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HP’s Elite X3 Business Smartphone to Hit U.S. Stores Aug. 29

10HP first unveiled its Windows 10-powered, business Elite x3 smartphone in February but it had plans to launch it in the U.S. late this summer. The new handset is specially designed for enterprise customers and allows users easily switch between several electronic devices through the mobile OS’ s Contiuum feature.

The 5.96-inch, 0.43 lb mobile device’s screen is made of the shock-absorbing Gorilla Glass 4 and it is waterproof. It is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor, with 4GB of RAM, and has 64 GB just for storage. You can boost storage space by up to 2 Tb, according to manufacturer.

You can also charge the smartphone wirelessly but you’ll need to purchase the pad separately.

Elite X3 is equipped with two cameras of 16 MP (rear) and 8 MP (front) respectively. It can be connected via Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and supports GPS and NFC. It also has embedded dual SIM to help you keep personal and business lives separate.

The only drawback of the dual SIM system is that you need to pick between the two additional 2TB of storage and an extra SIM card. Security is also enhanced as you can log in using an iris and fingerprint scanner.

It can be easily paired with other devices and multiple networks. The Continuum feature in Windows 10 turns your business smartphone into a phablet or desktop PC since you can dock the phone to your desktop monitor via the Desk Doc.

You can also connect the phone to a 2.2 lb Lap Dock for a true laptop experience. The Lap Dock is lightweight because it is not equipped with a processor since it uses the smartphone’s Qualcomm Snapdragon processor.

You can take a look at the HP Elite x3 new features here:

After you paired the Elite x3, you’ll be able to access the Microsoft Office suite and download more apps from the Windows Store. But experts say that the “laptop experience” has some limitations since Windows 10 is a mobile version of the operating system.

The handset will be available in U.S. stores on August 29 for the starting price of $699. You’ll be also able to buy the smartphone and the Desk Dock for $799. Make sure you check the company’s website for the phone’s availability in your area. HP plans to launch the new device in 47 countries worldwide.

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Chromebooks Outsell Macs and Hits Hard at Microsoft

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Google’s Chromebooks Outsell Macs and Hits Hard at Microsoft

For the first time, Google Chromebooks outsold Apple’s Macs in the recent quarter, and Microsoft is feeling much more that a little heat.

Manufacturers like HP, Dell, and Lenovo have sold around two million Chromebooks combined, versus the seemingly lone wolf, Apple (approx. 1.7 million).

It’s not all that bad for Apple. Quarter after quarter, the company has shrunk the PC industry with its sales growth. Plus, Apple has always been satisfied with having just a piece of the larger pie. However, for Microsoft, the pressure is on.

It looks like Google is attacking Microsoft with its slow-but-steady strategic move. With the new Chromebooks, Android and Chrome are smashed together. Chromebooks have full access to Google Play store, which means the possibility to use 1.5 million Android applications.

Chromebook’s main concept is simplicity. Portability is its second key concept. The Chromebook devices have an ultra-lightweight Chrome operating system that offers a bit more than a web browser.

The gig seems to work just fine, especially in the educational space, since everything is cloud-based (nothing can be lost), and the performance is reasonable for laptops under $200. With the availability of the Android apps, the offer becomes irresistible, and the numbers are showing it.

Microsoft is taking a different approach with the new Windows 10 OS. The company is trying to convince developers to bring their services to the Windows store taking advantage of the lead Microsoft has in desktop operating systems.

It’s an interesting tactic, but will it work?

The Redmond-based company has attracted some powerful players like Facebook, Uber, and Hulu, but it does not have the growing ecosystem Android has; and is all probably because of Microsoft’s lack of presence in the smartphone environment.

For now, that’s not so bad, especially considering Windows 10 is still running all the software consumers and businesses are used to, but in the future, everything will be written for the smartphone and the web.

If Google will outsell Microsoft, it’s not yet clear – it might be just another challenge for Microsoft to take and beat – but what is clear is that Chromebooks are growing strongly amid the current market conditions and the tech giant is a fearful opponent.

Image source: Exeo

HP will Split into Two Companies

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The last time we talked about HP here on our site was when we reviewed the HP Slate 7. Now it’s time to take a look at the latest HP news and discuss how rumors are saying that HP will split into two companies this year.

HP will Split into Two Companies

Hewlett-Packard is one of the world’s largest tech companies. It was founded by Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard in 1939 and they’ve helped put the PC in every home. They are currently employing more than 300,000 employees around the globe.

HP will split into two companies, some reports are saying. The corporate hardware and service operations will move away from the performing computer and printer business. HP hasn’t been doing well, in the past years, as it is struggling to keep its position in an ever-changing market.

Many of its endeavors to continue to be present on the tech market have been complete and utter fails (see the HP Touchpad which was pulled after one month on being on the market). Tens of thousands of job cuts have been announced in the past few years and in August, HP reported a sharp fall in profit.

The PCs, which are HP’s main money maker are coming back, or at least that’s what Meg Whitman, HP Chief Executive, would like to believe; she has said that it is a declining business, though. Maybe this is the reason why HP will split into two companies.

