You just know that HP will release a WebOS phone without a physical keyboard sooner or later. (In fact, I’m astonished it didn’t happen…well, about two years ago.) Is this it?
Tag Archives | HP
Sorry, Two Operating Systems Aren’t Better Than One
Leo Apotheker, HP’s new CEO, says that in 2012, every HP PC will run the company’s WebOS operating system–presumably in conjunction with Windows in most cases, although no details are available just yet. ViewSonic has an Atom-powered ViewPad that dual-boots between Android 1.6 (a version so old that I’ve forgotten what its dessert-themed codename was) and Windows 7. Lenovo continues to demo its Windows laptop that lets you pop out the screen and use it as an Android tablet. Other companies are also working on split-personality, multiple-OS computers. More than one of the hardware makers that are doing this is using the phrase “the best of both worlds” to explain why it makes sense for one device to run two operating systems.
Is it just me, or is this a profoundly lousy idea?
10 comments
HP's New Notebooks: Businesslike. But I Like Them Too
HP's new EliteBook p-Series
If you’re as old and wizened as I am, you remember the Irish Spring TV commercials based around the idea that it was a manly soap that was equally beloved by women:
Strangely enough, I thought about those ads when I learned about HP’s latest round of updates to its business notebooks, the EliteBook and ProBook series. HP says it designs these machines to serve the needs of businessfolk, not consumers: They’ve got relatively conservative designs rather than the splashy ones on HP’s consumer lines, aiming for timeless good looks rather than trendiness. The EliteBooks use materials such as aluminum and titanium alloys for strength, and have Duracase enclosures that meet military-grade specifications for sturdiness. The ProBooks have spill-resistant keyboards. There are USB 3.0 ports. You can get these systems in a variety of sizes with a range of Intel second-generation Core processors. One version, the EliteBook 8460p, offers an optional extended battery that claims up to 32 hours on a charge. Prices, which start at $579 for the most basic ProBook s-series, seem reasonable.
The EliteBooks are aimed at corporate types; the ProBooks skew more to medium-sized and small businesses. But they strike me as Irish Spring computers: They may be businesslike, but their feature sets and emphasis on substance over style makes them laptops with plenty of appeal for a certain discerning type of consumer (read: anyone with tastes similar to mine). They ship on March 15th; PCMag.com has more details and photos.
5 comments
WebOS Event Live Blog Coverage This Morning
Quick reminder: At 10am PT, I’ll be at HP’s WebOS event, where news about at least one tablet is guaranteed, and announcements of other WebOS gizmos aren’t an impossible dream. You can join me at technologizer.com/webos, and I hope you will…
No comments
HPs New Slant on Touch-Screen Computing
Everyone talks about touch-screen PCs–if only to knock them–but HP, with its TouchSmarts, is one of the few companies to have devoted much thought to making touch work. Its latest TouchSmarts, announced this week, feature a small change which could have a big impact on usability: Their stands can now fold backwards, letting you use the display in traditional upright orientation or push it down to a sixty-degree angle for easier pointing that doesn’t make you stretch your arm as much. (As Cult of Mac’s John Brownlee notes, the design looks a lot like one shown in an Apple patent.) The machine is shown here with the keyboard, but I think that nudging the display down will make most sense for uses that let you move the keyboard out of the way and interact with the PC purely through touch–to browse photos, for instance, or to listen to music.
The TouchSmarts continue to run an ambitious new version of HP’s software that was introduced last fall: With an interface customized for fingers, a desktop, and a bunch of apps, it’s the touch-centric take on Windows 7 which Microsoft probably should have built itself but never has.
The TouchSmart 610 has a 23-inch display, sports Intel Core 5 and 7 processors, and starts at $899.99; HP says it’ll be available on Wednesday. A version aimed at businesses, the TouchSmart 9300 Business PC, will pack second-generation Core processors and will have an SSD option; it’ll be available in May at a price to be announced.
Am I tempted by the TouchSmarts? Nope. For one thing, I don’t think I’ll ever buy a desktop again, even an unconventional one. For another, I’m perfectly happy with a keyboard and touchpad. Still, I’m glad to see HP put effort into the idea rather than simply slapping a touchscreen on an otherwise garden-variety computer running unmodified Windows.
One comment
Coming on Wednesday: Live Coverage of HP's Web OS Event
Those of us who think that WebOS is one of the best mobile operating systems in the business are looking forward to the WebOS event HP is holding on Wednesday, the first big bash it’s thrown since it acquired Palm last year. The company has pre-announced that it’ll announce something related to WebOS tablets, and there could be more news. (I’m still waiting for a handset that looks a bit like an iPhone but runs WebOS.)
The event is happening at the Fort Mason Center in San Francisco, and kicks off at 10am PT; I’ll be there and am looking forward to liveblogging the proceedings at technologizer.com/webos. Come hang out with me, won’t you?
One comment
HP's New Plan: No More Worthless Hype
Broken promises are part of technology’s natural cycle, but Leo Apotheker, HP’s new boss, says that’s not going to happen anymore at his company.
From now on, HP will only announce tech products that are a few weeks away from shipping, Apotheker said in an interview with the BBC. “”HP will stop making announcements for stuff it doesn’t have,” he said. “… That’s a simple management decision, I don’t need to re-engineer the tanker to do that.”
In other words, HP is taking a cue from Apple by announcing only real products instead of lofty ambitions. Apotheker even suggests as much: “I hope one day people will say ‘this is as cool as HP’, not ‘as cool as Apple’,” he said.
One comment
Rebuttal by Invite
Earlier today, Engadget posted images and details relating to HP’s upcoming WebOS tablets, including the suggestion that the devices won’t go on sale until September. Then I got an invite to HP’s February 9th WebOS event–which I thought was a tad odd given that I’d already been invited and RSVPd. But this new invite has a purpose: It says that anyone who thinks that Engadget let the cat out of the bag is wrong. Of course, it doesn’t say whether Engadget’s scoop is completely spurious, or partially so…or even largely correct but incomplete. We’ll presumably need to wait until the 9th to figure that out. I’ll liveblog the event, so you’ll learn what’s going on as soon as I do…
One comment
HP's WebOS Tablet: Think September, Not February?
Engadget’s Nilay Patel has an apparent scoop: pictures and details on HP’s plans for tablets based on its WebOS operating system. The images aren’t as exciting as the factoids–all tablets look pretty snazzy in product shots–but the most striking factoid is the apparent possibility that the tablets won’t ship until September. That seems eons away given how many other tablets are set to ship in the next few months. It’s also not the “early 2011” that HP was promising a few months ago. And if HP talks about the tablets at its Feburary 9th WebOS event, it would be preannouncing them by seven months or so. Here’s hoping we don’t have the whole story just yet–and that the whole story involves WebOS tablets showing up before the fall.
One comment
HP WebOS Tablet: Think February, Not January
The bad news is that it looks like rumors that HP would unveil its WebOS tablet (possibly called the PalmPad) at CES were wrong. The good news is that the company has scheduled a WebOS press event in San Francisco for February 9th at 10am–and it seems like a very good bet that the tablet will make its debut there. (It presumably sent out the invites today to inoculate itself against anyone being disappointed if CES comes and goes with no WebOS news.)
I’ll be at the event and will provide live coverage–more details as we get closer.