HP Lines Up on AMD to Power Windows 7 Notebooks

The HP ProBook 6445b and ProBook 6545b are being touted by HP as 39 percent faster than previous notebooks based on AMD processors used in HP’s value series of Compaq notebooks, while also providing a 60 percent improvement in battery life that can now last as long eight hours and 15 minutes.

As part of this launch, HP is also emphasizing the inclusion of HP Power Assist software that not only tracks how much energy has been consumed, but also extends the life of the battery by turning off certain components, such as the graphics processor. Customers can save up to four different power setting profiles for each notebook.

Although it’s still not clear on the eve of the launch of Windows 7 how excited business customers are about upgrading, HP is banking on the fact that those that do upgrade will be heavily motivated by Green IT issues.

In addition, HP has also upgraded the docking station for these notebooks to include a local storage option that allows users to back up files from the notebook onto the hard drive in the docking unit.

Pricing for the HP notebooks starts at $799.