tech-world

Top 10 Most Expensive Laptops

Sat, 24 Oct 2009 05:18:23 +0100

1. Luvaglio One Million Dollar Laptop

As the name says the price of this laptop is a whopping one million dollar. The laptop is only one in this world and the buyer can customize it to his choice of precious metals, leathers and real woods. It is built in a design that allows for component upgrades. As for now it has 128 GB solid state drive, MP3 player, a built in USB stick and a “integrated screen cleaning feature” which is what only they know.

2. Tulip E-Go Diamond

Tulip describes itself as the “world’s most desired luxury notebook” and we too think so. But at a price tag of $355,000 the desire will not be satisfied as for me. Its chrome handle and rounded curves make it resemble a women’s handbag. It also has changeable skins made of superior quality leathers with white gold plates and diamonds. The titanium hooks and sliding panels mask the unsightly ports and connections. The specs are not above standard though. It has a 12 inch antiglare display, 2GB of RAM, 160GB hard drive, integrated webcam, Bluetooth 2.0, and DVD burner.

3. Ego for Bentley

You may feel that these aren’t the manliest of gadgets but the authentic Bentley Leather, stitching and color schemes are really a stylish thing to own. It is available in colors to match your car body and when closed the laptop handle looks like door handle of the automobile. The lady who have an expensive taste can buy them at around $20,000 and that’s only for the looks. For performance you only have a 64 bit CPU for 64 bit Vista and a meagre 160 GB HDD.

4. Voodoo Envy H:171

If you want a real performing laptop with looks to match your style, you can opt for Voodoo PC which will give you high performance with its Intel Core 2 Extreme X6800 processor, a chunky 4GB of RAM, twin Nvidia Quadro FX Go 2500M graphics chipset, 1.3MP webcam, dual 250GB hard disk, 7-in-1 memory card reader, dual layer DVD RW drive and a high resolution 17 inch 1920X1200 display. You can select a chassis from 24 color range and a tattoo selected from one of the 14 edgy designs to match it up to your personal style and for all these you have to sacrifice about $8500 from your credit card.

5. Rock Extreme SL8

The fastest laptop in the world. It sports an Intel Core 2 Quad Processor, NVIDIA 9800M GPUs in SLI and staggering 8GB of RAM. It also has a Blu-Ray drive when you want to catch up with a high def movie. Anyone can be proud with this possession. The cost is nearly $5000 which is worth the performance.

6. Alienware Area 51

Who said that laptops cannot be used for hardcore gaming? This sleek and stylish looking laptop uses Intel Extreme Core 2 technology and packs in the NVIDIA® GeForce® 9800M GT in a dual GPU SLI® configuration with up to 1GB of dedicated memory. It has 1TB storage in a high speed RAID 0 configuration and other storage options with smart bay. The system is loaded with Vista and you can record HD TV and movies with the use of its in built TV Tuner card. The product is worth the price of around $5000.

7. Lenovo ThinkPad W700DS

Other than having a normal 17 inch display, this laptop has a secondary pull out display which is located in a pull out section of the primary display and can be used in programs such as Excel and CAD for graphics and figures. The display is fully functional and can be used to display applications such as Skype or instant messenger. The piece is packed with 2.53 GHz Core 2 Quad Extreme QX9000, 4GB RAM, dual 250GB 5200rpm hardrives. It retails at around $4500.

8. Toshiba Qosmio G35-AV660

This is an HD DVD capable laptop. With 2.0 GHz Core 2 Duo, 2GB RAM, 240GB RAID 0 HDD and Nvidia GeForce Go 7600, it is a nice computer other than being a good HD DVD player with 17 inch 1920×1200 display. At a price of $3500 it will serve as a good entertainment laptop.

9. Dell M6400

This Dell Notebook is a real powerhouse. It has Intel Core 2 Duo Quad Core Extreme Edition processor for ripping through complex analyses and boasts 16GB of fast 1066MHz DDR3 memory for large data sets and has graphics memory of 1GB. High performance laptop like this one also comes at a price which isn’t that much unaffordable. You’ll get the base model at around $3000.

10. Acer Ferrari 1100

The Acer Ferrari looks a bit of an Italian Supercar built with an ultralight, wear resistant carbon-fibre chasis. For the specs it has MAD Turion X2 Dual-Core CPU, 4GB of RAM and draft-n WiFi which will get you the performance of a racing Ferrari. he prices begin at a meager $3000 which is affordable for laptop with this much performance and looks.

