What’s the longest you’ve ever gone without plugging in your laptop? 6 hours? 8? 10? Long battery life is at the top of almost every mobile tech user’s wish list. The more mobile you are, the less you want to worry about A/C adapters and finding an outlet.

While most people are happy with “all-day” power — which means a battery that can last around 7 continuous hours — what if you could go a whole 32 hours without having to plug in?

Today and tomorrow I’m taking part in HP’s 32 hour battery challenge. The company provided me with an HP EliteBook 8640p and an extra battery pack to see me through the next day and a half. Can this laptop really last this long?

Given the size of the extended battery, I truly hope so. Normally I go for ultraportables that prioritize light weight and skinny profiles. But it’s rare for a notebook like that to last more than 8 or 9 hours. If this kind of robust battery life is your number one priority, you’re going to have to deal with bulk.

At least you can ditch the weight of the power brick.

Aside from the battery itself, I’m running on the HP Optimized power settings which has the screen brightness just under 40% and a slew of other tweaks from the Windows 7 norm. None of these settings compromise my experience with Windows. I still have Aero glass and such. If you have to cut an operating system down to bare bones to save battery, someone is doing something wrong.

Currently I’m in the midst of hour 2 and my battery is only down to 93%. I’ll update you on my progress through today and tomorrow. You can also follow me on Twitter @ktbradford and everyone else involved in the challenge at the hashtag #HP32Hrs.

HP 32 Hour Battery Challenge – How Long Can This EliteBook Last? is a post by K. T. Bradford from Notebooks.com.

The $899 HP Folio 13 is not the thinnest or lightest ultrabook on the market, and it stands as proof that what makes a good ultrabook isn’t razor sharp edges or the ability to float away like a feather. Instead it’s about the balance between power and portability, design and function.

HP did so many things right with the Folio — it looks good, performs well, has great speakers, and lasts all day on a charge — that the one misstep stands out and nearly derails the whole thing. We’ve been here before with the troublesome clickpads. Things have gotten better, but still not good enough.

The central question for potential buyers is whether a sub-par touchpad is enough to put them off the entire laptop?

HP Folio 13 Video Review

Watch our video review below for the highlights of the HP Folio including speedy performance and a demo of the clickpad.

Who is the HP Folio 13 for?

HP is selling this ultrabook on both the consumer and enterprise sides, positioning it as a great choice whether you’re using it for work or everyday computing. Mobile workers who want thin and light and don’t need a workhorse or heavy duty machine won’t be disappointed with the Folio’s overall performance. Mainstream consumers who value portability and need a decently powerful laptop should also take a look. Students in particular.

Design

The Folio 13 isn’t a big departure style-wise from HP’s other business laptops, and that’s a good thing. We’re fans of the ProBook look, so seeing it slimmed down is great.

Brushed aluminum graces the lid and deck, minimizing the appearance of fingerprints. The bottom and rounded edges are plastic with a soft-touch coating that makes the notebook comfortable to carry with the side benefit of looking good.

HP kept the color scheme simple as well; the silver color contrasts with the black keyboard, touchpad and bottom panel to create an elegant, minimal look.

Pressing down on the lid or the wrist rest betrays a slight flex despite the aluminum. I also noticed it a bit when carrying the ultrabook by the corner. It doesn’t flex as much as the Toshiba Portege z835 and doesn’t feel un-sturdy.

When you pick this laptop up you know right away that it’s an ultrabook thanks to the 3.3 pound weight and 0.7-inch thickness. It’s not as light as the Portege z835 (2.5 pounds) or as thin as the Lenovo IdeaPad U300s (0.6-inches, 3 pounds) so it comes off more as a “mere” ultraportable, but that’s no cause for complaint. It’s still light enough to carry all day without straining your back.

Skimping on ports won’t do for a business machine. The Folio 13 has two USB ports (2.0 and 3.0), an SD card slot, and full HDMI and Ethernet ports plus a combo headphone/mic jack. I’d appreciate at least one more USB port as on the Portege z835 since this is a 13-inch system. VGA ports feel less necessary, especially with ultraportables. However, it’s worth noting that the Portege has one of those as well.

Screws on the bottom are all accessible, so users will be able to open the Folio up to replace components. There’s no removable battery, just like all the other ultrabooks we’ve seen so far.

Keyboard and Touchpad

The spill-resistant island-style keyboard is standard HP. Space between the wide keys is ample. There’s no dip at the center, which helps with accuracy, though the tops have a slight matte coating that compensates. Tactile feedback isn’t strong, but neither are the keys mushy or weak.

