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HP refreshes EliteBook line with five new models, Ivy Bridge and optional LTE
HP is in full-on laptop-unveiling mode, and the company’s business line isn’t getting left out — in fact, it has five new models — including an 11-incher, a first for this series. The boardroom-bound EliteBooks are making the step up to Ivy Bridge, but it’s also adding the option of LTE across the board. All models will ship with SRS Premium Sounds PRO and an optional 720p webcam. We have a complete breakdown of the models past the break, and you can find hands-on shots.
The 2170p is the first 11-incher in the EliteBook line, and weighs in at 2.9 pounds. It’s compatible with the same dock as HP’s w-, p- and b- series, so businesses that want to upgrade to newer EliteBooks won’t have to invest in new peripherals. So far, we simply know the processor is an ultra low voltage Ivy Bridge CPU, predictably coupled with Intel integrated graphics. Keyboard backlighting will be a customization option. The entry-level configuration will go for $999.
If the naming doesn’t give it away, the 2570p is an update to the ultraportable EliteBook 2560p. It has the same 12.5-inch display and weighs 3.6 pounds, making it slightly lighter than the 2560p. The 2570p is clearly the ‘tweener of the EliteBook series: more powerful than the 2170p but a step below the larger models. The 2570p will start at $1,099 and, along with the 2170p, will be available on June 22nd.
Moving on up, the 14-inch 8740p makes its official debut. We saw this business-rugged laptop last month, when a review leaked ahead of Intel’s Ivy Bridge launch schedule. The 8470p replaces last year’s 8460p, and it keeps the starting weight at 4.56 pounds. It makes similar claims about battery life as the previous model, too, promising 36 hours of runtime with both the extended battery and SSD. The 15-inch 8570p, a refresh of the 8560p, offers similar specs minus the display size. Both the 8740p and 8570p are available with dual- or quad-core Ivy Bridge CPUs, integrated graphics or an AMD Radeon 7570M graphics card with 1GB of dedicated memory and a choice of hard drives, SSDs and self-encrypting drives. Both models are also made to withstand the elements outside the office, and they pass MIL-STD 810G testing for dust, vibration and more. Both models will go for $899 starting on June 4th.
Last is the EliteBook 8470w workstation, available with a 14-, 15- or 17-inch screen. The 14-incher has AMD graphics, while the 15-inch and 17-inch versions have an NVIDIA GPU with 4GB of video memory — up from 2GB. HP retooled the trackpad and added a 50-percent brightness option to the backlit keyboard (for the 15- and 17-inch models only), but it kept the chassis from last year’s w-series workstations. Availability and pricing aren’t yet clear; HP simply says the 8470w will ship this summer.
HP unveils second business Ultrabook, the EliteBook Folio
We actually have one more EliteBook to introduce, and this time it’s an Ultrabook. The EliteBook Folio 9470m is ready to sidle up next to the Folio 13, HP’s first business-grade Ultrabook, as a higher-end option. The 14-inch Folio is thin and light, starting at 3.6 pounds, but the 0.75-inch chassis makes room for an impressive collection of ports, including USB 3.0, Ethernet, DisplayPort and VGA. Since this Ivy Bridge laptop is balancing its Ultrabook identity with a business classification, it features an embedded TPM security chip, a smart card reader, security lock slot, full volume encryption and a security screw. Pricing starts at $1,149, and HP will begin shipping in October. Skip past the break for the presser, and check out our hands-on gallery below.
HP EliteBook 8460w, 8560w, and 8760w mobile workstations all go on sale
If Dell’s latest 17-inch powerhouse is too beastly for your next business trip, HP has begun selling its trio of new EliteBook mobile workstations, with screen sizes as small as 14 inches. In the case of both the 14-inch 8460w and the 15.6-inch 8560w, you get discrete graphics standard and can choose a $1,000 Core i7-2820QM processor, among less pricey options. (With the 15-inch iteration, you can also opt for a 1 billion-color DreamColor display.) Admittedly, you will have to step up to the 17-inch 8760w if you want a Core i7-2920XM CPU, AMD FirePro or NVIDIA Quadro graphics with up to 4GB of memory, and up to three hard drives with RAID 5 support. As promised, they’re going for $1,299, $1,239, and $1,899, respectively — in case your corporate card’s just begging for its next hit.
HP tries to sneak CFast slot by us in EliteBook 8560w
HP must have thought it could sneak this one by us — and it would have succeeded too, if it wasn’t for those meddling tipsters. A close examination of the recently announced EliteBook 8560w’s press shot reveals it has a CFast slot, an interesting tidbit not mentioned in the release or the spec sheet. This is, to our knowledge, the first notebook to ship with a slot for the updated CompactFlash format, though the lack of cameras and other devices using the medium makes it a somewhat superfluous feature at the moment. Still, with transfer rates significantly faster than current CompactFlash cards and twice that of SDXC cards (with room to grow), we assume its only a matter of time before Nikon and Canon slap these bad boys in a few high-end shooters. Closeup shot after the break.
