools.
As part of a price drop campaign it is calling Operation Main Street, Walmart on Thursday announced it will cut back prices of many popular products over the next seven weeks, in time for the holidays. The more noteworthy items include a Magnavox Blu-ray player, the NB500MG9, priced at $198, down from its regular price of $229. It is capable of upconverting standard DVD movies and will support Dolby Digital and DTS surround sound formats. A 2GB Sony Walkman MP3 player will be priced at $49.
Sony on Friday said it would back a voluntary recall begun by the US Consumer Product Safety Commission that asks customers to replace over 35,000 lithium-ion notebook batteries included in US systems from Dell, HP and Toshiba, as well as 65,000 worldwide. The Japanese PC builder believes that batteries using 2.15Ah cells made during a production transition between October 2004 and June 2005, as well as some with a change in raw material, carry the risk of overheating and catching fire. At least 40 incidents involving the batteries have surfaced, a small portion of which have resulted in burns and property damage.
A Circuit City webstore listing is showing a new HP notebook, the 17-inch Compaq Presario CQ70. The previously unannounced notebook PC is part of HP’s expansive CQ70 range, and uses Intel’s Pentium dual core processor rated at 2GHz along with 3GB of DDR2 memory. Graphics for the 1440x900 resolution display come via the integrated Intel GMA 4500MHD graphics processor.
The American Customer Satisfaction Index on Tuesday gave Apple its highest-ever score for pleasing customers of its Macs, giving the firm a record 85 points in the ACSI annual report based on reactions from users to both their opinions on computer quality as well as support after the sale. The award is Apple's fifth consecutive nod in as many years and is partly attributed to the sales success of its computers, which have been gaining marketshare in recent months.
HP has quietly launched a second notebook this week and now caters towards higher-end but still ultramobile users. The HP Compaq 2230s has just a 12-inch screen and weighs just over four pounds but is based entirely on Intel's just-launched Centrino 2 platform, making faster GMA 4500MHD graphics and 802.11n Wi-Fi standard features on every model. Certain trim levels also get matching processors with the faster 1,066MHz bus and range from the lower-power 2.26GHz Core 2 Duo to a full-power 2.53GHz chip.
HP today became one of the first companies known to be shipping systems based on AMD's new Turion X2 Ultra processors and platform. The 14-inch Compaq 6535b and 15.4-inch Compaq 6735b are HP's flagships for workstations and pros and use the new architecture to support up to 8GB of DDR2 memory (with 64-bit operating systems) as well as give faster integrated graphics through the Mobility Radeon HD 3200.
HP today gave virtually all its notebook line both a cosmetic and performance update, including some of the first Centrino 2-based notebooks. The Pavilion series is now said to have a subtler look with displays that are flush with the bezel, silver-on-silver insides, and a new Imprint finish on the outside. The Intel-based systems use their new notebook platform to supply both faster Core 2 processors as well as faster X4500 graphics on systems that go without dedicated video hardware, while a similar match uses the platform behind the Turion Ultra platform. Improved touch-sensitive media controls and an External SATA port are common across most systems, HP notes.
As part of a wide effort, HP today gave its business notebooks a refresh that includes a brand new model. The EliteBook signals one of HP's first rugged notebooks and is designed to survive both cosmetic and internal damage: anodized aluminum on the palm rest and outside shell keep the computer free of scratches, while a magnesium honeycomb cage and an anti-twist 14-inch display prevent impact damage from ruining the system's innards. The casing, shock-resistant hard drive, and spill-proof keyboard help meet US military-grade 810F levels for survivability in extreme temperatures as well as vibrations and very damp environments.
HP's Compaq 2133 ultra-mobile PC may use non-Intel hardware to achieve an exceptionally low price, says an off-hand remark in an article comparing the devices. Although previous leaks have pointed to Intel's Silverthorne forming the backbone of the 8.9-inch miniature notebook, the report claims that at least one version will use a Via processor and sell for $499, putting the computer into the same price .league as the ASUS Eee PC and Everex CloudBook. This is most likely to involve Via's notebook-oriented C7-M processor and should be helped by the use of Linux instead of Windows as the stock operating system.
HP's inaugural UMPC has already been photographed and received its first early details, according to a leak from Engadget. Resembling a compact notebook rather than the handhelds normally associated with the concept, the Compaq-branded UMPC 2133 will run an 8.9-inch, 1366x768 widescreen display and a nearly full-size keyboard that runs edge to edge. Also defying the normal limits of such computers, a full ExpressCard/54 slot should provide expansion for networking, storage, and other peripherals. Storage is built-in and should include the option of a solid-state drive.