The white backlight illuminates and outlines each key isn’t as strong or bright as I’d like — the MacBook Air’s backlight is about what I expect — but is welcome, especially on a business laptop.

It appears that HP is not giving up on the clickpad, at least not for their premium laptops. The one on the Folio isn’t as troublesome as clickpads of the past, but it’s still not as easy to use as the MacBook Air’s.

Most basic usage is fine, though when I needed very fine accuracy the clickpad couldn’t deliver. It took some tweaking to get the palm check to the right sensitivity to keep my cursor from jumping around as I typed.

The left and right clickable areas are a little stiff and did not improve with use.

The clickpad’s multitouch capabilities are a mixed blessing. Resting one finger in the area where the left mouse button would be sometimes causes the pointer to get confused or to activate multitouch gestures. As I got used to the clickpad this happened less, but it made my first few days very frustrating.

Pinch to zoom is almost useless with the default settings as the slightest movement will zoom in or out at least 10 levels, which isn’t what people usually want to do. After I adjusted the sensitivity in Mouse settings and rebooted it didn’t escalate the zoom so quickly but never got smooth.

Two-finger scrolling is the only exception to the multitouch issues — this worked well each time I used it.

Display

The Folio’s 13.3-inch, 1366 x 768 glossy display offers nice, deep colors if you’re sitting in the sweet spot. The viewing angles are narrower here than I like, especially the vertical ones.

If the display is tilted too far forward you get blown-out brights and not enough color depth. Pushing it back all the way gives the best result, but this isn’t very useful for cramped quarters, such as an airplane tray table.

Horizontal angles aren’t too terrible if you’ve got the display at the right vertical angle, but this means sharing the screen with more than one person only works out if everyone is on the same level.

Due to the glossy coating the screen is very reflective, so you won’t want to take this ultrabook out in the sun or sit directly under bright fluorescents.

Features

HP is selling the Folio 13 through their consumer and business channels. The only differences on the business side are the addition of a TPM 2.1 security chip, which protects personal data on the system, and Windows 7 Professional 64-bit instead of Home Premium. This model costs $999.

Both consumer and business users will appreciate the HD webcam. In good lighting it captures crisp, detailed pictures. In low light the quality goes down fast. Even under less than perfect conditions you won’t get much blur and colors are accurate enough.

The thin speaker bar at the top of the dock produces surprisingly well-rounded audio. It’s one of the best speakers I’ve heard on a system this thin and trumps several normal-sized laptops I’ve listened to as well.

Multimedia fans will appreciate the inclusion of Intel’s Wireless Display (WiDi) technology. Coupled with a receiver (sold separately for $99) users can broadcast their screens to an HDTV.

Performance and Graphics

Due to their ultra thin design, ultrabooks all run on ultra low voltage processors. This means that the chips inside are the same as you’ll find in regular laptops but with lower speeds to cut down on heat. This also cuts into performance somewhat. The trick is finding a balance between acceptable performance and heat.

The Folio 13’s 1.6-GHz Intel Core i5-2467M CPU, 4GB of RAM and 128GB SSD achieve this balance well. The ultrabook handled productivity tasks as easily as multimedia-focused ones.

The notebook zipped through a batch process on a group of 10 hi-res images using Photoshop Elements and a 500 contact mail merge in LibreOffice. At one point I had over 30 tabs open across Chrome and Firefox and saw no signs of choking.

Thanks to the SSD, boot times averaged 24 seconds. The Folio took just 3 – 4 seconds to resume from sleep.

Though you can do some light video editing on this system in decent time, I wouldn’t recommend it for anything heavy-duty, especially given the GPU.

Intel’s integrated graphics aren’t good enough for serious gaming either, but casual and Flash-based games ran well. HD video content played smoothly at full screen and I saw no errant pixilation during transitions between light and dark scenes or hitches during moments of languid motion.

The Folio got noticeably hot during multimedia playback and times of intense productivity. Most noticeable on the bottom, the temperature didn’t get hot enough to harm, but was uncomfortable on my lap.

The bottom line is that the Folio’s performance is good enough that it can serve as your primary laptop, not just a more portable companion, as long as your needs don’t include heavy duty multimedia creation or gaming.

Battery Life

On the LAPTOP Magazine Battery Test, which involves constant surfing over Wi-Fi with the screen at 40% brightness, the HP Folio lasted 8 hours and 2 minutes. That’s longer than the Lenovo IdeaPad U300s (6:18) and the Toshiba Portege z835 (5:56) on the same test. In my time with the Folio I’ve been able to use it for 5 to around 6 and a half hours with the brightness at 60 – 90% while multitasking. So you should get all day use out of it even without having to pull out all the battery-saving stops.

