I sat down with Rahul Sood, the CTO of HP”s Voodoo Business Unit to talk about the Envy 133 and Voodoo”s new approach a couple of weeks ago. I”m in Berlin this week, where Rahul is officially introducing the Envy 133. We”re both excited about the Envy 133 to say the least – it”s 4am in Berlin and he just emailed over some more details on this new notebook.

Check out the below video to hear about Voodoo”s strategy (12 minutes), or skip to the second video if you just want a briefer version (5 minutes) of the Envy 133 video

^^^short Envy 133 video^^^

^^^long Envy 133 video^^^

The Envy 133 has several features and unique styling that”ll please globe trotters that don”t mind paying a premium for luxury goods. It mixes style with solid engineering and time-saving features like being able to go from shutdown to browsing the web nearly instantly.

The carbon fiber finish on Envy 133 is incredibly attractive and screams luxury. If you want a notebook that”ll turn heads the Envy 133 will definitely do the trick.

Carbon fiber is increadibly strong and rigid, making the Voodoo Envy 133 sturdier than it appears at first glance. If you”ve ever owned anything that”s made of carbon fiber you probably know what I mean.

The Envy 133 will start at $2,099 in its base configuration and black carbon fiber finish. A white version will also be available at launch. I expect that users will have to pay a hefty premium for custom paint jobs, laser etching and graphics. Rahul didn”t go into specifics about this with me, but he mentioned custom paint booths that were recently purchased and three painters he”s hired.

I haven”t spent nearly enough time with the Envy 133, but plan on using one as much as possible today and updating this post with more info.

Instant On

Voodoo”s “Instant On Solution” allows users to quickly boot into a lightweight Linux operating system in a few seconds so they can access Skype, Pidgin (an IM client that handles virtually every IM platform), an optimized version of Firefox for web browser, a music player and photo gallery application.

Windows Vista is still at the heart of the Envy 133, but this Linux OS quick boot feature is something I”d like to see on every notebook.

Processor

Rahul told me that Intel’s providing an “off road-map” Centrino processor for the Envy 2133, but didn’t offer further details. We can only assume the Envy 133 will sjip with Intel’s upcoming Montevina technology as Rahul said the over-sized vents were there to deal with graphics that would blur the line between integrated and dedicated. I”m going to bug my contacts at HP for more details today.

Multiple Gesture Trackpad

The Voodoo Envy 133′s trackpad is textured, similar to the HP HDX and HP tx2000z, but it”s the first HP notebook to offer multi-touch functionality.

Removable Battery

A removable battery should be a no-brainer for any notebook and thankfully the engineers at HP managed to pull off what Apple couldn’t. Like the rest of the notebook, the Envy 2133”s casing is made of carbon fiber.

Ports and Plugs

Since the Envy 133 is only half an inch there’s no room an ethernet port, but Voodoo solved this problem in a very innovative way- by putting the Ethernet port on the notebooks power adapter. The Aura PowerConnect adapter has a one-to-one wireless connection to the Voodoo 133 that”s good up to 50 feet away.

The Envy 133 has a combination USB/eSATA port, one normal USB port, headphone jack, microphone in and an HDMI port.

Display

The 13.3-inch LED backlit display is a little too glossy for my taste and I”m worried it won’t be usable outdoors or in other harsh lighting conditions. I strongly prefer matte displays in general though, so those that prefer glossy displays might not be as annoyed by this.

Keyboard

The keyboard is more durable than those found on most consumers notebooks according to Rahul. The keyboard illuminates automatically as you type.

External Optical Drive

Unfortunately there wasn”t any room for an integrated optical drive, but Voodoo will include a matching external drive with every Envy 133.

Envy 133 Redefines Voodoo, Luxury Notebooks (video w/ Rahul Sood) is a post by Xavier Lanier from Notebooks.com.

The ENVY M:152 is the first Voodoo notebook to feature Intel Centrino Duo processor technology. The notebook also represents a seamless marriage of muscle and mobility that will impress even the most demanding user with its support of the new Intel Core 2 Extreme mobile processor X7800 Extreme CPU.

