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 Cool-
Sense 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.