HP preparing new versions of EliteBook ultraportables

Materials available from HP’s U.S. and Japanese Web sites indicate computer maker Hewlett-Packard is preparing new versions of its EliteBook ultraportable notebooks, including power-sipping versions of Intel’s Sandy Bridge processors and USB 3.0 for fast connectivity to peripherals. Although the EliteBooks have historically been oriented at business and enterprise users, they’ve also been embraced by road warriors and travelers, who value their performance-per-ounce ratio. According to information that’s come out of HP so far, the new EliteBook models - the 2560p and 2760p convertible tablet PC will feature second-generation Intel Core processors, including the Core i5-2537M and Core i7-2617M, matching processors already available in the 15-inch EliteBook model. HP’s ultraportable EliteBooks typically have 12.1-inch displays; however, material on HP’s Japanese site suggests HP might be offering a model with a 13-inch display with up to 1,440 by 900-pixel native resolution. Reports also have the new ultraportable EliteBooks offering integrated 33G connectivity as an option; the current EliteBook 3540p offers 3G service from Verizon, AT&T, or Sprint as an option in the United States.

HP announces notebook with 24 hour battery power

HP has announced the release of a laptop with outstanding battery power that can run for 24 hours at a stretch on a single battery charge. Reportedly, the notebook will be a special configuration of the 6930p, part of HP’s EliteBook line. The notebook will run on a 12-cell Ultra-Capacity additional Battery, which costs US$189.

HP EliteBook 6930p sports an Intel Core2 Duo 9000/8000, mobile 45 chipset and is only 2.1 kilogrammes in weight, including the 14.1-inch diagonal widescreen display. The box features a shock-resistant hard drive, spill-resistant keyboard and is tough enough to meet MIL-STD 810F military-standard tests of temperatures of over 60 degrees Celsius and below -29C, apparently.

However,the limitation is that the laptop has to run only on Microsoft’s Windows XP. The other windows operating system named ‘Vista‘ is not ideal for this laptop as this particular operating system contains some power-draining features.

The power saving quality of the battery is further assured by HP’s Illumi-Lite LED display instead of a atraditional LCD screen, and an Intel SSD or Solid state drive that ensures powersaving through its NAND flash memory instead of a rotating magnetic disk.The company is yet to list the price of the high-capacity battery configuration, although HP lists the current version of the 6930p as starting at $1,199 on its website.