14 DAY TRIAL // Although the Back to Office period has ended for a while now, major companies are still expected to invest in the renewal of their computer system portfolio, as new solutions provide a choice for better performance and enhanced features. On that note, the Palo Alto, California-based HP has just announced an update to its line of ProBook laptops and Elite business desktop PCs. The new models include the ProBook 6445b and the ProBook 6545b, two laptops designed for business users, while the HP Elite 7000 comes as a business desktop PC.
“The release of Windows 7 presents an ideal opportunity for businesses of all types to evaluate their aging fleet of client devices and build a plan to leverage the best solutions to meet their company’s needs,” said Stephen DeWitt, senior vice president and general manager, Personal Systems Group – Americas, HP. “With a wide range of new products in the market, like the new ProBooks and Elite desktops, we have put the right pieces in place to ease the transition to new technology.”
According to HP, the new ProBook laptops will provide users with a choice for a 14-inch and a 15.6-inch high-definition LED-backlit widescreen display, but also the latest AMD processors and graphics solutions. Thanks to the adoption of the AMD processors, the battery life is said to have improved with about 60 percent, for about 8 hours and 15 minutes. In addition, HP also claims that performance has improved as well, with about 39 percent.
Built on an Intel P55 platform, the new business desktop PC is designed to support the latest Core i5 and Core i7 processors, up to 8GB of memory, 1 TB hard drive and optional solid state drives. Additional features include a SATA DV-ROM drive, SATA SuperMulti Lightscribe DVD writer with optional Blu-Ray and a 22-1-in media card reader. The system is preloaded with a series of security applications, including Credential Manager for HP ProtectTools, Norton Online Backup and HP Power Manager.
All systems are expected to become available at the same time with the launch of Microsoft's much-anticipated Windows 7 operating system. Prices are set to start at US$799 for the ProBook b-series of laptops, while the Elite desktop comes with a starting price tag of US$789.
