Australia Tech Gadget: Hp

Showing posts with label Hp. Show all posts

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

HP introduces 27-inch all-in-one Z1 Workstation, sports Xeon and Quadro parts

HP have just unleashed their new 'Z1 Workstation', which is a 27-inch all-in-one desktop, and boasts some seriously powerful hardware inside. Much better than previous all-in-one solutions I've seen before.

The Z1 will hit in April, with a starting price of $1,899. The stock model will include a Core i3-2120, integrated HD 2000 graphics, 250GB of storage and a DVD writer. The unit can scale all the way up to the quad-core Xeon E3-1245 or E3-1280, various NVIDIA Quadro GPUs including the Q4000M, up to a 2TB 7200RPM HDD, 600GB 10,000RPM HDD or 300GB SSD, depending on what you like, and a Blu-ray writer.
All configurations do share these specs:
A 27-inch 2560x1440 LED-backlit IPS display
Up to 32GB of 1600MHz DDR3 ECC RAM
An HD 1080p 2.0-megapixel webcam
Four USB 2.0 and two USB 3.0 ports
Gigabit Ethernet, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 3.0
DisplayPort in/out, SPDIF and audio jacks
Memory card reader
SRS Premium Sound w/ dual-cone speakers
One PCIe x16 slot, three miniPCIe slots
A choice of wired/wireless keyboard and mouse
A selection of various Windows/Linux OSes
Dimensions of 23" (H) x 26" (W) x 16.5" (D)

Thursday, February 9, 2012

HP Envy 14 Spectre Ultrabook Now Available

HP first unveiled their new HP Envy 14 Spectre just over a month ago, with a few sneak peaks before CES. But now their new HP Envy 14 Spectre Ultrabook is now available to purchase, with prices starting from $1400 for the base system with Core i5 processor, 4GB of RAM and a128GB SSD. With the price rising depending on the options you would like to include in your system.

Intel Core i5 2467M processor supported by 4GB of DDR3-1333 memory, with a 128GB solid state drive. The HP Envy 14 Spectre is fitted with a 14-inch 1,600 x 900-pixel display in a 13.3-inch form factor and equipped with a web camera, backlit keyboard and connectivity provided by 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.

The system is also equipped with HP Touch to Share technology, a unique NFC feature, that enables users to share data between the laptop and other supported NFC-enabled smartphones.

The Envy 14 Spectre also features a USB 3.0 port, 2-in-1 memory card reader, mini-DisplayPort, HDMI port, and HP’s Beats Audio technology. Its 20mm thickness and weight (just under 1.8kg) are around average for a 14-inch Ultrabook.

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

HP starts Envy 14 Spectre pre-orders, but high-res screen is currently not an option

We recently took a look at HP's Envy 14 Spectre and found that while isn't the thinnest or lightest laptop, it had a stylish design and a great screen. Now, it's available for interested parties to pre-order -- but unfortunately that high-res screen appears to be missing. While HP's pre-order page still lists an HD+ Radiance Infinity screen with a 1600 x 900 resolution, you're stuck with a standard 1366 x 768 display when going in to configure the laptop. We've reached out to HP to see if this was a planned change or if they just don't have models with the high-res screen available yet.

Aside from the screen, $1399 will get you a Core i5 processor running at 1.6GHz, 4GB of memory, and a 128GB SSD, as well as the unique Gorilla Glass covering the the lid, wrist rests, and touchpad. There aren't a ton of upgrades available, but you can double your storage for $300 or step up to a Core i7-2677M processor for an additional $200. While this certainly is still a capable laptop, we'd recommend waiting to see if HP adds the high-res screen as an option before pulling the trigger. If you order now, your laptop should ship on February 17th.

HP Releases Android Source Code To CyanogenMod Team

Remember back when a few HP TouchPads shipped to some customers with Android pre-installed on the device instead of WebOS? HP vehemently denied any knowledge of how, or why, the OS got on there in the first place. Well, as it turns out — it was HP. The whole time. Yup.

Well, the fine folks over at HP have finally come clean and in doing so, they’ve released that original Android source code for the tablet to the CyanogenMod team to tinkering around delve into. That means, with the elusive kernel source, Android development on the tab should pick up steam and more stable Android ROMs are sure to follow.

If you thought all the mysteries behind the Android HP TouchPads have been uncovered, there’s still a few questions left unanswered. For one, it appears that HP had a separate team working on an Android port for the TouchPad the entire time, working simultaneously as the WebOS team. Could this mean HP had originally planned to ship the tabs with Android after their purchase of Palm? Perhaps, for whatever reason, they decided against, instead banking on WebOS? No one knows for sure, but one thing is certain: the plot thickens… (queue eerie X-Files music).

