Essentially, these are the multimedia notebooks you’re looking for.

Beats Audio is still on board, of course. And though that’s optimized for output via the headphone jack, the Envy’s six speakers and subwoofer are out to prove that notebook audio doesn’t necessarily need external help to sound great.

Envy notebooks will have HP’s new Wireless Audio technology built-in, which can stream audio (even high-quality uncompressed files) to compatible speakers. This isn’t Bluetooth, mind you, so you won’t experience the same lag as you would with that streaming. That makes it excellent for setting up a home theater environment or even a sweet gaming cave.

A word on design: the Envy line has always been beautiful, and though I prefer the very first design way back when these first debuted, this current look is pretty great, too. The metal chassis means it’s not the lightest around, but sturdiness is more important here.

The combination of black on the lid and bottom and silve on the inside deck actually works. Plus, there are sweet accents that show some real thought went into the design. Such as the red rim around the keyboard well, how the power button sits inside the speaker strip, or even the analog volume jogger on the right side. This is probably my favorite touch.

Sporting the Beats logo, this dial controls the volume plus allows for fine-tuning the equalizer settings. It has a nice tactile feel and provides a bit of nostalgia for those of us who remember when volume was all about the dials.

The backlit keyboard has some nice new features. To start, the notebook now has a proximity sensor that controls the LEDs, turning them up as you approach the keys and turning them off once you’re away. There are now individual lights under each key, which allows for better control and less bleed.

The clickpad remains. I had some time to play with it and didn’t notice any wonkiness. Thankfully, HP has gotten better at this clickpad thing, so I have hope that this one will work as intended.

Aside from the Envy 15 and 17, there’s also the Envy 17 3D, which  ups the ante for movie buffs and gamers with full HD resolution (in both 2D and 3D) and wide viewing angles. The included active shutter glasses will make both games and Blu-ray movies pop. Literally.

Gamers will also appreciate that, with HDMI and DisplayPorts, you can connect three monitors at once to the Envy 15, 17, and 17 3D. UltraMultiTaskers will love this, too, but I imagine much more time will be spent exploring Arkham City than working on boring old spreadsheets.

Performance-wise, these notebooks should offer plenty of power to mainstream customers as well as power users. Consumers can choose from a range of the latest-generation Intel processors, including quad-core chips, plus AMD Mobility Radeon graphics cards.

The Envys support 128GB mSATA SSDs or hard drives up to 1TB. HP’s 3×3 wireless technology, which promises three times the speed and range of “typical” network connections is also available.

Even though these machines are hardly the kind you’d carry around everywhere, HP still gave them great battery life. The Envy 15 is rated to last up to 9 hours and the Envy 17 up to 9.5. Looking forward to seeing how they do in real-world testing.

All three new Envys will be available on December 7th. The Envy 15 starts at $1,099, the Envy 17 starts at $1,249, and the Envy 17 3D starts at $1,599.

HP Out To Create Ultimate Multimedia Machines With Envy 15, Envy 17, and Envy 17 3D is a post by K. T. Bradford from Notebooks.com.

The HP ENVY 13 is officially gone from the HP online store, a move we have seen coming for several months now. The HP Envy 13 was pegged to take a final shutdown back in May when HP introduced the HP ENVY 14 and HP Envy 17 notebooks but we weren’t expecting the HP ENVY 15 to say goodbye as well, which it did in the past few weeks.

You can still find the HP ENVY 13 or HP ENVY 15 in some stores, but they are no longer showing up on the HP website.

Also missing is the high res Radiance screen option on the HP ENVY 14 which provided a 1600 x 900 resolution workspace. We noticed that the Radiance display wasn’t a part of the HP Envy 14 Beats edition, but assumed it was just a quirk of the special edition, but sadly it seems that it is another victim of “clueless consumers”.

Given that Apple has finally opted for a decent resolution display on the company’s smaller notebooks will more manufacturers and consumers wake up to the joy of a high-res display or will it still be a luxury that we pay for dearly with each new notebook purchase.

HP ENVY 13 and Envy 15 Disappear, Envy 14 Loses Radiance High Res Display is a post by Josh Smith from Notebooks.com.

The $1,299 configuration of the Envy 15 comes with an Intel Core i7 -720QM processor, 4GB of RAM, a 320GB hard drive and ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5830 graphics. Adding an external DVD burner pushes the price up to $1,499 for HP’s recommended configuration. Features like the external Blu-ray drive, SSDs and 8GB of RAM can push the price of the Envy 15 back up above the $2,000 range.

The HP Envy 13 now starts at $1,499 after a $300 markdown from its original MSRP.

This aggressive markdown appears to be permanent rather than a sale or limited-time discount.

HP Envy 15 Now Starts at $1,299, Envy 13 Slashed by $300 is a post by Xavier Lanier from Notebooks.com.

After we were done shooting the amazing fire dancers, we walked down to Medjools for a rooftop party. Everyone loaded their photos onto the HP Envy notebooks we had on display. We put together a group photo slideshow and voted for our favorite shots. The grand prize winner won an HP Envy 15 that retails for $1,999. Runner ups won $100 Best Buy gift cards, SanDisk Extreme Compact Flash cards, credits for BorrowLenses.com and online classes at PhotoFlex.