Five Things to Consider When Buying a Laptop

Sat, 24 Oct 2009 05:15:54 +0100

Buying a new laptop can be a daunting task. First off, there are many more factors to take into account when buying a laptop than when buying a desktop PC -- size and battery, for example. Budget laptops can be alluring, but will they have the horsepower you need for daily computing tasks? What difference does having an AMD or Intel processor make? And how do you make sense of the alphabet soup that is Wi-Fi (802.11a, b, g, n)? Well, dear reader, and potential buyer, Switched is here to help you wade through the spec lists you see on those Sunday circulars and help you make the best of your laptop money.

SIZE
Perhaps the most important factor when shopping for a laptop is what size you should get. Most often, laptops are divided up into four general size categories: ultra-portable, thin-and-light, mainstream, and desktop replacement, each with its own particular pros and cons.

Ultra-portables are for those who want to carry their laptops everywhere everyday. They weigh less than 4-pounds and have long-lasting batteries (four hours or more on a single charge), but also have tiny screens (12-inches or less) and slightly sluggish processors. Ultra-portables sometimes also lack bulky extras such as DVD drives and extra inputs, which make them ideal for business users who need to have a computer with them at all times for work, but do not care about entertainment, gaming or editing their videos or pictures.

If performance and screen real estate are important, but you still plan to carry your laptop around much of the time, then make the jump to a thin-and-light notebook. Models in this category generally weigh in at about 5-pounds and pack in beefier processors, as well as 13- or 14-inch wide screens. This size category is popular with business users or students who need to carry their computers with them always, but want more power for fun tasks like watching movies or downloading and listening to music. Thin-and-light notebooks also have more regular-sized keyboards, which will be a relief to anyone who has to write TPS reports and/or term papers

So-called mainstream laptops are, more often than not, cheaper and less svelte versions of their thin-and-light cousins. 15-inch wide screens are the norm, as are weights of about 6-pounds. These specs make them portable, but they're a bit big to stick in many backpacks and can be tiring to carry around with you every day. Still, you won't get more bang for your buck in another category, which makes mainstream laptops an ideal choice for those on a budget.

At the top of the heap are desktop replacements.These over-sized monstrosities are good if you want top performance, but are tight on space or want to be able to compute from various locations in your home (since they can be easily moved from room to room). 17-inch screens are the standard, but 19-inchers are available as well. The models in this category contain top-of-the-line components that are far better at handling video editing and gaming than the other types of laptops. They also weigh anywhere from 7 pounds to 10 pounds. But with such big screens and powerful innards, desktop replacements only have an average battery life of about two hours, so don't expect them to last for too long away from an outlet.

BATTERY LIFE
Part of the appeal of a laptop is its ability to travel with you, so battery life will play an important factor in choosing which computer you buy. There is no reason to accept any less than three hours of operation, and at least four would be preferable. If you're going to be carrying your laptop with you everywhere, you should aim for one of the ultra-portables that can often offer seven hours or more of active computing.

Battery life is tied tightly to a couple of key components, namely screens and processors. The larger the screen and the faster the processor, the less life you can expect to get from a charge. If battery life is key for you, look to those 12-inch ultra-portables and keep an eye out for LV (Low Voltage) or ULV (Ultra Low Voltage) processors from Intel that sip power and stretch a battery as far as it will go. You'll be able to identify them by the model number, which will start with an 'L' or a 'U,' such as U7600 or L7200. Also look for Energy Star certification, a set of standards the ensure power-efficiency (4.0 is the highest rating a computer can get). All the major manufacturers offer a number of laptops that achieve this rating, including most of Dell's Latitude line of business laptops.

OPERATING SYSTEM (WINDOWS VS MAC, ETC)
Choosing an operating system (OS) -- essentially the tech term for Windows, Mac OSX, or Linux -- for your laptop can be a tough decision. Macs are sexy and cool, but can you run all the applications you need on them? Windows is the industry standard, but can be a security nightmare, and Vista is bloated and slow. Then there is the dark horse Linux, which is quick on its feet and infinitely customizable, but could give non-geeks migraines if anything stops working as Linux is known for being difficult to use.