Friday, February 3, 2012

HP CEO says webOS will be better than ‘fragmented’ Android and ‘closed’ iOS

Though Hewlett-Packard was unable to produce webOS devices that consumers were interested in buying — at a positive margin, at least — CEO Meg Whitman still thinks the beleaguered platform has legs. After unsuccessfully trying to sell or license webOS, HP decided late last year to donate its $1.2 billion platform to the open source community. The firm still plans to launch new webOS devices in the future, however, and Meg Whitman explained HP’s position while speaking with CRN. Read on for more.
“There is a clear vision of what we’re trying to accomplish,” Whitman said in an interview. “There will be some people who will not love that vision, and then there are people who are very excited about this vision, and what it can mean for an alternative, open-source operating system that has some real strengths to it.”
Despite the overwhelming failure of the TouchPad — HP discontinued the slate a mere two months after it launched — the CEO stressed the fact that HP is not done with tablets. WebOS is seemingly no longer a part of HP’s core tablet strategy, however, having been replaced by Microsoft’s upcoming Windows 8 platform.
“We have to have a tablet offering,” Whitman said. “We will be back in that business. We’re coming back into the market with a Windows 8 tablet, first on an x86 chip and then maybe on an ARM chip.” She also stated that security would be HP’s “sweet spot,” noting that security on tablets is a big concern for small, medium-sized and large businesses. WebOS will still play a role at HP it seems, though it remains unclear what exactly that role will be.
When asked if Whitman was concerned that a number of high-level executives formerly on the webOS team were fleeing, the executive was optimistic. “We’re going to build a new business together,” she told CRN. ”We’re going to build another operating system that has huge advantages, in my view, over iOS, which is a closed system, [and] Android, which is incredibly fragmented and may ultimately be more closed with [Google's] acquisition of Motorola Mobility.”
Whether or not being more open than iOS and less fragmented than Android will translate into webOS device sales remains to be seen.

Tuesday, January 31, 2012

HP launches the Pavilion dm4 notebook in India

HP has launched the latest generation Pavilion dm4 14-inch notebook in India. Weighing in at only 2-Kg, the Pavilion dm4 packs in quite a bit of firepower. The notebook is powered by the latest generation of Intel core i5 processor clocked at 2.5GHz, 6GB of RAM, a 640GB HDD and an optional AMD HD 7470 discrete graphics chip with 1GB of memory. The device boasts of ‘Beats Audio’ technology built-in with twin sub-woofers. HP has integrated other innovations as well, such as the HP TrueVision HD camera and HP CoolSense, cooling technology for notebooks and HP SimplePass, a fingerprint scanner for security. The notebook will come preloaded with Windows 7 Home Premium version.
HP has also launched a ‘Beats’ version of the dm4 Pavilion which will come preloaded with a Beats wallpaper and will also incorporate the signature black and red ‘Beats’ design. Another product that HP has launched is the Mini 210 netbook which weighs only 1.4 kg plus includes ‘Beats’ audio technology and claims a battery life upto 9.5 hours. All products are available, with the dm4 Pavilion costing Rs 51,990, the Beats Edition of the dm4 Pavilion costing Rs 54,990 and the HP Mini 210 costing Rs 19,990.

Monday, December 12, 2011

HP to build webOS tablets in 2013

The webOS platform has now joined Google’s Android from one aspect – it is now an open source piece of software, according to HP’s recent announcement, and having said that, HP will continue to exhibit a strong interest in this mobile platform despite hedging their bets with Windows 8 tablets in the short term. While HP did make their stand in not churning out new webOS-powered smartphones down the road, the company does not rule out future tablets being based on future versions of Windows on an exclusive basis, making it also possible for webOS-powered tablets to roll out by the time 2013 comes around.
Yes, we do know that the HP TouchPad which went on sale for what could very well be the last time in its product lifecycle is of the past, but does that mean HP is truly going to throw out their past experiences with tablets and eliminate such a device from their portfolio in the near future? I guess not, and let us not look too surprised should we see HP play nice with Microsoft for their Windows 8 operating system, while they quietly tinker about on a new webOS-powered tablet.

Sunday, December 11, 2011

HP decides to keep webOS after all

HP has finally come to a decision on what to do with webOS, and despite months of speculation linking many top tech firms with a buyout, in the end HP has decided not to sell.

Instead it will open up the source code for the troubled platform to the open-source community in the hope of getting other hardware manufacturers interested in working with it.

HP took ownership of webOS when it bought Palm out last year, and was quick to announce ambitious plans to expand the OS into a global platform running on all its products.

But it hasn't quite worked out that way. The Pre 3 smartphone and the Touchpad tablet both failed to make any kind of impact at all, leading HP to cut its losses and sell off its remaining stock at dramatically reduced prices to recoup at least some of its losses.

The general consensus was that HP would then offload the OS to the highest bidder, with Samsung, Facebook andAmazon among the names mentioned, but it looks like webOS will have a very different future instead.

Of course, there's always the possibility that webOS could be the next Android, establishing a broad base of hardware partners and building momentum from there. Then again, it could also go the way of Symbian...