Terry from SEPhotography gave us a great demo of PhotoFlex gear and produced some incredible shots.

The grand prize winner was Asadullah Tahir Kumman for the above photo. He is from Pakistan and is living here for a couple of years to attend grad school at U.C. Berkeley on a Fullbright scholarship. He uses a Canon 5D and is now using his Envy 15 to edit his work. You can see more of his photos on Flickr.

I took the opportunity to use my new Nikon D700 and was pretty happy with the results. You can see some of my pics below. There’s a list of the attendees over at Meetup.com. Many of them are uploading their best shots to a group gallery. You can see their photo portfolios as well.

Thanks to HP and Intel for sponsoring the shootout and after party.

Thanks for Coming to the Photo Shootout! is a post by Xavier Lanier from Notebooks.com.

As configured, the HP Envy 15 is the most powerful five pound notebook on the market.   As you can see in the image below, this envy 15 comes with an Intel Core i7-720QM processor, dual 160GB solid state drives, 16GB of DDR3 RAM and ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4830 graphics with 1GB of deicated graphics memory.

The above picture is the label on the outer box, which is what the Envy 15 ships in.

Inside the shipping carton is a much nicer box that looks more like a jumbo jewelry box. The HP and Envy logos are embossed in silver.

With the top of the box removed you can see the Envy 15 wrapped in a plush protective sleeve. On the right is the Envy 15′s quick-start guide.

With the sleeve removed you can see that the Envy 15′s laser-etched design.

Beneath the quick start guide is an SD card slot.

As you can see, the Envy 15′s packaging is pretty refined. The SD card has the Envy logo and is placed in its own special holder. We’re used to seeing most HP Notebooks’ accessories all thrown in one big compartment.

Removing the plastic layer that holds the Envy 15 and the SD card reveals the bulk of the accessories, wrapped in plastic. On the left is the external Blu-ray Disc drive. In the middle is a documentation packet, including warranty information. On the right is the AC adapter.

Removing the second plastic layer reveals the extended slice battery.

Here you can see the top of the extended battery. It has the same footprint as the bottom of the notebook.

This is the bottom of the Envy 15. It has a very clean design. You can see a couple of vents, the primary six-cell battery. There are several slots on the bottom and top enge for teh slice battery to hook into. The copper square in the middle is where the slice battery actually interfaces with the Envy 15.

The is is the right edge of the Envy 15 without the extended battery attached.

This is the same edge with the slice battery attached. You can see the small black line below the base of the machine. While it does add significant thickness and weight, HP’s done a very good job of making the battery look good, unlike the bulky batteries we often see hanging off the rear of notebooks.

Here’s a closer look at the extended battery with the Envy 15 flipped upside down.

The ports are labeled on the bottom of the machine just in case you don’t know what each of them are for. Of course having them on the bottom of the computer makes them impossible to see when you’re actually using it.

The Envy 15 is pretty symmetrical, except for all of the ports being thrown off to one side. The SD card slot is on the front edge, between the speaker grills and beneath the touchpad.

HP Envy 15 Unboxed (photo gallery) is a post by Xavier Lanier from Notebooks.com.

The DJ was using an HP Envy 15, an application called Tracktor Scratch Pro and Beats by Dre headphones as part of his setup.

What’s nice about the HP Envy 15 is that it has a 1920 x 1080 pixel display, which means it has plenty of room for application, toolbars, and windows. Most 15-inch notebooks have much lower display resolutions, which makes it tough to work on some creative applications.

The HP Envy 15 definitely looks at home in a nightclub-the DJ told me he’s enjoyed using it over the past several weeks. One thing that’s sorely lacking from the Envy 15, and Envy 13 for that matter, is a backlit keyboard. It would add to the functionality of the notebooks and make them appear a little more luxurious.

Partying with the HP Envy 15 is a post by Xavier Lanier from Notebooks.com.

From time to time we get computers, gadgets and other goodies to give away here and at our sister site GottaBeMobile.com. We know you want these prizes, but also understand if you don’t read the site every day. In order to let you know when we’re giving away these prizes we’ve put together a giveaway newsletter. This list will only be used when we actually have something we want to give to our readers. You won’t get alerts or updates for anything else.

To earn another entry for the Envy 15 giveaway, please submit your email address below. Doing so will earn you one more entry in the Envy 15 giveaway. Please remember to read the original article to see how you can increase your chances of winning by commenting on articles and using Twitter

. You can see the full details of the giveaway here.

5th Way to Enter to Win an HP Envy 15 is a post by Xavier Lanier from Notebooks.com.

By answering the below questions below you’ll earn one virtual raffle ticket.  Just scroll to the bottom of this page and fill out the form. Be sure to enter your email address (it won’t be publicly displayed) so we can send you an email if you win.

What kind of computer (make and model) are you currently using? What are the top three pros and cons of it? Is there anything in particular that you love/hate about it?

