HP Spectre X360 Laptops

In India, the HP Spectre x360 14-inch and 16-inch laptops have been upgraded with new hardware. These 2-in-1 convertible laptops feature AI-enhanced capabilities, powered by Intel Core Ultra 7 processors and RTX 4050 GPUs, supported by a Neural Processing Unit (NPU) for AI workloads. Both models boast up to 2.8K OLED screens with a maximum 120Hz refresh rate and include a 9-megapixel webcam. The HP Spectre x360 16-inch starts at Rs. 1,79,999 in Nightfall Black, while the 14-inch variant begins at Rs. 1,64,999, available in Nightfall Black and Slate Blue. They run on Windows 11 Home and offer IMAX Enhanced Certification, a dynamic refresh rate from 48Hz to 120Hz, and touch inputs. The 16-inch laptop boasts the world's largest haptic touchpad for a Windows-based device. Equipped with Intel Core Ultra 7 processors and Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050 graphics, these laptops feature AI management for enhanced video editing and content creation. They also include a 9-megapixel webcam with low-light adjustment and built-in AI security features. Additionally, the audio setup is supported by Poly Studio, with Windows Studio effects enabling users to enhance camera and microphone performance with various filters and effects.

HP Z1 Workstation..

All-in-one PCs are slowly replacing the desktops, and that’s because we can’t manage to find a suitably powerful laptop to replace our aging PC. HP’s latest Z1 workstation has found its place among professional machines that have all the power needed to run even the most intensive software.

Software

HP offers Microsoft Windows 7 Professional and SUSE Linux Enterprise operating systems but obviously you can install your own OS, obviously, which is the better course to take if you don’t need all the bloatware that the company has no doubt included in the package. The Z1 is a pretty expensive workstation when configured with the Xeon and Quadro, but its base configuration (which uses a Core i3-2120 processor with integrated Intel graphics, 8 GB of RAM and one hard drive) starts at $1899.

Exterior design

The computer looks very similar to all the other AIOPCs on the market, with the display being the housing for all the hardware and a single stand holding it in one place on your table. But the 27 inch display (2560×1440 pixels resolution with white LED backlight) is covered with a sheet of glass, and the back is made out of brushed aluminum. The stand provides a wide degree of freedom – the display can be lifted up and down by 10 cm, tilted backwards and forwards by 25 degrees and folded flat for easy transportation and access to the internal components. Underneath the stand, there’s a standard VESA mount, should you need to hang the display on a wall, for example.

Internal hardware

The most interesting feature is the easy access to the internal hardware and the way it’s all built and arranged. Once you fold the computer flat, you can open the housing by lifting the display just like you would a car’s hood (with a gas spring and all). Inside everything is easily accessible and neatly arranged. HP Z1 features server-class hardware and certifications, although the cheapest configuration has consumer-level hardware, which makes it attractive to home users, as well. The top configuration, however, is a real beast: you get a Xeon E3-1280 quad core processor, 32 GB of ECC DDR3 1600 MHz memory, the NVidia Quadro 4000M graphics adapter and up to three hard drives and/or SSDs, depending on what you prefer (there are 2×2.5 inch slots and 1×3.5 inch hard drive slot). That’s a lot of processing power in there. Other hardware specs include 1 PCI-Express X16 slot, 3 miniPCIe, integrated Bluetooth and LAN, a 1080p HD webcam, Blu-Ray writer, 6 USB ports, 1 Gigabit LAN port, a 6-in-1 card reader, audio out jacks and a Display Port for the second monitor (yes, sadly it doesn’t support two extra monitors).

HP’s TouchPad Headed Back To Best Buy..?

We heard a while back that Best Buy had over 200,000 HP TouchPad’s which they were looking to return to HP, and then last week HP dropped the price of the HP TouchPad to just $99.

This lead the HP TouchPad to be sold out everywhere as people scrambled to get their hands on the $99 tablet, but what happened to all those TouchPad’s that Best Buy were sending back to HP?

It looks like they may be headed back to Best Buy, according to the guys over at Droid Matters, who have received information from Best Buy employees, and they will still go on sale for $99 when they go back into the Best Buy stores, we suspect they will sell out very quickly.

HP on webOS: It is not dead yet..

If you’ve been following the tech news you’ll know that HP has recently killed a number of smartphones, including the TouchPad, Pre and Veer, that it has only recently launched around the world. For many, that news meant that webOS was being killed too. Not so says HP, and it’s even quoted Mark Twain to prove it. “To paraphrase Mark Twain, reports about the demise of webOS have been off the mark,” HP stated over the weekend via one of its blogs.

According to HP, while it has ditched the new handsets, and started a $99 fire sale in the US for the HP TouchPad, it’s not killing off the operating system. “HP has made these tough decisions to ensure that our efforts with webOS remain tightly focused. Far from burying webOS, our goal is to ensure the platform's evolution as a robust operating system for an increasingly mobile and connected world ... we intend to enhance the platform as we explore the options for webOS in today's marketplace.”

The news will no doubt come as a surprise to many who thought that HP would be dumping the operating system, or at least trying to sell it to another manufacturer, having decided not to support the OS itself with its own hardware launches. “We will continue to support, innovate and develop the webOS App Catalog. Our intent is to enhance our merchandising and presentation of your great products and to continue to build our webOS app ecosystem,” added Richard Kerris,VP webOS Developer Relations in another blog post - this time on the company’s developers blog, apparently blind to the fact that HP has admitted poor sales of webOS devices.

“As many of you are aware, we are currently scheduled to hold many developer events around the world. We are planning to continue with these events, however, due to the recent announcements; the nature of them will change,” he added. Even though the operating system currently has no new devices planned, HP still believes it can continue to prove webOS will be a success, even though it has failed to do this so far. “Together with our great webOS developer community, we are confident that we will meet the challenges ahead and build momentum for optimal success.”

In what’s more likely to be the hard reality of the decision, Microsoft is already moving in to help webOS developers switch sides: “Kids down...webOS outreach going well. A Palm dev relations person sent me an email asking for a job. Can't wait to talk to him. #gumption,” tweeted Brandon Watson, the exec responsible for apps/developers on Microsoft’s Windows Phone, before another tweet promised. “To Any Published WebOS Devs: We'll give you what you need to be successful on #WindowsPhone, incl.free phones, dev tools, and training, etc.” HP might believe that it can continue to gather support from the third party developer community, but without devices to get people excited, and compelling offers from the other bigger mobile players, it is going to find it a struggle.

HP TouchPad comin’ in April..

HP’s webOS-powered tablet will launch this April, says DigiTimes, citing confirmation from HP’s component suppliers. The TouchPad, which will launch with webOS 3.0, will starting shipping to retailers by the end of March, andthen be ready for release some time in April.  DigiTimes also says that HP intends to sell between 4 and 5 million TouchPad units and between 45 and 48 million notebook computers and tablet PCs combined in 2011. HP is not indicating a specific date in April or pricing, but rumors speculate a $599 sticker.