The Bottom Line

The HP Folio 13 is one of the best ultrabooks we’ve seen so far in terms of performance, battery life, and design. I would recommend it without hesitation if it didn’t have that dodgy touchpad. And that’s a hard flaw to ignore considering it’s one of the most important elements of a laptop.

At $899 it’s only $50 more than the Toshiba Portege z835. While that system is thinner and lighter it can’t compete on performance. The Lenovo IdeaPad U300s has a more powerful CPU but costs almost twice as much and has fewer ports. The Folio manages to hit a nice goldilocks zone.

If this ultrabook has everything else you want it just might be worth dealing with an external mouse to get all the other benefits. The clickpad’s sensitivity settings are tweakable, and it’s possible that there’s a way to make it less frustrating to use.

HP Folio 13 Gallery

HP Folio 13 Specs

HP Folio 13 Review – This Ultrabook Means Business is a post by K. T. Bradford from Notebooks.com.

The HP Folio is in the house! We’ve been excited about this business-focused ultraportable since we got a first glimpse last year and went hands-on at CES. The enterprise version (with TPM) is $999, but the configuration available to consumers costs just $899. The specs are all still here including a Core i5 processor, 128GB SSD, and even the backlit keys.

When I first saw the Folio I remarked that it fits right in with HP’s ProBook line, just thinner. That’s exactly the impression I have now, all the more impressive given some of the other ultrabooks I’ve seen lately.

The thin profile and light weight are wonderful for someone as mobile as I am, but unlike other ultrabooks I don’t feel like the Folio is out to impress me just with how thin it is. There’s no taper to a razor thin edge, just a curve that makes the notebook comfortable to carry. The Folio isn’t afraid to be the thickness it is from front to back, and the reward for consumers is a full range of ports.

You get 2 USB ports (2.0 and 3.0), an SD card slot, HDMI, Ethernet, and a combo headphone/mic. I’d like to see ultrabooks at least try for a third USB port, but otherwise this is acceptable.

So far I’m impressed with the performance, though I haven’t heavily taxed the system yet. In editing the pictures for this post the Folio took a noticeable second to crop or resize, but not enough of a lag that I got impatient.

The glossy display offers pretty rich colors, but only within a specific rage. Lighter colors looked blown out at more acute angles. I have to push the display back as far as it will go to get the depth I expect. And, of course, the glossiness can be an issue.

The keyboard is decent, though I am less and less willing to give flat keys a pass the more I use them. The keys have a faint matte coating that helps with accuracy but feels odd as my nails make contact.

The wide clickpad is this ultrabook’s Achilles heel. It does all right when doing basic mouse stuff, but as soon as you bring a second finger in — say when you want to click and drag or just rest the finger on the left mouse button area — the touchpad gets all confused and jumpy. Two-finger scrolling is satisfactory so far, but other multi-touch gestures aren’t smooth at all.

I know I’ll be calling on my friend the external mouse to get through this review.

Check out the gallery below for new pics. I’ll have the review up soon. In the meantime, what do you want to know about the HP Folio?

HP Folio Review: First Impressions of the First Business Ultrabook is a post by K. T. Bradford from Notebooks.com.

It’s no secret that we’re fans of Lenovo’s ThinkPad X1, a sweet business ultraportable introduced last year that combined style with enterprise chops. It made out Best of 2011 list, after all.

Not content to rest on their laurels, Lenovo’s engineers looked at the X1 and thought: “This could be a little more sonic.” They set out to make the X1 more versatile and to up its battery life (the notebook’s one weakness), and the result is the ThinkPad X1 Hybrid.

The hybrid aspect does not represent better mileage, but a notebook that has a dual personality. The Windows operating system shares the chassis with something the company has dubbed Instant Media Mode (IMM), which runs off of a separate processor and has a separate Linux-based operating system.

If this sounds familiar, it is reminiscent of the dual-boot experiements of the past that involved an unholy union between Android and Windows or even notebooks with an instant-on environment that boots quickly and allows basic access to the web, email, etc. The X1 Hybrid is different to those in that users can switch back and forth between Windows and IMM at will, no having to reboot to get back to the energy-saving OS.

As mentioned, the IMM is Linux-based, though once I started to play around with the OS it became clear that it’s heavily based on Android. A look at the now-familiar launcher is the first clue. Lenovo even says that when in Instant Media Mode “the laptop operates much like a smart phone, remaining turned on and requiring fewer charging sessions.”