Windows: The wealth of applications available for Windows makes it very alluring, but the wealth of viruses and spyware that target the OS can make it terrifying. Windows is the operating system for games, most of the most popular titles, 'Halo,' 'Bioshock,' and 'Crysis' aren't available on Mac or Linux. uTorrent (the best BitTorrent client out there in our subjective opinion) is also Windows only but the software gap between Windows and OS X has all but disappeared outside of the gaming world. If you've decided you need access to the most applications and hardware then you've still got to decide between Vista or XP. If you're planning on picking up one of those low-power ultra-portables, or a more budget conscious PC with limited resources, opt for XP, which is faster than Vista and much easier on your battery. The average user should be fine with Vista Home Premium. While XP may have it's benefits, Vista is the way of the future, and hoping on board now will save you some trouble when Microsoft stops supporting XP in a couple of years.

Mac OSX: After years of being overshadowed by Windows-based computers, notebooks (iBooks and MacBooks) that use the Mac OSX (also known as Leopard, in its latest incarnation) are gaining more acceptance. Third-party developers are building a substantial library of software to supplement the already impressive stable of Mac-exclusive applications, such as iTunes, iLife, and Garage Band, that are shipped with every Mac. Macs excel at creative tasks, such as music creation, photo editing, and video production. They're also more or less free of the viruses and spyware that plague Windows users (though it's a matter of debate whether this security will last or not). Sadly, you'll still encounter some compatibility issues with peripherals, such as printers, cell phones, back-up drives, and 3G wireless broadband cards (also, known as WAN cards, more on that later). And unless you're in publishing or graphic design, the corporate world doesn't appear to be embracing Macs any time soon.

Linux: If you're adventurous, or a tinkerer, you can always opt for Linux. Linux comes in many flavors called distributions. Dell sells PCs with the Ubuntu Linux distribution -- which is the Linux operating system plus a collection of useful software programs -- pre-installed. Ubuntu features useful apps including a Web browser, as well as presentation, document, spreadsheet, and instant-messaging software, and is the particular brand we would recommend, as it is the most user friendly and has one of the largest libraries of available software. Linux has many of the same pros (near invulnerability to viruses and spyware) and cons (lack of games and compatibility issues) as Mac OS X, but has an incredible library of solid free software like Tomboy, a note-taking application, Photoshop replacement GIMP, and the Open Office suite. These aren't perfect programs, by any means, but they certainly get the job done, and on the cheap (meaning, free). Plus, opting for a Linux-based laptop lets you take a stand against Steve Jobs and/or Bill Gates. The downside is that even basic troubleshooting may be a bit much for the novice computer user. Dell will sell technical support, and there is a large community of users out there who are very willing to help you solve your problems if you visit the Ubuntu forums, however solving issues in Linux can often involve complex command line operations or editing cryptic text files buried in hard to find places. If you have to ask what those terms mean, then you probably shouldn't be getting Linux.

WIRELESS OPTIONS (CONNECTING TO THE INTERNET AND OTHER GADGETS)
WI-FI: The wireless mess of 802.11a, b, g, n -- that mysterious set of letters and numbers you see on computer wireless spec lists -- is actually much simpler than it would appear. "802.11n" is the latest and greatest, but still not widespread. "802.11g" is the standard and "802.11b" is the original standard. "802.11a" is the red-headed step child that never quite took off, and you probably won't miss it if your laptop won't support it. We strongly recommend making sure your laptop has "n" installed to future-proof your purchase. It's twice as fast as 802.11g -- ideal for streaming or downloading even HD-quality video over Wi-Fi -- but will still work on "g" networks. If the laptop doesn't have WiFi, then don't buy it.

There are other connectivity options to consider when shopping as well. Bluetooth will allow you to use a headset with your PC for placing voice calls over applications like Skype, Google Talk, or Gizmo. It will also allow you to sync your smart phone or use your mobile handset as a modem for getting online when Wi-Fi isn't an option. If you plan on being out and about, but always need to be able to get online, then think about adding a built in 3G cellular WAN (Wide Area Network) connection for broadband speeds from just about anywhere there's a cell phone signal (many ultraportable and thin-and-light notebooks offer this option). You can also get add-on cards for WAN access on laptops that don't have the feature built-in. You'll need a PC card slot or a USB slot for these add-on cards to work. Sprint and Verizon offer 3G EVDO mobile broadband cards, while AT&T Wireless offers 3G HDSPA cards, which will work overseas if you plan on traveling internationally.

As far as ports (a.k.a. inputs on your computer) go, make sure that the laptop you choose has at least 2 USB ports, but the more the merrier. You'll need these to plug in the aforementioned mobile broadband cards, but also printers, Webcams, mice, and cameras. A DVI output is also good to have, since most external computer monitors will work with it as will many HDTVs. If you plan on watching HD movies on a TV, consider getting a laptop with an HDMI output. VGA outputs will also work with most computer monitors, but may be the most limiting option. If you're getting a Windows-based laptop, you'll want to get a model with a built-in multi-format memory card reader, which lets you transfer images, video, and music much faster than with a USB cable.

TECH SPECS AND OTHER FEATURES
This is the really techy stuff. AMD or Intel processors? What speed? How much RAM (random access memory)? The most important thing to look for is RAM, which is what will help your computer work faster. Accept no less than 1-gigabyte, but if you've got the cash, spring for 2-gigabytes, just to be safe, especially if you intend to run the resource-hungry Vista. The exception to the rule is Mac, for which we'd recommend getting 2-gigabytes from the get-go. Why? Because upgrading RAM on a Mac is either really complicated or really expensive. If you're determined to save some money on RAM for your Mac, then buy the standard 1-gigabyte and get your technologically inclined nephew to upgrade it for you after the fact. (Hint: Shopping at Newegg.com could save you up to $100 over the Apple memory upgrade.)

When choosing a processor, the decision between AMD and Intel is pretty simple: Unless you plan on only e-mailing or word processing, or if price is a concern, you should go with an Intel processor -- they just tend to be faster and more efficient, which means fewer mysterious freeze-ups during computing and longer battery life. Any Core 2 Duo (logo above) will do -- and aim for the 2-gigahertz and higher models if you plan to do any gaming. If the laptop you like only offers AMD processors, then go with AMD's top-of-the-line Turion 64 X2 mobile processor (logo above).

Intel's standard Pentium line (not Pentium M or Pentium 4, just plain Pentium) is fine for those with only basic computing needs and tight budgets, but avoid anything that has the word Sempron in it. Sempron is the bottom of the barrel, bargain processors from AMD, and it's only single-core, under-powered, and outdated by the time you get it home. We'd also recommend holding-off on Celeron processors until the end of 2008, when the more affordable processor brand from Intel will get a dual-core upgrade. While both Sempron and Celeron processors may do the job for a brief period of time, you'll be wishing you dropped the extra $50 on a processor upgrade when it takes a full three minutes to launch the next version of Internet Explorer or Firefox.

If you really want to future proof your purchase, look for the latest processors from Intel, which are built on the chipmaker's new 45nm process. The technology leads to faster and cooler processors that wont burn your lap under heavy use, and will survive a little longer on a charge. The latest from Intel are still called Core 2, but can be distinguished by their processor numbers that start with "8" or "9" (i.e. T9500 or T8300). The current versions available now are aimed at more demanding users such as gamers and media enthusiasts, but the technology will trickle down to the lower end of the company's processor line in the next couple of years.

When it comes to optical drives, a DVD +/- writer is the standard, and is good enough in most instances since it'll handle the most common disc formats. If you plan to watch HD movies, look for a Blu-ray drive -- it's pricey and only worth it if you're an early-adopter, high-def movie buff (don't pay for a competing HD-DVD drive, since that format is all but dead). Be warned, though, that many ultra-portables, such as the MacBook Air and the Lenovo X61 shed an optical drive to save size and weight, which means an external drive will be needed to watch DVDs, rip and burn CDs, or, in most cases, install software from a CD or DVD.

The last thing to look at is a graphics card. Many laptops use "integrated" graphics, which means they're built into the system and borrow RAM to operate. These graphics chips are good enough for most everyday tasks, but if you plan to do any gaming beyond playing 'Minesweeper' and/or run Vista, then look for a "discrete" graphics solution from either ATI or Nvidia that has its own memory. Look for either an ATI HD 2xxx or an Nvidia GeForce 7xxx or 6xxx series with at least 128-megabytes of memory for Vista, or if you're planning on using your laptop for HD video playback. If you plan on doing any serious gaming or video editing, then spring for the top of the line GeForce 8800 or ATI's HD 3600 series with 512-megabytes of dedicated memory.

Laptop processor performence chart

Sat, 24 Oct 2009 05:12:47 +0100

Here is a chart showing the performence of the processors relating with other factors...

Windows 7 to hit the shelves on 22nd October 2009

Sat, 17 Oct 2009 14:38:36 +0100

According to Microsoft’s Senior Vice President, Bill Veghte, Windows 7 will be on sale and pre-installed on PC’s on 22nd October this year!

Microsoft has maintained until now, that Windows 7 wouldn’t be available for general sale until early next year. Earlier this year, we predicted a Windows 7 release date of 3rd October launch.

Pricing has yet to be confirmed, with many users telling us that they demand either a free upgrade to Windows 7 from Windows Vista, or a very significant discounts

Call it a comeback? Google earnings due

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 16:17:50 +0100

With the online ad business appearing to have collected itself at the bottom of the ravine, all eyes will be on Google's earnings report Thursday to see if it has figured out where the path back to the top starts.

Investors are feeling good about Google in the run-up to Thursday's third-quarter earnings conference call, sending the stock to a 52-week high on Tuesday at $527.46 before it settled back down to $526.11 at the close of trading. Five prominent financial analysts raised their expectations for Google's stock Monday amid a collective feeling that advertisers have started to finally increase their spending after sitting on their wallets for about a year.

Last week Google CEO Eric Schmidt said that not only are things picking up in the U.S., but Europe has started to get its groove back ahead of the expected timeline. Google sales representatives gathered in New York last week were said to be "very, very positive."

As a whole, the financial community is expecting Google to record $4.23 billion in net revenue--gross revenue minus traffic acquisition costs paid to Google partners--and earnings per share of $5.39 for the period that ended in September. That would imply a revenue increase of 4 percent compared to last year, a far cry from the numbers Google used to put up but in line with its recessionary performance.

Sentiment is growing, however, that those expectations could be conservative coming off a rough year. Both Goldman Sachs and UBS cited increased activity from advertisers in raising their price targets on Google's stock Monday, to $585 and $580, respectively, according to Tech Trader Daily. Goldman said that advertising spending has increased in certain areas, such as travel and clothing, and UBS thinks Google is getting better pricing on clicks as demand once again stirs for search keywords.

Google certainly hasn't lost much steam in its core market. Its share of the U.S. search market remained relatively flat at about 64 percent of the market over the period in question, according to ComScore. Despite a huge marketing push from Microsoft around the launch of Bing, most of Microsoft's gains seem to have come at the expense of its proposed partner--Yahoo--as well as the also-rans of the search market.

The other good thing for Google is that even if search growth in the U.S. continues to creep along--up just 3 percent from July to August--the worldwide growth in search queries is quite strong, giving the company some room to grow revenue. Revenue from outside the U.S. made up 53 percent of the company's second-quarter revenue, although competition is tougher for Google outside its home country, especially in fast-growing China.

Citigroup's Mark Mahaney, speaking to MarketWatch earlier this week, described search advertising as one of the more resilient forms of advertising during a slump, and as such is also one of the first places where companies will want to put their money as budgets loosen. That means Google's results--if the optimists win the day--will be held up as the start of the online advertising recovery as well as a sign that the rest of the industry still has a ways to go.

Longer term, however, Google needs to make something else pay off beyond its search juggernaut if it wants to sustain long-term growth, Mahaney said. Google has made some progress in the last quarter on some of those areas, launching a revamped display ad exchange (although that came too late in the quarter to have much of an effect), signing deals with several partners for Android phones, and increasing the number of ads and content partnerships shown on YouTube.

This is still a company that gets the vast majority of its revenue from search advertising, however: none of those other businesses (save display ads) has the nearly the same kind of direct effect on Google's bottom line that its search ad business produces.

It's unclear whether Google is prepared to provide more color on the profitability of these other businesses, especially YouTube. The company willingly paid about $1 billion more than its own internal valuation to get its hands on YouTube, but while Google executives have hinted they are getting close, there's still no indication that YouTube has approached the break-even point three years after its acquisition.

YouTube profitability was "a high priority" for Google in 2008, but once the ad market collapsed in late 2008 that goal fell by the wayside. Now, as ad revenue shows signs of potential revival and now that Google has a better system for matching display ad buyers and sellers, it stands to reason that YouTube profitability is once again at the top of Schmidt's priorities.

Following the presentation of the financial results, expect Schmidt to face several questions about the vacancy on Google's board of directors, following Art Levinson's decision to end his dual role on both Google and Apple's board by stepping down from Google's board on Monday. Levinson's departure followed Schmidt's departure from Apple's board a few months ago in the wake of an FTC inquiry over the shared roles, which seems to have been closed following Levinson's move.

Google still faces government scrutiny in other areas, such as its hiring practices and its Google Books settlement with authors and publishers. Google is currently reworking the terms of the settlement to satisfy the concerns of the U.S. Department of Justice, and has been ordered to produce a revamped deal by November 9.

But for the most part, Google's Thursday afternoon appears to be shaping up as a hopeful sign that while the pace of economic recovery in the tech industry may be slow, is it recovering.

Intel stokes hopes for PC recovery; shares jump

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 16:15:42 +0100

SAN FRANCISCO -

Intel Corp. has been asserting for months that the personal computer business is rebounding from its deepest slump in nearly a decade. Its stock surged Wednesday on signs that things are picking up faster than expected, despite a few lingering trouble spots.

Intel reported after the market closed Tuesday that its profit and sales both dipped 8 percent from July through September as spending by corporations remained weak, a trend that has dragged on throughout the recession and probably won't ease until next year.

The price for Intel's chips also fell. One reason is that "netbooks," little laptops that cost a few hundred dollars and have limited functions beyond surfing the Internet, have caught on but aren't big moneymakers. Another is that PC makers have slashed their prices on full-sized computers, and aren't willing to pay as much for the chips that go into them.

The results easily surpassed Wall Street's forecasts, however, and Intel's guidance for the October-December quarter of $9.7 billion to $10.5 billion in sales also topped projections.

Intel shares jumped 61 cents, or 3 percent, to $21.10 in morning trading Wednesday.

As the first major technology company to report third-quarter earnings, Intel's numbers lend insight into the strength or weakness of PC makers' demand for new chips. What the figures don't necessarily show, though, is whether PC companies are stocking up on chips to replenish low supplies, or whether they expect especially brisk sales of computers. That will begin to play out in the coming weeks, as the holiday season gets under way and a new edition of Windows is released Oct. 22.

Intel had bumped up Wall Street's expectations twice ahead of Tuesday's report.

In August, the company raised its guidance, and last month CEO Paul Otellini predicted that PC sales could defy predictions by growing in 2009, which would avert the first year-over-year sales decline since 2001. Intel has been more optimistic than even some of its biggest customers. Hewlett-Packard Co. and Dell Inc., the top PC makers, have been reluctant to call a bottom in the PC market, as Otellini did in April.

Intel's net income was $1.9 billion, or 33 cents per share, down from $2.0 billion, or 35 cents a share, a year ago. Sales totaled $9.4 billion. Analysts had expected profit of 28 cents per share on sales of $9.0 billion, according to a poll by Thomson Reuters.

Another important number was Intel's gross profit margin, which was 57.6 percent of revenue. In the second quarter, the figure was 50.8 percent. The boost shows Intel is making its microprocessors cheaper to produce, a technological feat that comes from pouring billions into research and upgrading factories.

HP Readies New PCs for the Windows 7 Party

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 16:06:09 +0100

With availability of Windows 7 just around the corner, HP has unveiled a grab-bag of new PCs that include something for everyone. Leading the pack are several new additions to its TouchSmart line, including the HP LD4200tm, equipped with HP's first fully interactive, 42-inch diagonal, high-definition digital signage touch display.

HP (NYSE: HPQ) has released a slew of new PCs -- both desktop and notebooks -- that leverage its growing investment in touchscreen technology ahead of Microsoft's (Nasdaq: MSFT) Windows 7 release.

The products target just about every buying constituency there is, from college students seeking affordable notebooks to businesses interested in upgrading to high-end desktops and laptops.

Touchscreen Product Line

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HP TouchSmart 600

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In the touchscreen category, it introduced several products geared toward consumers.

The HP TouchSmart 600 and the HP TouchSmart 300 come equipped with Hulu Desktop and a Netflix (Nasdaq: NFLX) application -- among several other Web 2.0 apps -- and sport a swivel stand and tilt webcam. The HP TouchSmart 600 starts at US$1,049 and is expected Oct. 22. The HP TouchSmart 300, starting at $899, is expected by Nov. 1.

The HP TouchSmart tx2 notebook PC has a tablet form-factor and comes equipped with several entertainment applications and functions, including exclusive touch-enabled games and Corel (Nasdaq: CORL) Painter Sketch Pad for creating digital art. It weighs 4.65 pounds, features a 12.1-inch diagonal widescreen integrated touchscreen convertible display and AMD (NYSE: AMD) Turion dual-core processors. The HP TouchSmart tx2 retails for $799 and is expected to be avail

HP also introduced new touchscreen PCs for business users.

The HP TouchSmart 9100 Business PC targets the middle-tier business user, providing videoconferencing capabilities and other multimedia features. It has a 23-inch diagonal full HD widescreen display. Other features include DVI output and configure-to-order options including a choice of Microsoft Windows 7 32-bit or 64-bit operating system and an Intel (Nasdaq: INTC) Core 2 Duo processor. The HP TouchSmart 9100 starts at $1,299 and is expected to be available in December.

The HP LD4200tm is arguably HP's favorite child. Among other special effects, it features a 42-inch diagonal high-definition screen with a 178 x 178 degree viewing angle and infrared technology -- which recognizes multitouch gestures for on-screen interaction with video, graphics or text in both bright and dim lighting. The HP LD4200tm's starting price is $2,799, and it's expected to be available in December.

New Business Series

HP also introduced an affordable new ProBook b-series -- the HP ProBook 6445b and HP ProBook 6545b -- as well as the HP Elite 7000 Business Desktop PC.

The Probooks are the first in a series of business product launches HP has planned over the next few months for businesses that want to upgrade existing hardware -- hopefully in conjunction with the upcoming release of Windows 7. Key selling points for the HP ProBook 6445b and HP Probook6545b are flexible battery options and a range of wireless connectivity choices. Battery life has improved 60 percent -- for up to 8 hours and 15 minutes of use -- while performance improved 39 percent, according to the specs. The HP ProBook b-series will be available in mid-November for $799.

The HP Elite 7000 Business Desktop PC, billed as the company's highest-performance small business desktop to date, comes with Windows 7, DDR3 memory support, the Intel P55 Express chipset and a choice of Intel Core i5 and i7 processors. It can support 8 gigabytes of memory, a 1 terabyte hard drive and an array of bays and ports. The Elite desktop is expected to be available Oct. 22 for $789.

Compaq Family

HP also added to its Compaq product line.

The new additions are the Compaq Presario CQ61z notebook PC, which starts at $399; the $309 Compaq Presario 4010f desktop PC, which includes an AMD Sempron processor, Nvidia GeForce integrated graphics and a 250 gigabyte hard drive; and the Compaq 500B desktop PC, which comes with the Windows 7 operating system and starts at $359.

HP could not provide comments for this story in time for publication.

The Problems With New Technology

It is good to see products being released with the long-awaited Windows 7 operating system, Rob Stanpolito, analyst with Directions on Microsoft, told TechNewsWorld.

However, there are still hardware and software compatibility glitches, said Stanpolito, who has been testing the OS for a few months.

"It is almost surprising for what seems like such a promising environment -- but based on my early testing, I think new products like these HP rollouts will experience their fair share of debugging," he commented.

There are also some issues concerning the touchscreen technology, IDC analyst Bob O'Donnell told TechNewsWorld.

HP has been a leading developer of touchscreen technology, working on it as a competitive differentiator for the last 18 months.

"They've also done a lot of custom software to make sure it works with Windows 7," noted O'Donnell.

The result -- in theory -- will be products that can leverage Windows 7 but still retain the unique HP image, he said.

The problem is that touchscreen technology is still deployed in a vacuum, he added.

"One of its challenges is that there is little software in the industry that actually takes advantage of touch -- it is one of the reasons why tablets never took off," O'Donnell said.

App developers want to see the hardware in place before they begin work, he noted, and that tendency can turn into a vicious marketing timing cycle. Even with HP's mass rollout, it is still unclear whether app developers will respond, O'Donnell said.

"With Windows 7, touch will gain more recognition, but it will take a year to 18 months before we know whether it'll be enough."