The 15.4″ WSXGA+ display (1680 x 1050 px) has a matte finish display, and weighs seven pounds. The company is claiming that the M:152 is one of the quietest Voodoo notebooks to date.

“People look to Voodoo custom machines to deliver the best in power and design, and we stayed true to that tradition when building this mobile powerhouse,” said Rahul Sood, chief technology officer, Global Gaming Business Unit, HP. “The ENVY M:152 combines the best in processing power and performance with a hot design and the latest in wireless technology. It is built for people that want to push the limits of mobile computing, and look good doing it.”

The M:152 supports DirectX 10 and features the NVIDIA GeForce 8600GT 512MB video card.

“With support for DirectX 10 and NVIDIA PureVideo technology, the GeForce 8600M GT GPU delivers an unmatched gaming and movie experience on a light, cutting-edge notebook PC,” said Rene Haas, general manager, notebook GPU business, NVIDIA. “The ENVY M:152 will allow mobile power users to truly experience Windows Vista and the latest wave of visually rich entertainment and applications.”

It includes an integrated 2.0MP camera, Bluetooth, and a fingerprint reader. The M:152 can be configured with Windows XP, Windows Vista Home Premium or Vista Ultimate.

• The Voodoo M:152 starts at about $3,000.

Voodoo Envy M:152 Notebook Announced is a post by Xavier Lanier from Notebooks.com.

âہ“Our customers demand unique machines with incredible performance â€âہ the ENVY H:171 notebook PC delivers on all fronts,â€Â said Rahul Sood, VoodooPC’s CTO. âہ“We have also packed the ENVY H:171 with the ultimate in PC technology, making it one of the fastest and most powerful 17-inch notebooks on the market.â€Â

The Dual NVIDIA GeForce Go 7950 video card delivers smooth video playback for HD gaming on its 17-inch (1920×1200 pixel) widescreen display.

âہ“With one of the fastest NVIDIA notebook GPUs running in NVIDIA SLI mode, the ENVY H:171 is a graphics monster that elevates the visual experience to a higher level of perfection,â€Â Rene Haas, general manager, Notebook GPUs at NVIDIA.

Three 200GB hard drives mean this notebook PC has storage to spare. The performance-packed PC also boasts integrated RAID 0, RAID 1 or RAID 5 support for fast transfer rates and application load times.

The ENVY H:171′s performance comes with a price tag of at least $5,000. Like all VooDooPC notebooks, the H:171 can be customized with unique tattoos and paint jobs.

VoodooPC ENVY H:171 Gaming Notebook with Intel Core 2 Extreme X6800 Announced is a post by Xavier Lanier from Notebooks.com.

Tech blogger Chris Pirillo got married recently and was able to convince his bride to read their vows off a pair Tablet PCs. He picked up a pair of TabletKiosks v7110 UMPCs for the ceremony.
The groom’s dad had enough foresight to insist they print their vows and tape them to the back of the UMPC, just in case the batteries crapped out. In the midst of her vows, the bride’s tablet did indeed die and she had to flip it over to finish them up.
Not sure how long the ceremony was, but battery life is the last thing a bride should have to worry about.

Read more at Chris Pirillo’s Blog

A Tablet PC Wedding is a post by Xavier Lanier from Notebooks.com.

Almost all the notebooks news for the past few days has been about deeply discounted notebooks, coupons and rebates. While the notebooks weâ€â„¢ve written about are economical, it gets a little boring bargain shopping and trying to explain to readers that noâ€ÂÃƒâ€šÃ‚¦there wonâ€â„¢t be any rebates on the sub-$400 notebooks. I treated myself to a little online window shopping to see what I could buy if money were no object.
I visited six manufacturerâ€â„¢s web sites and started with the most expensive model available. We then maxed out all the hardware specs, forgoing external accessories and software upgrades. The end result was an average price tag of $5,061, with the most expensive notebook topping out at $7,361. Youâ€â„¢ll have to drop over $30k if you decide you want one of each.