Lenovo X1 Hybrid Video Tour

IMM runs on a dual-core 1.2-GHz Qualcomm 8060 processor, 1GB of RAM and 16GB of storage, so it’s about as powerful as a Honeycomb tablet. There are apps for media, web, and working on documents. When I saw an early version there wasn’t any communication between the two operating systems similar to the U1 Hybrid tablet (that broke my heart by never coming to America…), which shared some files and browser sessions.

In this mode, Lenovo claims that the X1 Hybrid will get 10 hours of battery life. That’s quite a feat for a 13.3-inch laptop.

This ThinkPad will come with a variety of configuration options that emphasize power and business acumen: Second generation Intel Core i3, i5 and i7 processors, quadruple the graphics capabilities of previous 13-inchers, choice of hard drive, combo hard drive/SSD, or just SSD for storage, USB 3.0, an HD webcam, Rapid Charge, WiDi, a backlit, spill-resistant keyboard and more.

Measuring 13.3 x 9.1 x 0.84 inches and weighing 3.73 pounds, the X1 Hybrid remains light and slim. The extra slice battery will be available on this model.

The company is not only aiming the notebook at the SMB crowd, but also larger corporations (with some features IT managers will appreciate like hard drive encryption and remote management), and even consumers looking for a durable notebook that isn’t too hard on the eyes.

Lenovo X1 Hybrid: Behind the Design

The ThinkPad X1 Hybrid will be available in the second quarter and pricing starts at $1,599. It’s steep, yes, but this is the flagship ThinkPad, so it’s not surprising. We’ll have a chance to go hands-on with the X1 Hybrid at CES next week, so keep an eye on the blog for more pictures and video.

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Hybrid Combines Two Operating Systems in One Notebook is a post by K. T. Bradford from Notebooks.com.

Week 4 of NaNoWriMo is about to begin. The home stretch is upon some of us, while others of us are still behind… Anyway, at this point you’re probably either happy with your primary writing computer or are hating it for not being what you need.

Maybe your laptop is too heavy to carry around or too slow to deal with a huge novel file or all the tabs you keep open in Firefox. Is that netbook screen proving too tiny for comfortable editing? That keyboard too shitty for words?

I feel your pain. Trying to find the right computer for writing has consumed much of my writing life. Ever since I started reviewing laptops I’ve become aware of the vast choices available and been exposed to some of the best and most heinous machines in existence.

There is a good laptop for every need. Below are some of my recent favorites. If you don’t see one that fits your needs, let me know what you’re looking for in the comments. You should also check out our Notebook Gift Guide for more favorites.

Ultraportables

These very thin and light laptops fall into two basic categories: affordable ultraportables that don’t cost much and make good companion laptops and traditional ultraportables that are powerful enough to be your only computer and have hefty price tags.

Having a laptop dedicated to just writing is nice, and for that I look to the affordable models. However, if you need a new notebook and have the budget, why not go for one you can carry around everywhere on top of everything else?

HP Pavilion dm1

My top affordable ultraportable right now is the dm1. It has an AMD Fusion processor inside, which means that it performs better than a netbook but won’t be happy with too many heavy duty tasks.

The 11.6 inch display is big enough to fit a good amount of text on screen so both writing and editing will be comfortable. It weighs 3.3 pounds, which is just light enough to carry around all day if you pack light. It’ll last you that long as well.

One nice bonus is the inclusion of Beats Audio, so when you fire up the playlist your music will sound rich, full, and motivating.

Starts at $399 at HP.com.

Ultrabooks

Recently the Windows PC world has decided to join Apple in making super slim and light laptops called Ultrabooks. Right now we’re really liking the Toshiba Portege z835 and the Lenovo IdeaPad U300s. Both are very light and thin, weighing a little more or a little less than a netbook, depending on the configuration, but both bearing 13.3-inch displays.

The Portege has an ultra low voltage Intel Core i5 processor inside, which can handle mainstream tasks easily. If you do something very resource-intensive like edit videos or rock Photoshop for more than just cropping and minor adjustments, then you may be more comfortable with the IdeaPad and the Core i7 CPU inside. But for normal use, the Portege should be plenty of oomph.

Another hallmark of ultrabooks is long battery life. The Toshiba claims 9 hours, the Lenovo 8. We’re still testing them, but it’s been my experience that you can shave about 2 hours off the claimed battery life to calculate what you’d get under normal usage.

Both have comfortable keyboards, but the Portege has an extra that may appeal to those who don’t touch type: backlit keys.