I’ve yet to find the perfect notebook computer and I’m sure you’ve run into your share of frustrations. But even obsolete computes have redeeming values. Tell us about them and you’ll be one step closer to winning HP’s most powerful consumer notebook.

Remember to read the giveaway guidelines here. This contest is only open to US residents.

3rd Way to Win an HP Envy 15 Giveaway is a post by Xavier Lanier from Notebooks.com.

The Beats vision is actually pretty cool, stating that most people today aren’t wearing headphones that are capable of doing music justice (I would agree), and now they want to bring this vision to the notebook which Dr. Dre is calling the new stereo”.

The information is a bit short on technical details at the moment, but it would appear that the ENVY 15 Beats edition will come bundled with the Beats studio high definition headphones which have active noise cancelation. I’ve used these headphones before and can attest to them having superior quality to most that the average headphone-wearer is used to. I’m no audiophile, but I can hear a noticeable increase in audio quality even over my Sony monitor headphones, and the noise cancelation works well (great because I always have the fan running here in Hawaii!) If you love music, quality headphones make the experience that much more enjoyable.

You might wonder though, Why can’t I just buy the headphones, won’t my computer sound just as good?”. The answer to this question lies in the fact that HP should be putting a higher quality sound card in the HP ENVY 15 Beats edition, which will likely be be better quality, and produce more clear sound, than most standard notebook and desktop sound cards. The sound card is just what it sounds like (see what I did there?), it is tasked with handling audio output on your computer. And just like having a higher performance video card will increase your video performance having a higher quality sound card will increase the performance of the audio. Hopefully the inclusion of a high quality sound card in the HP ENVY 15 Beats edition coupled with the Beats studio headphones will result in improved audio performance over what most laptops, and even desktops can provide, over the benefit that you’d see from the headphones alone.

I say hopefully because if at $2,299 all you are getting is a bundled pair of headphones, some software, and a different paint job… you would feel pretty ripped off.

In addition to the bundled headphones, the notebook itself as includes some additional audio focused software: Native Instruments’ Traktor LE software and Audio 2 DJ.

Check out the HP ENVY 15 Beats edition website, which will be released on October 22nd in the US.

HP Collaborates with Dr. Dre to Bring You Improved Audio with the HP ENVY 15 Beats Limited Edition Notebook is a post by Ben from Notebooks.com.

At 5.18 pounds, the Envy 15 is the thinnest and lightest notebook with quad-core processor. If you’re a gamer or creative type you’ll appreciate the Envy 15′s HD display (1920×1080 pixels), ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4830 graphics and 2.8GHz Intel Core i7 processor.

As a photo and video nut, I’ve been drooling over this machine since I first saw it a couple of months ago.

With a starting price of $1,799, the Envy 15 has a lot of features you won’t find in more affordable notebooks. HP’s Kevin Wentzel ran gave me a close look at the Envy 15 at a recent conference. You can see the video below.

UPDATE: Thank you to everyone who participated in this giveaway. It is now closed and the winner has been contacted.

Please stay tuned for our next giveaway.

By now you’re probably wondering what you need to do to get your hands on the prize. Between now and October 16 readers will have several opportunities to enter. We’ll announce at least one new way to enter every day between now and then. As usual, we’ll be assigning numbers to all qualified entries and pull a random number using Random.org. The more you participate, the more entries you’ll have in the virtual hat. This contest is open to US residents only. The winner will be contacted by email and/or a direct message on Twitter by Friday night. If the winner does not reply within 24 hours a new winner will be selected.

The first way to earn a virtual raffle ticket follow Notebooks.com on Twitter and send the following Tweet:

I entered to Win an HP Envy 15 from Notebooks.com! http://notebooks.com/go/9X9 #Envy15NB

Remember, in order to earn your entry you need to both follow our new Twitter account at Twitter.com/NotebooksCom and send the tweet.

We’ll post updates on more ways you can enter on Twitter and here on Notebooks.com so stay tuned!

How to Earn Additional Entries :

10/13: If you’d like a 2nd chance at winning, visit this page and follow the instructions to earn another virtual raffle ticket.

10/14: Tell us what you love and hate about your computer to earn a third virtual raffle ticket.Visit this page and leave a comment.

10/15: Tell us what you’d like to learn about notebooks and computing in general if f you’d like a forth chance at winning. Visit this page and leave a comment.

10/16: Sign up for our giveaway newsletter for a 5th chance to win the HP Envy 15!

The Envy 15 we’re giving away has the following specs:

• Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit)

• Intel Core i7-720QM processor (1.6 GHZ w/ Turbo Boost up to 2.8 GHz)

• ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4830

• 15.6″ Full HD LED Ultra BrightView WS Display

• Intel WiFi Link 5100 Network & Bluetooth

• 500GB (7200RPM) HDD

• 4GB DDR3 SDRAM

• 8x DVD+-RW

• Nightvision VGA webcam

• 6-cell Li-Ion polymer battery

Thanks to HP for being generous enough to provide the prize!

Giveaway: HP Envy 15 Dream Machine is a post by Xavier Lanier from Notebooks.com.