HP has unveiled a number of new products for the commercial sector, with a particular emphasis on durable notebooks and light ultrabooks taking centre stage.

Beginning with the durable, the  ‘all-business’ ProBooks were the first notebooks to be showcased, with the ProBook 650 G1 taking centre stage, followed by the ProBook 450 Touch and then the ProBook 430.

According to the company, the ProBook 650 G1 (pictured left) is thin, light and “packed with productivity features to make work faster and easier.” As befitting its use in the security-conscious enterprise, the notebook comes with integrated security solutions such as HP Client Security and HP Trust Circles in order to ensure that only assigned contacts can access critical files. Furthermore, the notebook is particularly configurable, with organisations able to specify whether they prefer Windows 8.1 or Windows 7, and pick and choose the specifications that suit them. With regards to the latter, companies can choose from Core i3 up to Core i7 processors, up to 8 GB of DDR3 SDRAM, and specify whether they want up to a 500 GB SATA drive or up to a 128 GB SSD accounting for the storage. Additionally, the notebook can accommodate up to a full HD (1920 x 1080) resolution on its 15.6" display.

Built to spec

According to HP’s John Geypen, the Printing and Personal Systems (PPS) consumer and commercial notebook category manager at HP South Africa, the consumer and the enterprise spaces share a similar drive with regards to notebooks, with both segments desiring touchscreens. To this end, the company unveiled its ProBook 450 G1, which sports 4th generation Intel Core i3/i5/i7 processors but caters to even more memory (16 GB) and boasts an optional touchscreen for those opting for the Windows 8 version. Also optional is a 500 GB hybrid hard drive and 4G LTE and HSPA facility. Its 15.6” display though, has a maximum resolution of 1366 x 768. More notable is the potential battery life – which ranges from more than nine hours with a 6 cell battery up to a whopping 17 and a half hours when equipped with a 9-cell battery.

Following in its footsteps is then the lighter (1.5 kg) and smaller 13.3" ProBook 430 G1 notebook, which has mostly similar specifications, for those users looking for a more compact form factor. However, really filling the travel friendly niche are the new EliteBooks, such as the EliteBook Folio 9470m and EliteBook 820 and 840. Geypen explained that the biggest steps taken with regards to its EliteBook 820 are the removal of the optical drive for a thinner and lighter device, the incorporation of Haswell processors and a memory boost. Furthermore, it, along with the 14" EliteBook 840, now boasts up to 13 hours battery life.

The 14" EliteBook Folio 9470m ultrabook (pictured right)meanwhile, is being billed as the company’s first ultrabook with docking capabilities, and its thinnest (18.9 mm) EliteBook to date. Similarly weighing in at a travel friendly 1.6 kg, this business ultrabook can accommodate up to 16 GB of memory, Intel Core i5 or i7 processors and a very respectable screen resolution of 1600 x 900.

To the point

Alas, we weren’t given any firm prices on the above offerings. However, in our brief hands on time with the new notebooks in question, we were certainly impressed by what we saw.