The Toshiba Portege z835 is available for $799 at Best Buy, which is a good price for something this thin and speedy. The Lenovo IdeaPad U300s is hovering around $1,000 – $1,200 right now, but will likely come down as the holiday season gets in full swing.

Samsung Series 9

If a 13.3 inch screen is too big for you, check out this sleek little guy from Samsung. The 11.6-inch Series 9 comes with a Core i3 processor and either a 64GB or 128GB SSD. This ensures you’ll get speedy performance, though if you’re a heavy multitasker it may not be quite powerful enough for your needs.

The Series 9 is made from a strong metal called duralumin that is sturdy but light. The keyboard offers decent tactile feedback and the touchpad won’t get in your way. Due to the size you won’t get a lot of ports. You will get a nice 5 hours of battery life.

This sweet number costs quite a bit of money. However, it comes with a 3 year warranty out of the box, so it’ll be with you that long, at least. If you like the look but need more power, there’s a 13-inch version with better specs.

$1,049 and up at Samsung.com.

Business Notebooks

Don’t skip over this section just because you’re not a corporate type. So-called business laptops are often better for consumers than the stuff you’ll find on the shelf at Best Buy. They’re sturdy, have good keyboards and touchpads, come with a ton of ports, give you robust security options out of the box, and often have useful pre-loaded software.

Lenovo ThinkPad X1

If there’s one thing writers should know about Lenovo’s business laptops it’s that they have the best keyboards around. Even though it looks different from the Lenovo keyboards of old, the new style found on the ThinkPad X1 is just as easy and comfortable to type on as it is attractive. It offers strong tactile feedback, good travel, and just enough dip in the center to keep fingers on the right keys.

The X1 isn’t quite an ultraportable as it weighs 3.8 pounds. Not too heavy, but not super light. It’s also pretty thin, measuring just 0.8 inches thick.

Performance-wise, this is a workhorse machine that can handle Scrivener, MS Office, Firefox, iTunes, and way more without breaking a sweat. Well, not heavy duty games, but you’re here to write, not play WOW.

The only downside to this notebook is a short battery life: around 4 hours of real life usage. You can get an optional battery slice for $150 that will make it last twice as long. However, it adds weight and thickness.

Configurable at Lenovo.com, the ThinkPad X1 starts at $1,199.

HP Probook 5330m

HP has produced some really worthwhile business laptops lately. The ProBook 5330m looks pretty slick for a corporate type thanks to the brushed aluminum casing.

The backlit keyboard is really comfortable to type on and even has a trackpoint, so you can manipulate the mouse without having to move your hands from the keyboard. Inside you’ve got guts powerful enough for mainstream tasks and even some heavy duty stuff.

If you’re concerned about security, this laptop has some heavy-duty options for you. You can register your face for facial login, any of your fingers for one-swipe login, plus add a password. On top of that, you can set it so that not only do you need one or more of these logins, but also a registered Bluetooth device nearby, such as a phone.

It starts at $799 at HP.com.

Mainstream Notebook

Sony VAIO SE

This is another laptop that isn’t an ultraportable, but is designed with portability in mind. It has a 15-inch screen but doesn’t have a 15-inch bulk. For a laptop with this size screen it’s very thin and light, measuring just under an inch thick and weighing 4.4 pounds, making it reasonably mobile.

The screen is not only big, it also has a full HD resolution (1920 x 1080), so you can fit a lot of text on one screen or keep all the different little windows and panels in Scrivener open and still have enough room for your text. It’s also useful for looking at two different windows side by side.

The keyboard is comfortable, though doesn’t have the really strong tactile feedback of a Lenovo. Inside there’s a processor powerful to handle everything up to light video and photo editing and heavy multitasking.

Since it’s such a big system, it probably won’t last more than 5 hours on a charge. However, you can pick up a battery slice that covers and integrates with the bottom of the notebook. This adds some thickness and raises the entire notebook to 5.8 pounds. It’ll get you to 9 hours, though.

It starts at $999 at the Sony store.

MacBooks

You may have noticed a distinct lack of MacBook in any of the categories above. That’s because they deserve their own section.

Many writers swear by their MacBooks and say they can’t write without them. If you’re contemplating a new one or making the switch over from the PC, which should you pick?

MacBook Pro

Don’t be fooled by the “Pro” in the name. The 13-inch model is a pretty basic mainstream laptop at this point, though it is plenty powerful enough for most people.

Thanks to the aluminum casing it’s heavy enough that you will notice it if you carry it around a lot. But it’s not so heavy as to be prohibitive.

The flat keys are well-spaced but don’t dip enough for my tastes. Still, they have a snappy return. And the touchpad is one of the best I’ve ever used, hands-down.

