David Flynn15 September 2009, 11:44 PM
This looks like the closest any Windows notebook has come to emulating the design aesthetic of Apple’s MacBook Pro line, but we're not so sure about the lack of DVD drives...
HP’s latest luxe laptops are well-named – what PC manufacturer wouldn’t be at least
slightly envious of Apple’s critical and commercial success with the MacBook Pro?
The Envy 13 and Envy 15, which made their debut overnight at HP’s Spring 2009 laptop launch in Singapore, go some distance towards closing that gap in the Windows vs Mac market.
Their shared DNA retains some unmistakably HP touches but with fresh sharp lines and exteriors cast from aluminium and magnesium, with callout elements decorated with a laser-etched metal design.
HP has also adopted Apple’s no-button trackpad in the form of its new ‘Clickpad’, which also supports multi-touch gestures.
However, unlike their Apple counterparts, both the Envy 13 and Envy 15 come without an optical drive. HP will offer an optional external DVD drive as a common accessory for both models.
Inside both notebooks are ATI Mobility Radeon HD graphics which automatically toggle over to Intel’s integrated graphics when the laptop is running on battery power (although users can of course flick the switch back to the ATI silicon for intensive if battery-sapping performance). No rebooting is needed for the transition to take place.
The inch-thin Envy 13 runs on Intel’s 1.86GHz Core 2 Duo SL9400 processor backed by 3GB of RAM and will ship with Windows 7 Home Premium. A ‘Slim Fit Extended Life Battery’ slice can be fitted for up to 18 hours on the go, assuming the Envy 13 is already running the optional six-cell battery in place of the factory-fitted four-cell module.
The super-bright display is rated at 410 nits, which HP claims is “twice as bright as other notebook displays in its class”.
The Envy 15 will pack Intel’s first quad-core Core i7 mobile processor, the 1.6GHz Core i7-720QM, partnered to 4GB of RAM, although the four memory slots allow expansion to a ceiling of 16GB if you’re really hardcore. The ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4830 fires through 1GB of dedicated memory.
There’s also – and we’re
not kidding about this – a ‘nightvision’ webcam which HP says is “optimised for low-light or zero-light conditions”, assisted by an infrared LED.
The twin storage bays can be fitted with solid-state drives in a RAID-0 configuration
So when do we see these and how much will they cost? HP’s local reps tell us that “details on which of the new products will be available in Australia, as well as local pricing and specifications, will be announced in mid-October”. This means we might not even see both the Envy 13 and Envy 15.
But for what it’s worth, the duo is slated for US release on October 18 with a starting price of US$1,699 for the Envy 13 and US$1,799 for the Envy 15.