HP might not be done with the Envy line. The Envy 13 and Envy 15 might get a sibiling if an entry in an HP support document is to be believed. Sitting right along side current models are two entries that are clearly labeled Envy 14. Hmmm.

You may have seen a young man named Michael Arrington bemoaning the current state of touch technology on these very pages. While I tend to agree on the aggregate, I saw HP’s new touch line last week and came away impressed, at least in the quality of the interface HP built around the TouchSmart 300 and 600, 20 and 23-inch all-in-ones with touchscreens. Sony also dumped out some touchscreen Vaios in an event so-over-the-top that Mischa Barton was there (seriously!). OEMs are going touch-crazy.
But why now? Why touch?
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Hewlett Packard refreshed their TouchSmart line of computers today. If you’re not familiar with these, imagine an iMac all in one computer that has a touch screen, and you’re most of the way there.
I really like the TouchSmart line, and use a second generation machine as my main Windows test computer. The touch interface is done via infrared, which is a very cost effective way of creating a touch interface on a large screen. Microsoft, in fact, uses it in their experimental TouchWall product that can make a touch screen of virtually any size wall (more TouchWall footage).
Overall I give the TouchScmart top marks – the only drawback is that it is inexplicably heavy at something like 60 lbs., and no one seems to know why. But since it sits on your desk, it’s not like you’re lifting it very often, so it doesn’t really matter.
But the machine is still all wrong. Anyone who has used one for a long time will tell you that they quickly revert to using the keyboard and mouse. And it isn’t because of the software or touch technology – both are fine.
The HP Envy 15 Beats Edition is noice. Look at that beast. You have to respect the matte black on black styling. Apple fanboys can’t say anything about this edition of the HP Envy looking like their MBPs. The Beats Edition looks better. Too bad it suffers from all the downfalls found in the Envy series and carries a $500 premium. At least it comes with the Beats headphones. Read More
Comparisons have been made by the nattering nabobs of Appleism that the HP Envy 13 is just a knock-off of the Macbook Pro 13-inch. This is the cowards way out and I shan’t stand for it. I will look at HP’s latest notebook – don’t call it a netbook! – as a harbinger of things to come.
The Envy 13 reflects a few trends in Windows hardware. First, consumers are realizing that notebooks are garbage. They are willing to pay a premium for a more powerful computer in a sexier case. Second, Windows 7 is here and it’s ready to kick posterior and jot down identifying information.
The model we tested was running Windows 7 Professional and had an Intel Core Duo 2 L9600 processor running at 2.13 GHz. It also had 3GB of 1067 Mhz memory. Its GeekBench score was 2375. To put this into perspective, this ToughBook scored 1893 and something like the MSI Wind it 837. This is, needless to say, a full-bodied machine. Battery life hit about 3 hours of movie watching.
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Like many of you, my knowledge of Greenpeace begins and ends with that one Seinfeld episode, the one where the NBC executive, so in love with Elaine, freaks out and joins the organization in order to impress her. That is to say I don’t really understand the “point” of the organization, or who appointed it the protector of the environment. But, it is, somehow, so let’s roll with it. Good news for HP and Apple: Greenpeace hates you two a little bit less today! Break out the champagne!
HP’s printer division, long a cash cow, is being folded into its PC division after sales of printers and ink fell this year. Most companies broke out their printer divisions once they realized they could make a lot of money there but now that HP is beating Dell, the company may see a good reason to bring printers and PCs together.
We’ll have more on this little gem this week but I present to you the HP Envy 13, the first netbook notebook (HP is citing the heavy-duty Core 2 Duo processor in there) I’d actually consider buying. It hit 2813 on Geekbench, lasted about three hours on one charge, and is smaller and lighter than a MacBook. Best of all it runs Windows 7 Professional like a champ and has HP’s instant-on technology for quick media and communications applications. Hot, hot stuff. Click through for a gallery and expect a review on Friday.
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Last week I saw some coverage of this new HP device called the DreamScreen. And more than a couple of blogs were comparing it to the elusive Apple Tablet. Given my extreme interest in this space, I thought I should get this new DreamScreen in my hands as soon as possible and see if HP had indeed beaten Apple (and us) to the punch in delivering the first high quality tablet computing experience to consumers.
The press: “Want a hint at how the much-anticipated Apple Tablet might be shaping up? Take a look at the HP DreamScreen,” said one of those blogs, adding “this certainly looks like what we’re expecting from the Apple Tablet.” Another site: “Hewlett Packard has beaten Apple to the punch in coming up with a beautiful tablet-like computer.” Engadget called it “something special.”
The reality: I can’t repeat here what I wrote on Twitter because of the sensitive nature of the TechCrunch audience, but I will say this. The HP DreamScreen is possibly the biggest piece of crap to ever grace my desk. Which is saying something.