If portability isn’t a concern and you just want a solid, powerful laptop, consider the 15-inch model. Again, because it’s all aluminum it’s going to be on the heavy side. But you’ll get a good keyboard, and nice big screen for editing and writing, and good performance for all your other tasks.

Starts at $1,199 at Apple.com.

MacBook Air

If portability is your main concern then you’re probably eying the MacBook Air. It is wonderfully thin and light and has the same good keyboard and excellent touchpad as the Pro line. You won’t get very many ports, but you will get most of the important ones.

The 11.6-inch model makes a good, but expensive, companion computer. It’s not going to deliver stunning performance, but it’s more powerful than a netbook or even an affordable ultraportable.

The 13.3-inch model is good enough to be a primary computer as it has a good processor and at least a 128GB SSD inside.

You’re going to pay for that power, though. It’s a Mac, so you knew that.

Starts at $999 at Apple.com.

These suggestions represent some of my favorite computers, but I’d love to hear what computers my fellow NaNoWriMo writers are using to get their daily wordcount. Tell us what you love or hate about your computer. What’s your ideal writing machine?

Looking for more tech suggestions for writers? Check out the NaNoWriMo tag over on GottaBeMobile.

NaNoWriMo: Best Notebooks For Writers is a post by K. T. Bradford from Notebooks.com.

Today HP announced their new ultrabook for business, the HP Folio. Looking very much like the ProBook line of laptops but thinner, the HP Folio boasts a 9 hour battery life, a 0.71-inch thin profile, and a beautiful 13.3-inch BrightView display. And, of course, all the hardware inside you’d expect from an enterprise machine.

With every company and their mother getting into the ultrabook business, you’d think it would be hard for laptops to stand out. However, the HP Folio distinguishes itself in several ways.

To start, there are plenty of ports to be had: full size Ethernet, HDMI, SD card slot, and USB 3.0. Being an ultrabook, it’s not surprising to see a speedy 128GB SSD inside. The backlit keyboard is definitely a nice touch, especially on a system as thin as this.

One of the things that struck me about the Folio when I first saw it was how light it felt for something this size. The 3.3 pound weight is a bit above a few other 13-inch ultrabooks we’ve seen, but that’s still very light. Slip this in your briefcase and you’ll hardly feel it.

As I said, the Folio looks very much like HP’s ProBooks, just sleeker. The keyboard had a nice, springy feel and good tactile feedback. We’re faced again with an HP clickpad, but the company’s recent efforts have been decent at least and sometimes surprisingly good.

I didn’t get a chance to see the notebook in action, but given that customers will have a choice between Intel’s second gen Core i processors, you can make it as powerful or as power-saving as you choose.

The HP Folio will go on sale December 7th with prices starting at $899 — a sweet price for a laptop this thin and powerful. It’ll be interesting to see how it stacks up against the Toshiba Portege z830.

New HP Folio Enterprise Ultrabook Coming December 7th for $899 is a post by K. T. Bradford from Notebooks.com.

Though HP’s ProBooks and EliteBooks dominate the company’s business line, they also sometimes recast consumer notebooks for the enterprise set. The latest release is the HP 3115m, which is essentially the HP Pavilion dm1. The only major difference is that the 3115m has fewer configuration options. It’ll start at $429 and is available on November 11.

The HP 3115m’s only processor option is the AMD Fusion E450 APU, which is the more powerful of the two offered for the dm1. Businesses will get a choice between a 320GB or 500GB hard drive or 128GB or 160GB solid state drive. 4GB of RAM comes standard, but the notebook can handle up to 8GB. In addition to Windows 7 Professional, the FreeDOS OS is available.

Otherwise, it has the same size, design, screen and port spread as the dm1. That’s a good thing, since the refreshed dm1 is a pretty sweet machine. HP also claims it’ll last 11.5 hours on a charge, which will get most people through the day and then some. Sounds like it would be a sweet laptop to give your mobile workers and road warriors.

HP 3115m Notebook is the Pavilion dm1 in Business Clothes is a post by K. T. Bradford from Notebooks.com.

HP is adding Dual and Quad Core AMD Fusion A Series processor options to several business notebooks including the affordable HP ProBook S notebooks and the HP Probook B series notebooks.

These new processor options allow HP to deliver a low-cost notebook that delivers a very capable processor, GPU and many of the durability and security features that businesses require.

HP ProBook B Hands On Video

HP ProBook S and B Quick Specs

The new HP ProBook models biggest difference from the previously announced ProBook s and ProBook b business notebooks is the use of the new AMD Fusion A series processors. The various ProBook models will include options for dual core and Quad Core AMD Fusion A series processors to deliver a range of price and power combinations.

