HP Refreshes Mainstream Notebook Lineup

The HP EliteBook 2740p is part of a class of systems designed to allow users to switch back and forth between using a pen interface on a tablet and a traditional keyboard on a notebook PC. Despite the recent launches of so-called Slate systems and the Apple iPad, most business users seem to prefer to have access to notebook systems that still feature a keyboard. Priced at $1,599, the system can be configured with either Intel Core i5 or i7 processors.

HP is also rolling out a new ProBook Standard series of notebooks that includes a full range of offerings from 13-inch to 17-inch screens that can be configured with Intel i3, i5 and i7 processors, priced starting at $719, and a 12-inch HP EliteBook 2540p, priced at $1,099 and weighing 3.3 pounds.

Like most PC manufacturers, HP is offering a diverse line of notebooks while waiting for the market for systems using next-generation Intel processors develops. Manufacturers hope that customers essentially trade up to these systems given the modest price differential between them and previous generations of notebooks. But because of the price sensitivity of some customers, vendors are reluctant to retire previous generations of systems, which in turn serves to give customers a plethora of choices that some argue does more to confuse the market than anything else.

Separately, HP is now configuring some systems with a new Day Starter capability that allows customers to see their calendar without booting the system. In addition, the company offers a Central Management for HP Protect Tools that can now be used to monitor systems, centrally define policies and recover passwords for remote users.