HP has launched a new PC lineup, ranging from laptops with innovative drains, aimed at preventing ruinous keyboard spills, to enhanced versions of its TouchSmart all-in-one PCs.
At a sneak preview of the new machines in San Francisco, HP demonstrated an impressive guttering system underneath a laptop keyboard.
It means users can spill a cup of coffee, or glass of beer or whatever their spilling drink of choice is over the keyboard, and the liquid will be channelled towards a drainhole in the centre and out from the bottom of the laptop, saving it from any permanent damage and enduring stickiness.
The technology has been around since 2007, but is being introduced for the first time in the ProBook b-series, available in mid-November in the US and on October 22 elsewhere at a starting price of $799.
HP has also announced a low-cost laptop and PC going on sale on October 22 under HP’s multi-billion dollar Compaq consumer brand. The Presario CQ61z notebook has a 15.6-inch screen and six-cell battery and will start at just $309, according to an HP demonstrator (although the press release says $399!), with the Presario 4010f desktop selling for the same $309. For such low-priced machines, both were elegantly styled in an attractive piano black.
HP also revealed its new TouchSmart all-in-one PCs, with 20-inch and 23-inch models replacing the 22-inch and 25.5-inch versions, and starting at $899 and $1,049 respectively.
Windows 7 is installed and touch applications have been enhanced with the help of the new operating system. We saw demonstrations of touch-enabled applications including a Hulu internet TV window, Netflix movie rental service and Pandora internet radio.
A RecipeBox application allows cooks in the kitchen to pull in recipes onto the screen and use voice commands to work their way hands-free through the ingredients and method.