The HP ProBook B series will come with the option of a 2.1GHz Dual Core AMD A4 processor, a 1.6GHZ Quad Core A6 processor or the 1.8GHz Quad Core A8 AMD Fusion processor. The HP ProBook S series will have these same processor options as well as one more lower end option, the 1.9GHz Dual Core AMD A4 processor which is in line with the budget focus of the ProBook s series. All of these new AMD Llano A series processors feature the ability to Turbo up to 2.3GHz to 2.5GHz when you need extra speed to finish a demanding work task.

Along with the new processor comes a decently powerful AMD Radeon HD 6000 series GPU which should deliver better 3D Graphics and a top-notch multimedia experience. These integrated graphics beat out some discrete graphics solutions when it comes to power and performance.

HP ProBook S Hands On Video

HP ProBook S and ProBook B Models with AMD Fusion

• HP ProBook 4435s
• HP ProBook 4436s
• HP ProBook 4535s
• HP ProBook 6465b
• HP ProBook 6565b

HP ProBook S and ProBook B Features

The HP ProBook b series includes an array of usability and security features including HP Power Assistant to ensure longer battery life, SRS Premium Audio for better sound while presenting and the ability to dock so that you don’t need to plug and unplug all the time.

The HP ProBook s series include security minded features like a fingerprint reader and facial recognition as well as a speedy USB 3.0 port to allow for faster file transfers. The ProBook S series is a more affordable business notebook, but these notebooks do come with an anodized aluminum finish to prevent wear, which is especially important on machines that may be in the field for 3 to 5 years.

HP ProBook S and ProBook B Pricing and Availability

The HP ProBook b series starts at $679 and is expected to be available on June 27. The HP ProBook s series starts at $519, but no release date has been given.

HP ProBook S and ProBook B Gallery

HP ProBook S and B Business Notebooks Gain AMD A Series APU Options is a post by Josh Smith from Notebooks.com.

This was a busy week for smartphones and tablets with Google I/O 2011 and a collection of other announcements. In case you missed the news and reviews, we have rounded up the most popular items for you to digest quickly. We also have our top picks for notebook reviews and news to give you some afternoon reading.

Smartphone and Tablet News for the week of May 13th

• Samsung Droid Charge Launches May 13th
  The Droid Charge will finally launch on May 14th. Saturday is an odd day to launch a phone, but it’s been confirmed by Verizon.
• Can the Verizon 4G Network Handle More Phones
  The 4G LTE network has experienced growing pains, is it ready for more devices?
• Verizon Answers 4G LTE Network, Device Questions…Sort Of…
  Chuong gets answers, about the ability of Verizon’s 4G network to handle more devices
• The cost of switching from Android to iPhone
  Kevin explores how much it costs to switch from Android to iPhone in part 3 of his switching series.
• Will an Amazon Tablet Succeed?
  Hugo Ortega explores what it will take for Amazon to bring a viable tablet to market.
• Netlfix Launches on Android
  Netflix lands on five Android devices. Find out if yours is one of the few supported devices.
• Google I/O 2011 Roundup
  All the big Android news from Google I/O
• Google’s ChromeBook Shakes Up the Status Quo with Offline Access
  Warner looks at what it means for Google to deliver offline access on the Chromebooks
• Motion Computing CL900 Tablet PC Goes on Sale
  The Motion Computing CL900 Tablet Pc is now available for purchase.
• Google Aims to Succeed Where Microsoft Has Failed
  Sumocate explores Google’s new strategy.
• The Best iPad and iPad 2 Apps [May 2011]
  Our top iPad and iPad 2 apps for gaming, productivity, photography, productivity and entertainment.
• Google Confirms New Nexus Device Is Coming
  A Nexus 3, or some yet to be determined name will grace the next Nexus device which was confirmed by Andy Rubin of Google.
• Google Confirms New Nexus Device Is Coming
  Photoshop lands on the iPad in the form of three apps – Adobe Eazel, Adobe Nav and Adobe Color Lava

New Notebook for the Week of May 13th

• HP EliteBook 2560p Combines Optical Drive and Small Form Factor (video)
  The new HP EliteBook 2560p brings an optical drive to the small 12.5″ form factor.
• HP EliteBook 2760p Tablet Announced
  HP adds Sandy Bridge processors to the Elitebook convertible tablet and keeps the 16:10 aspect ratio and 12.1″ display.
• HP ProBook 5330m Arrives with Consumer Features
  Hp’s new probook brings Beats Audio and other consumer features to enterprise users. Hands on Video.
• HP Mini 210 Gets Beats Audio and New Look
  Hands on Video of the new HP Mini 210 netbook with Beats audio and a slight design change.
• The HP Pavilion dv4 Gets Updated (Video)
  Hands on with the new HP Pavilion dv4 which will provide an option of Intel and AMD processors.
• HP Envy 14 Updated to Sandy Bridge and Gains a New Trackpad
  The popular HP Envy 14 gets Sandy Bridge Intel processors and a new trackpad with an image sensor, but no new high-res display.

Notebook News for the Week of May 13th

• Samsung and Acer Google Chromebooks Launch June 15th: Details, Specs & Pricing
  Google Chromebooks from Samsung and Acer are announced with a June release date. You can purchase outright or if you need 10 or more units, lease starting at $20 a month for schools and $28 a month for busineses.
• Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Arrives May 17th: Struts Thin & Rugged Design (video)
  Video of the ThinkPad X1 ultraportable arrives and shows off the rugged nature of this ultrathin notebook.
• Panasonic Announces Toughbook 53 w/ Sandy Bridge and Updates Toughbook 52 Rugged Notebooks
  Panasonic introduces a new business rugged notebook in the Toughbook line with Sandy Bridge processors.
• Dell Precision M4600 and M6600 Available For Sale With Speedy New Promo (Video)
  A look at what some customers can do with the powerful mobile workstations from Dell, which are now available for purchase.

Notebook, Tablet and Accessory Reviews for May 2011

• GBM InkShow: ARMOR X7 Rugged Tablet PC – “Tough Enough”
  Sumocat reviews the rougth and tumble ARMOR X7 Rugged Tablet in a GBM Inkshow. Watch it now. You know you want to!
• HP ProBook 6560b Review
  Check out this business class notebook from HP. Designed for the mobile professional this notebook doesn’t disappoint.
• Toshiba Satellite E305 Blue Label 3.0 Review
  The Toshiba Satellite E305 takes home an Eidtor’s Choice Award for overall value and performance. Definitely one of the hottest consumer notebooks of 2011.
• Antec soundscience rockus Speakers Offer Good Affordable Sound
  Kevin reviews a nice set of speakers that can go from your desk to the backyard and kick out enough sound to handle a outdoor movie this summer.
• Verbatim Tuff-N-Tiny USB Drive is Both Tuff and Tiny (Rugged USB Drive)
  Kevin reviews a small thumbdrive that can take a beating without losing your data.

Weekly Wrapup: Notebook, Tablet and Smartphone News (May 13th) is a post by Josh Smith from Notebooks.com.

The Dell Latitude E Family of notebook was launched last month with a collection of great business class looks and features. We just got the Dell Latitude E5420 in for a full review, but we wanted to share this comparison between the E5420 and the smaller Dell Latitude E6320 which one of our local readers brought to a local gathering of technology lovers.

The Dell Latitude E5420 is a 15.6″ business class notebook with a metal finish that is designed to handle the hazards of working in mobile business setting. The 13″ Dell Latitude E6320 has many of these same features, but is designed to meet tougher ruggedness ratings ( MilSpec810G) and has a smaller 13.3″ display. Essentially, the E5420 is designed with a desk user in mind and the E6320 is more optimized for a business traveler that needs a more rugged machine.

The Dell Latitude E6320 which we had limited time to play with is a fully spec’d system with a speedy SSD that booted quite quickly, noticeably faster than what our standard hard drive equipped E5420 could do, but if you want, you can opt for the SSD on either model.

The primary thing that stood out to us during this hands on comparison was that the Latitude E6320 has incredibly nice lines and design. We are fans of the slanted edges which are more pronounced on the E6320 as well as the slightly brown finish which warms up the device. The design is very similar to the E5420, is bolder on the smaller notebook. Another thing we noticed on the inside is that the E6320 has silver bevel and visible screws, whereas the E5420 we have in for review keeps the screws behind a black finish

Inside, the keyboards look and feel the same with a backlight option, though the E6320 has an orange accent running around the edge of the notebook.

While there are several differences, the Latitude E5420 and E6320 do have some things in common. Both notebooks use the same Latitude E Family docks, both can use the same battery, and both of these models offer easy access to the internals with a two screw cover. Additionally, the keyboards are the same, including backlighting, but there is an orange accent on the E6320.

Dell Latitude E5420 and Dell Latitude E6320 Gallery

Dell Latitude E6320 and Latitude E5420 Hands On is a post by Josh Smith from Notebooks.com.