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HP’s CES Launch Focuses On PCs

LAS VEGAS – Hewlett-Packard will not bring a tablet PC to the
2011 International CES and will hold off any such introductions until after the
show.

Instead the company will focus its CES efforts on several
revamped laptops.

After playing up its tablet PC plans at the 2010 CES, HP decided
to hold back to keep its introduction from getting lost in the slew of tablets that
are expected to flood the show, said Fred Bullock, HP’s marketing VP, personal
systems group.

Bullock did not specify a time frame for the introduction, but he
did sketch out HP’s view of how tablets will fit into a consumer’s lifestyle.

“People are moving toward owning multiple devices so how media is
captured and shared has to change,” he said.

For HP this will involve a new software-sharing system built
around the Palm WebOS. Bullock explained that WebOS has an application called
Synergy that allows Palm devices to interface with each other. This will be
brought into the PC world so tablets, laptops, desktops and other devices will
seamlessly communicate and share content, Bullock said.

HP intends to license this WebOS functionality so other vendor’s
products can share with HP devices, he added.

The company’s primary product introduction is the reintroduction
of a heavily revamped DM-1 ultra-portable laptop. Its starting price is $449,
and it will ship on Jan. 9.

HP is touting the DM-1 as having the portability of a netbook and
the power of a notebook.

The 11.6-inch display model was first shipped in mid-2010, but
for this year it has been equipped with a new AMD Fusion HD6000M series
processor. The company expects about 10 hours of battery life from the model,
which will feature either a 750GB hard drive or an optional solid-state drive
of various capacities.

Other upgrades include a larger keyboard, 93 percent of full
size, and HP’s proprietary CoolSense Technology. CoolSense is a
hardware/firmware system to control the laptop’s power usage and thus its
temperature.

The company’s Mini210 netbook line is receiving a new look and is
now available in Plaid Raspberry and Iceberry. The $349 Iceberry will begin
selling through BestBuy.com on Jan. 9, and the $329 Plaid Raspberry will start
selling exclusively through Best Buy on Jan. 23.

The model’s original colors – Charcoal, Lavender Frost, Luminous
Rose and Ocean Drive – will remain available.

The Envy 17 has been upgraded to include the CoolSense Technology
and will be powered by a second-generation Intel processor. It will utilize
AMD’s switchable graphics technology that can alternate between the integrated
and discrete graphics processors.

Shipping and pricing were not announced.

The same basic upgrades were given to the Pavilion DVs and DV7
notebooks, which will ship on Jan. 9 with prices starting at $899 and $999,
respectively.

On the desktop side HP is adding its Beats Audio technology to
select models in the Pavilion Slimline and Elite and Elite HPE series. The
models will gain dual-display capability.

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