If you follow the Dutch design scene as closely as I do, you’ll be thrilled to hear that the one and only Studio Tord Boontje has created “the industry’s first three-dimensional PC surface technology” and worked it into HP’s Mini 110 netbook line.
The unannounced HP Envy 13 and 15 popped up today on a couple of foreign sites just as Rahul Sood, Voodoo founder, Twittered about something new coming. Let’s just assume that the HP Envy 13 and 15 is what he’s talking about. They seem like solid performing notebooks, but what’s the Envy naming doing there?
HP’s high performance line, Voodoo, also uses the Envy product name for its mobile computers but this notebook isn’t branded a Voodoo product. So what the hell is going on here? Has HP changed its product focus and showing the Voodoo brand the door? Or is the HP Envy 13 the first product in a line that will take cues from Voodoo products? It could be both. Read More
Convergence. That’s the word that comes to mind when I watch the fancy demonstration of the HP Photosmart Premium TouchSmart web printer. We’ve all seen the all-in-one PC design, a la the iMac, but how often do we see a printer and a computer in one package? HP is bundling a teeny little touch-interface computer with their latest set of printers, allowing you to access stuff from the Internet without using your PC at all! Some of the examples don’t seem particularly useful: I don’t think I’m likely to go to my printer when I want to buy movie tickets, for example, but letting kids print out their own coloring books seems like a pretty good idea to me. And printing Google Maps will be helpful for those Luddite friends of mine who don’t have GPS units.
Just as I thought. The 2nd generation Vivienne Tam netbook is just atherno netbook with a pretty graphic printed on its lid. That’s it. Maybe it’s the testosterone speaking, but who the hell cares? Sure, it’s nice looking and I can appreacate the artwork, but I’m thinking that few, if any, chicks will be willing to shell out for $699 for a netbook that features an Atom CPU, 10-inch screen, and the rest of the standard netbook specs that would normally run $300. Lame.

Kodak: We’re the cheapest cost-per-page photo printers on the market! Look, here’s a whole bunch of independent research proving it! Nya-nya!
Hewlett-Packard: NUH-UH! You’re a big fat liar, Kodak! We’re the cheapest cost-per-page.
Kodak: Pfffft!
Hewlett-Packard: Stop it! I’m telling! Hey CrunchGear! Kodak is being mean!!
CrunchGear: What? Huh? Don’t make me stop this car!
Full disclosure: Hewlett Packard’s PR team asked us to compare the HP C6380 against the Kodak ESP 7 with the intent of showing HP’s superior quality, in addition to evaluating the cost-per-page comparison. No gifts or money were given to me. I didn’t get to keep the printers, only the photos I printed out.
Take a guess what’s in that shipping box from HP. A few notebooks? Maybe a large, multifunction printer. Or it could be a production quality CRT monitor. All those are possible because, well, the box is huge and it’s on a shipping pallet, but they are also all wrong. This is crazy. Read More
HP announced the Mini 5101 back in late June and we just got one into the ‘Gear office for review. As John noted back when it was announced, the 5101 isn’t a netbook and it’s fallen into the relatively new category of ultralights. I really liked the Mini 1000 and 2140, but the 5101 might be my new favorite.
Here’s a quick rundown of the specs for the review unit we were sent: