Skip to Main Content

HP's Redesigned Elitebooks Target Young Professionals

The new HP Elitebooks, which were redesigned from the ground up, are as sleek as they are solid business laptops.

February 23, 2011

It should serve as a reminder that even the most hardcore professionals are conscious about laptop design, especially the younger generation. But they also want the durability and stability associated with an enterprise . The new HP Elitebooks, which were redesigned from the ground up, are as sleek as they are solid business laptops.

The new Elitebooks will seem eerily similar to the Apple Macbook Pros, although that might have been intentional. Aluminum metal, which can only be found on the lid and palm rest area in the previous generation, is now used throughout. Lid closed and looking at it from the bezel, the clean lines, minimal lights, and light silver color are very Macbook Pro-ish. It's a thicker and heavier laptop, though (the 15-inch Elitebook 8560p compared to the Macbook Pro 15-inch, that is); it's thicker than inch and weighs over 6 pounds, by my estimates.

The aircraft-inspired "Duracase" is subjected to improvised durability tests (based on the MIL-SPEC 810G specs) that involve drops, moisture, and vibrations, according to HP. The steel latches are replaced with titanium ones, to prevent torqueing. Underneath all that aluminum is a magnesium-bonded inner skeleton, for added strength.

The interior of the laptop is overhauled as well. Instead of a traditional keyboard, the flat-top keys are now more in line with the Envys and Pavilions, HP's consumer line. There are dual-pointing devices, which consist of a very stiff pointing stick, very wide touchpad, and four large mouse buttons. It's a glass touchpad, furthermore, similar in construction to the one that Apple uses.

The 14-inch Elitebook 8440p ($999 starting) and 15-inch 8560p ($1,099) are available on March 15. They'll have a matte screens (the anti-glare kind) and maximum 1,600-by-900 resolution (the 8440p will have a 1,366-by-768 option as well). Storage drives come in many flavors—up to 750GB HDDs or Solid State Drives that cost a lot more.

Both Elitebooks will come with have USB 3.0 ports (two of them on the 8560p) and Firewire. They'll have the gamut of wireless connections, including 3G and LTE. An HD webcam, the kind that can display 720p video, is found in its usual spot above the screen.

Despite the initial delay of Intel's second-generation Core processors (Sandy Bridge), the Elitebooks will be Sandy Bridge-equipped when they ship. They'll also have five different batteries to choose from, the biggest of which is a 100WH wedge (8 hours) that slides underneath the laptop.

Stay tuned for our reviews of the Elitebook 8440 and Elitebook 8560p.