1. Apple MacBook Pro 17â€ÂÃƒâ€šÃ‚

The MacBook Pro is the gold standard in the graphic design and creative world. The stereotype of Appleâ€â„¢s notebooks being overpriced didnâ€â„¢t hold up in this virtual shopping trip. In fact, the Macbook Pro 17â€ÂÃƒâ€šÃ‚ was the cheapest fully-loaded notebook we found. The Core 2 Duo 2.33 GHz MacBook Pro starts at $2,799 and has few configuration options. Bumping memory up to 3GB costs $575 and a 200GB drive is $100, for a $3,474 total.

2. Gateway M685-E

All of Gatewayâ€â„¢s notebooks have relatively low base prices, but things start to add up as you customize them. We started with the 17-inch Gateway M685-E business notebook, with a $1,699 base price.
Upping the CPU to a 2.16 GHzCore 2 Duo costs $250, while a GeForce GO7900 GS GPU with 256MB adds $125. By far the most expensive option is the $1,750 upgrade to 4GB of RAM, 1 gig more than XP can even recognize. Opting for the Ultrabright screen is $100, Bluetooth is $50 and a 12-cell battery is only $40 extra. For $3,764 this setup could be yours.

3.Sony VAIO AR290G

The Sony VAIO AR290G is a beautifully built 17-inch machine, with a Blu-Ray Disc player. The stylish multimedia powerhouse starts at $3,039, with specs that are more than capable of being your living roomâ€â„¢s media center. Adding dual 200 GB hard drives ($370), an extra gig of RAM (2GB total ffor $150) and upping the Core 2 Duo processor to 2.33 Ghz ($550) make it sexy inside and out. Itâ€â„¢s annoying Sony makes Bluetooth ($50) optional for notebooks in this range, but that barely budges the price to its $4,209 total. These machines sure look great when playing Blu-Ray discs, but weâ€â„¢re still recommending buyers to wait for the format wars to settle down before investing in a Blu-Ray or HD DVD notebook.

4. Alienware Aurora mALX- Dual Graphics SLI 19â€ÂÃƒâ€šÃ‚ Notebook, AMD Turion ML44

The Aurora mALX is Alienwareâ€â„¢s most expensive gaming notebook, running on a AMD Turion ML44 processor. It comes with a massive 19â€ÂÃƒâ€šÃ‚ WSXGA wide screen display and dual 512 MB NVIDIA GeForce Go 7900 SLI enabled GPUâ€â„¢s (single GPU standard, $350 for dual). Fast RAID drives (2x200GB) cost another $500 and upgrading to 2GB of memory is another $300. With a maximum price of $5,649, airbrushed graphics come standard. Alienware throws in a matching backpack, portfolio, polo shirt, keychain and pen to say thank you for the massive purchase.

5. Voodoo
The Vodoo Envy u:909 is an exotic notebook that will put most desktops to shame. A massive 19-inch WSXGA screen and other larger than life specs contribute to the $4,529 base price. The Envy u:909 comes in your choice of 22 colors, some of which are seasonal and add $213 to the bill. To further stylize your gaming notebook, you can chose from a variety of âہËÅtattoosâ€â„¢ ($220) that can be painted on the lid. Upgrading to an AMD Turion ML44 processor costs $235, 2GB of RAM is $131 and $60 will get you a 160GB hard drive. Adding a second second NVIDIA Geforce 7800 GTX 256MB GPU costs $573. Paying $5,961 means you get one of the best gaming notebooks in the world.

6. Dell

The Dell XPS M2010 is a 20.1-inch monster and more expensive than any other we priced.. Itâ€â„¢s more of a 19-pound foldable desktop with removable Bluetooth keyboard. Itâ€â„¢s unique design is sure to make it a conversation piece wherever you bring it. The M2010 starts at $2,999, but itâ€â„¢s expensive upgrades can push that price to more than double the price. Going with the 2.33GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T7600 costs $550, but thatâ€â„¢s nothing compared to the upgrade to 4GB of RAM ($3,000). Next to the RAM options, the other upgrades required to max out the M2010 seem downright affordable. A draft N wireless card is $59, a TV tuner card is $100 and a Verizon EVDO card is $179. For $7,312 you get a pretty amazing computer that looks great in any home of the future.

6 High-End Notebooks for $30k is a post by Xavier Lanier from Notebooks.com.