Fresh off a decision to keep its PC business, HP is joining the Ultrabook crowd with the new HP Folio. It's not the thinnest Ultrabook, but HP is claiming to offer the longest Ultrabook battery life at up to 9 hours, and also makes the ambitious claim of having built the "first business Ultrabook."
We could argue that the whole point of Ultrabooks is to create a business-friendly option for people lusting after ultra-slim laptops. While the MacBook Air is the most popular device in the category, Windows is by and large preferred over Macs in business settings, and any Ultrabook can presumably be outfitted with the Professional version of Windows 7. But HP says it is adding an extra security feature designed for mobile professionals: A "TPM [Trusted Platform Module] Embedded Security Chip that protects data in e-mail as well as information on the hard drive for security-conscious users." There is also an optional USB 2.0 dock for connecting to audio, video, and network equipment, to create a desktop-like experience.
The first HP Folio will be available December 7, starting at $899.99. However, the first Folio with the TPM chip won't come out until January and pricing for that model was not announced. Since we haven't gotten our hands on the Folio, we don't know if it improves upon the awful trackpad in the Asus Zenbook. But we can tell you the basic specs and show you some pictures provided by HP. While the Notebook Review folks took a look at a Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit model, HP said Windows 7 Professional is one of the available options.
The HP Folio, in all its front-facing glory.
The Folio has 4GB of RAM and uses Intel Core i5 processors, as well as Intel's Rapid Start Technology to get things up and running quickly. 18 millimeters thick (that's 0.71 inches) and weighing 3.3 pounds, the Folio will have a 13.3-inch "high-definition (HD) BrightView display," and HP's TrueVision HD webcam along with a backlit keyboard.
Not the thinnest machine ever, but nice and compact in the closed position.
The storage will be all solid-state disk with 128GB the only size option revealed so far. As for the trackpad, or the "imagepad" as HP calls it, gestures using 1, 2, and 3 fingers are supported. Ports include Ethernet, RJ-45 and USB 3.0.
The HP Folio will compete in a increasingly crowded market for Windows-based Ultrabooks, all of which are trying to top Apple's MacBook Air. HP quotes IDC as saying 95 million Ultrabooks will ship annually by 2015, and we recently covered IHS iSuppli research that predicts Ultrabooks will account for 43 percent of worldwide notebook PC shipments by the same year.
HP also announced redesigned HP ENVY notebooks for users who are more interested in raw power than a slim profile. With 15-inch and 17-inch models, the ENVY boasts an option for Intel quad-core chips and AMD Mobility Radeon high-def graphics processors. The ENVYs will hit the market in the US on Dec. 7 with prices ranging from $1,099 to $1,599. Here's a look at the 17-inch machine, which can handle a 128GB SSD along with up to two 1TB hard drives, with battery life up to 9.5 hours.
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