Doug Olenick On Jan 8 2013 - 1:00am

Hewlett-Packard Adds To Sleekbook, Monitor Lines

LAS VEGAS — Hewlett-Packard is introducing two Sleekbooks along with several PC monitors during International CES, here, this week.

The new Sleekbooks are based on a 15.6-inch display and will come in touchscreen and non-touchscreen versions, said Kevin Wentzel, HP’s technical marketing manager.

Sleekbooks are laptops that don’t quite meet Intel’s specifications to be labeled an Ultrabook, but are much less expensive, enabling HP to reach a larger audience.

The touchscreen version will carry a $699 retail price and will ship in February, while the non-touch model will be priced at $499 and should hit stores this month, Wentzel said.

The Sleekbooks are powered by an AMD APU, have 15.6-inch displays, and feature HP CoolSense, ProtectSmart and Connected technologies. HP has included all the regular ports and connections found on a mainstream laptop, Wentzel said, adding that these are features still in demand by consumers.

They will come in black, red and blue color schemes.

Wentzel said even the nontouch Sleekbook will work well with the touch-enhanced Windows 8 because it has a large touchpad that is capable of handling most touch gestures.

HP is also introducing several new monitors, including the HP Envy 27 and the HP Pavilion IPS line.

The Envy 27 fills out the company’s high-end monitor lineup, said Peter Ellis, HP’s worldwide product marketing manager. The Envy 27 has a 1,920 by 1,080 display resolution, built-in speakers with Beats audio technology and an IPS LCD panel.

It is expected to ship in February with a $499 street price.

Shipping later this month are HP’s Pavilion IPS displays. These will come in 22-, 23-, 25- and 27-inch screen sizes with the same resolution as the Envy 27. Each comes with HDMI, DVI-D and VGA ports and has a 178-degree viewing angle for the LED edge-lit display.

Pricing will range from $129 to $339. The final monitor introduction is the HP x2401. This is a 24-inch IPS LED backlit display that is shipping now with a $249 starting price. It has a brushed-metal finish and an adjustable mount.

The company also has two introductions on the business side: the Elitebook Revolve and the HP U160 portable monitor.

The Revolve has an 11.6-inch display that flips over, turning the laptop into a tablet. It can be equipped with either an Intel Core i5 or Core i7 processor, up to 12GB of RAM and a 258GB solid-state drive for storage. There is also a 4G LTE option. Battery life is expected to be about 10 hours, and the display can support a stylus, said Ajay Gupta, commercial products director for HP.

Gupta said that while the Revolve can be used as a tablet, the company considers it a laptop first, unlike a previous convertible model that was defined as a tablet that could be used in a laptop form factor.

Pricing will depend upon configuration. It will ship in March.

The U160 is a 15.6-inch monitor shipping this month with a $179 suggested retail. It is designed for business people interested in a more elegant way to show a presentation, said Ellis. The display comes with a foldable mount that also acts as a carrying case. It weighs 3.4 pounds and is about 1 inch thick.