As summer approaches, companies are starting to pull back the curtain on summer lines of new and updated products. HP followed suit with its new suite of laptops and tablets, but are there any changes of note?
Envy Of The Show
With it sponsoring the Cannes Film Festival this week, HP decided to use the platform to show off its new and updated line of laptops. The first to see an update was HP's line of Envy laptops, with the Envy 13 and Envy 17 notebooks joining the family.
The idea behind the Envy 13 is to offer a direct challenge to the Macbook Air. Essentially, it is the same sort of device, running on an Intel CPU and Windows, but works relatively the same way. It will feature a Full HD Display, 128GB SSD, Intel Core i5 and Iris graphics card, and will be available starting at $899.
The Envy 17 provides similar functionality, in a slightly larger, more powerful package. It runs on the i7 Core processor, has 16GB of RAM, a Nvidia 940MX graphics card. A nice little bonus is the touchscreen that comes with a pen for easier use. With it being a little bigger and a bit more powerful, the Envy 17 will be starting at $1,099.
The other option in the Envy line will be the Envy x 360 15.6-inch laptop. This model features a fully rotatable screen, though the heft of the laptop does counter the upside of the rotating screen. Customers will also have plenty of choices for the laptop, with either the Core i5 or i7 CPU, or AMD's A9 or A12 processors available to run it.
The available processors are the driving force behind the price difference, with the cheaper, $749 and up models using the AMD processors, and the $899 and up models using the Intel iCore processors. The other choice will come with the video cards, with the either the Intel HD or the AMD Radeon R7.
HP's Spectre
Not ones to only challenge Apple, HP also unveiled the Spectre x2. The Spectre is HP's new tablet that comes with a kickstand and detachable keyboard. This puts HP in more direct competition with Microsoft's Surface Pro, which has been established as the dominant tablet/laptop hybrid available.
The Spectre will run on a Core i7 processor and Intel Iris Plus 650 graphics cards, making it a 4K capable device. It won't be a slouch in the cost department, either, starting at $1,599 for anyone looking for a decent hybrid tablet.
