Notebookcheck Logo

HP changes up EliteBook and ProBook laptops

Teaser
Updated business notebooks will feature Sandy Bridge and USB 3.0

February appears to be the time of season for updated laptops; as HP has joined Sony, Toshiba, Dell and Lenovo in updating their relative product lines. In a press release today, HP announced that their business oriented EliteBook and ProBook line of notebooks will all receive new components.

According to the press release, the 10 laptops included in the EliteBook and ProBook line will all be upgrade to include Intel’s latest Sand Bridge processors, facial recognition software, and new casing and designs.

First off, the EliteBook notebooks will now include a magnesium-aluminum lid that meets military standards, a glass touchpad with dedicated left and right mouse buttons, and a panel on the bottom that will allow easy-access to the laptop’s hard drive and memory. As far as the internal specs go, the EliteBook laptops will feature Sandy Bridge i3/i5/i7 processors, up to 8GB of RAM, a choice between UMA graphics and a discrete Radeon HD 6470M, USB 3.0, and a range of wireless options. HP is also offering an ultra-capacity battery that can provide up to a whopping 32 hours of battery life.

As far as the ProBook series go, the more expensive b-series features an aluminum display enclosure, a magnesium reinforced chassis, and a drain on the bottom of the case that will siphon off minor keyboard spills. The b-series will be available in 13.3”, 14” and 15.6” flavors and will offer the choice between Sandy Bridge i3/i5/i7 processors or the older Celeron processors.

Lastly, the ProBook s-series will receive a metallic gray aluminum finish, a spill resistant keypad, and the same choice of processors as the b-series.

With their latest updates, HP is hoping to infuse a new sense of design into their EliteBook and ProBook notebooks, while adding more powerful options under the hood. As far as pricing and availability go, the laptops should be available as soon as March 15th, with the EliteBook starting at $999 and the ProBook b-series and s-series starting off at $799 and $579 respectively.

Source(s)

Please share our article, every link counts!
Omar Qudsi, 2011-02-26 (Update: 2012-05-26)