Friday, December 9, 2011

HP will decide the future of webOS today. Place your bets now.

Having said that HP would announce plans for its stricken webOS platform “within the next two weeks”, HP CEO Meg Whitman has reportedly called for an all-hands company meeting scheduled for today at 10:30am PDT to finally decide its fate.
PreCentral received word of the company meeting, which has been a long time coming since Whitman assumed the role of CEO at HP and was tasked with reversing its fortunes.
When the company shuttered its mobile hardware division and ceased production of its Pre smartphones and TouchPad tablets, it was assumed that the company would sell its mobile platform and push ahead with its computer business. However, with a TouchPad firesale reviving interest in the device, the technology giant has been forced to reassess its webOS optionsand today could be the day where it either lives to fight another day or the company writes-off its multi-billion dollar Palm purchase.
Whitman, who replaced former executive Leo Apotheker, recently admitted in an internal meeting that the company was still in a state of flux, stating that it didn’t “know what kind of company HP [was]” and that it was “still figuring that out.” One of her first decisions was to take back control of HP’s PC division, after the company had previously announced that it would move deeper into the enterprise.
Whitman is expected to discuss HP’s mobile options with the webOS Global Business Unit later today, meaning we could see a formal announcement made very soon.
What do you think will happen to the HP webOS unit? Place your bets now!

Thursday, December 8, 2011

HP to launch another Touchpad fire sale this weekend, because it's cold outside

And really, it's no surprise. Considering the wild success it enjoyed with its first Touchpad fire sale, why wouldn't HP try to recreate that magic in time for the holiday shopping rush? According to a release the company sent out to employees this week, the redux will kick off on December 11th at 6 PM, on HP's eBay Store. There, consumers will be able to get their hands on a refurbished 16GB or 32GB model for $99 and $149, respectively. They'll also have the chance to get a case, charging dock and wireless keyboard as part of a $79 bundle, though the sale isn't entirely lawless, with each buyer limited to a maximum of two Touchpads. Interested parties should get their clicking fingers on the ready

Friday, December 2, 2011

S&P cuts HP credit rating on lack of strategy, management turnover

Credit rating agency Standard & Poor’s downgraded Hewlett-Packard’s credit rating earlier this week, citing poor policies, a high turnover rate among top executives and an unclear strategy. HP’s local and foreign long-term debt ratings now sit at BBB+, down from A, making it more expensive for the company to borrow money. The firm also cut HP’s short-term rating to A-2 from A-1. ”We have concerns that HP’s inconsistent growth strategies and high levels of board of director and senior management turnover have elevated the level of operational and execution risk in the near term,” S&P analyst Martha Toll Reed said in a statement. The agency also said that HP’s $10.2 billion Autonomy acquisition has reduced the company’s liquidity and financial flexibility. S&P’s press release follows below.

Hewlett-Packard Co. Corporate Credit, Senior Unsecured Ratings Lowered To ‘BBB+’; Outlook Stable
Publication date: 30-Nov-2011 16:25:02 EST
Hewlett-Packard Co. recently clarified that it is maintaining its fundamental business mix, including the retention of its Personal Systems Group.
The company also set expectations for lower revenues and profits in 2012.
We are lowering our corporate credit rating on the company to ‘BBB+’ from ‘A’ and removing it from CreditWatch.
We are also lowering the short-term rating to ‘A-2′ from ‘A-1′.
The stable outlook reflects our expectation that HP’s operating trends and financial policies will sustain debt protection metrics near current levels.
NEW YORK (Standard & Poor’s) Nov. 30, 2011–Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services
said today that it lowered its corporate credit and senior unsecured ratings
on Palo Alto, Calif.-based Hewlett-Packard Co. (HP) to ‘BBB+’ from ‘A’, and
removed them from CreditWatch, where they were placed with negative
implications on Aug. 18, 2011. At the same time, we lowered our short-term
rating on HP to ‘A-2′ from ‘A-1′. The outlook is stable.
“The downgrade reflects liquidity and financial flexibility that have been
reduced by more aggressive financial policies, including the use of leverage
to fund the recent $10.2 billion (net) Autonomy acquisition,” said Standard &
Poor’s credit analyst Martha Toll-Reed, “and annual share repurchases well in
excess of discretionary cash flow.” In addition, we have concerns that HP’s
inconsistent growth strategies and high levels of Board of Director and senior
management turnover have elevated the level of operational and execution risk
in the near term.
The stable outlook reflects our expectation that HP’s operating trends and
financial policies will sustain debt protection metrics near current levels.
We could lower the rating if debt to EBITDA is likely to exceed the low-2x
area on a sustained basis because of weaker operations or incremental debt. A
higher rating is unlikely for the near-to-intermediate term, based on current
leverage levels, an ongoing emphasis on shareholder returns, and our
expectation that continuing investments will be required to maintain
competitiveness.

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

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Friday, February 3, 2012

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