14 DAY TRIAL // Back in September, HP announced it was joining the gang of ridiculously cheap Windows 8 laptops with its own offering, the Stream 11 notebook.
The device has been designed to be a Chromebook killer, so it takes advantage of extremely similar specifications.
The HP Stream 11 just started selling
The lappy arrives with an 11.6-inch display and takes advantage of an Intel Celeron N2840 Bay Trail processor and is fanless. The company is selling the device for just $199 / €156.
The Stream lineup seems to be destined for low-cost products, as HP also launched a duo of Windows tablets, one of which is selling for a dirt cheap $99 / €78.
But recent developments show us HP is thinking of extending the lineup to include a professional Stream laptop and the first traces of the device have already appeared online.
Interesting enough, the HP Stream 11 Pro has been spotted with the Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT) which is under the patronage of the Green Electronics Council (as spotted at Notebook Italia).
This particular body evaluates new devices taking into consideration the standard lifecycle of a product and classifies it under different criteria like recyclable.
This is not a mandatory certification (like the FCC or Bluetooth SIG is), but it’s recommended if those products are to be called “green.”
It appears the upcoming HP Stream 11 Pro will not only be a professional laptop but also an eco-friendly device in touch with nature.
The listing with EPEAT doesn’t reveal anything in terms of specifications, but we can only guess HP will have to bump up things if it hopes to market it as a professional notebook.
The original HP Stream 11 offers 1366 x 768 pixel resolution, so we can certainly see an improvement being applied in this department.
Also the company might want to swap out the Intel Celeron Bay Trail processor and add something more powerful instead? Maybe an Intel Broadwell chip would do the trick, who knows.
Can a cheap laptop serve enterprise purposes? Maybe
It’s pretty hard to believe than an inexpensive laptop such as this will be turned over night into a serious solution for business customers, but given the fact that Chromebooks are increasingly being targeted at enterprises, why not a laptop with Windows 8 then, which takes advantage of all the productive apps business users need and rely on.
To that end, HP should add a security suite that would enable remote control and a Kensington lock, and voila, we have a new business laptop that could also remain in the budget segment, price-wise.