Latest HP Spectre Laptop Adds Weight,Thickness and Functionality

   When HP (NYSE:HPQ) announced its last 2-in-1 Spectre x360, the company proudly said it was the thinnest and lightest ultra-book on the market. The announcement of the latest version adds 1.89 millimeters of thickness and an additional .42 pounds of extra weight.

However, what you get for the extra dimension is 23 percent more battery life and a discrete Nvidia graphics card, the company says. These are worthy tradeoffs for any power user who wants to fully take advantage of today’s media intensive applications.

The 15.6″ 4K UHD UWVA eDP touch display Spectre x360 comes in at 17.9 mm and weighing 4.2 pounds. But HP says it is what’s under the hood so to speak that makes that extra weight and extra thickness really worth it in terms of functionality.

As stated above, those features include NVIDIA GeForce 940MX (2 GB DDR5 dedicated) graphics.

The specs for the 13.3″ also include Intel’s 7th Generation Kaby Lake Core i7 processor with 16 GB RAM and 512 GB SSD storage. However, the graphics is managed by the Intel Iris Plus Graphics 640 (up to 8.06 GB). The display is an FHD IPS UWVA WLED-backlit multitouch-enabled edge-to-edge glass delivering 1920 x 1080 instead of the 4K.

As for the battery, both units can get 50 percent charge in 30 minutes and once they are full, the 15″ will give you 12 hours 45 minutes, while the 13″ adds 2 hours and 15 minutes for a total of 15 hours.

When it comes to the ports, laptop makers have learned from the mistake Apple made with its MacBook Pro. Granted the slim, multipurpose USB Type-C ports are the future, but there are still millions of people that use the old ports. The Spectre x360 has one USB 3.1 Type- A port and two USB-C ports that support Thunderbolt 3 and power delivery, which means you don’t have to carry additional dongles around.

The 15″ device starts at $1,499.99 and ca be preordered now with shipping in February.  The 13″ is now available for $1,299.99.

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Giant HP Screen With Pop-up Camera May Be Too Pricey for Small Businesses

The new generation of personal computers are not only beautifully designed, but they come packed with some great components. And the new HP (NYSE:HPQ) Envy Curved AiO 34 that was just unveiled at CES 2017 more than delivers in terms of looks and specs.

A Peek at the HP Envy Curved All-In-One Desktop 34

The AiO 34 is striking. The full setup only has the keyboard, mouse and a floating curved screen that is held with a single bar to the base. This is minimalist design at its best.

The 34″ curved 3440×1440 IPS 4K screen is only 16.9 mm thick, and it has a micro-edge display that packs more screen area into a smaller footprint. And the HP privacy IR camera and microphone are designed to pop only when they are being used from the top of the screen.

The base, which runs almost the entire width of the screen, houses everything for the Envy. That includes either a Core i5 or Core i7 quad-core Kaby Lake processor and different memory, storage and discreet graphics configurations. You can get: up to 16GB of DDR4/2133 RAM; 1TB SSHD, 256 GB SSD plus 1TB HDD, 256GB SSD plus 2TB HDD; and an AMD Radeon RX 460 or Nvidia GTX 950MX graphics cards.

The simplicity in design extends to the base, with an audio dial that lets you control the Bang & Olufsen speakers and a wireless charger for your portable devices. And when it comes to ports, the Envy is very generous, giving you 4 USB 3.0 Type A and one USB Type C connections with Thunderbolt 3 support along with both HDMI-in and –out.

This is an all-in-one computer that is loaded, and the price, which will start at $1,730, reflects that fact. For small businesses in the creative and design field, the price can be justified, but for regular communications and day to day computing needs, there are more affordable options.

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