The news about the split comes from the Wall Street Journal and the company is expected to confirm the rumors as early as Monday. If the split is real and it is going to happen, some say that HP will have a chance at survival, while other see this as the final nail in HP’s coffin.

The same reports say that Meg Whitman is going to be the head of the new company, in charge of printing and PC, HP’s most successful departments.

What are your thoughts on this matter? Drop us a line in the comment section below!

The New HP Chromebook 11 Gets Upgrades and A Lower Price

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Recent news tell us about the new HP Chromebook 11, an upgraded piece of hardware that come up with a a few interesting features and, above all, a lower price. Let’s see what this is all about. According to the reviewers, the new HP Chromebook 11 sports two new interesting color choices, namely Snow White or Ocean Turquoise.

We are not sure that color is the most important criterion for users when they decide to buy a laptop, but we have to admit, the turquoise looks pretty compelling.

So far, you could choose among black or white, with four accents available (red, green, blue, or yellow), but the upcoming Chromebook 11 seems to target younger and more nonconformist customers. The silver keyboard deck featured by the white and turquoise laptops definitely add a bit of originality in comparison to the older model.

Moving along, color and battery life seem to be the most important upgrades. They say that the new HP Chromebook 11 will last up to 6.25 hours on a charge. Owners of the older Chromebook were led to believe that the model could last up to 6.10 hours, according to the company’s estimates, but tech specialists found it lasted only 3 hours and 54 minutes on the Peacekeeper Browser Test. Given this past error, it is legit to wonder if the estimates on the new HP Chromebook 11 aren’t a bit exaggerated as well, but time will tell.

The new HP Chromebook 11 is similar with its predecessor on the inside, but that is not such a bad thing after all. It features the same Samsung Exynos 5250 processor, 2 GB of RAM and 16 GB of flash memory. Just as the guys from CNET say, you are expected to rely on Google Drive and the cloud to manage your storage needs. This new model also gained a little weight, sporting 0.81 inches and 2.69 pounds. It also comes with a headphone jack. The 11 – inch display offers you a 1366 × 768 resolution.

HP is trying to keep close to its competitors and this time, the price might be the most important factor to make customers decide. The product will be available in July with the price of $249. It is a fair price for a product that is not spectacular, especially if you are a HP and Google fan. However, it is also fair to tell you that you can get better specs for $50 dollars more, as the Acer C720 Chromebook is better equipped and still a budget king in its class.

Tech specialists promised to bring us detailed reviews and tests on the new HP Chromebook 11 as soon as they get their hands on it, so for now, we all just have to wait for the laptop to hit the shelves.

HP Slate 7 Review

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The rumor mill is working hard and it appears that Samsung will soon launch some Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 tablets which are going to be lighter and cheaper, but until that time comes, we’re going to take a look at HP and their new Slate 7. Read our HP Slate 7 review and let us know what you think in the comment section below.

HP doesn’t know tablets, let’s face it. They do desktops like no other, their commercial laptops are the bomb, their workstations have no rival and even their POSs are awesome, but they don’t do tablets. Remember HP’s latest and biggest fail? It was called the TouchPad and the company pulled the device a less than months after it launched. It took such a drastic measure because the device was bad. Incomparably bad!

HP Slate 7 Review

The HP Slate 7 is a tablet computer introduced by HP last year and it is aimed at budget shoppers. HP Slate 7 has a quad-core processor with a 1.5GHz, which is alright. It only has 8GB of RAM of internal storage and 1GB of RAM. It supports 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi, a Bluetooth 2.1 and has a nifty accelerometer. Up until now, there’s nothing too impressive, but when you learn that it has no GPS hardware and no gyroscope, you’ll be impressed at how budget it really is.

The resolution is where HP really messed up. Instead of going a bit out of its way and making it 1,280×800 pixels, HP chose to pack only 1,024×600 pixels on the Slate 7’s display, which made it obsolete before it even hit the stores. The HP Slate 7 runs Android 4.1 Jelly Bean.

What we like about this tablet is the fact that it has a 7-ich screen with a thick bezel, which makes holding it awesome. No more touching the screen by accident and activating apps or clicking at random. At the top of the bezel it has a low-quality VGA camera. It takes such photos that we have to wonder what HP was thinking putting such a horrible camera on their tablet.

Yay or Nay?

To be honest, our answer is nay. Our HP Slate 7 review made us realize that the tablet was simply not worth the money. We’re bothered by the fact that HP failed to give the tablet a Full HD display and we’re more than annoyed with the apps taking forever to load. We know it’s a budget tablet, but still, we expected a bit more.

HP Chromebook 11 taken off shelves due to overheating

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It looks like one Chromebook will not be getting much attention from consumers in the coming weeks, as Best Buy and online retailers have taken the HP Chromebook 11 off shelves after reports of overheating chargers and other minor problems with the laptop.

This is the first we have heard of a Chrome OS laptop failing and it may be a big burden on HP. This is their first major Chromebook and Google decided to market it as the flagship product, stepping away from Samsung and Acer’s offerings.

The HP Chromebook 11 has a few nice features but the most standout feature is the colored band around the keyboard. This really differentiates the HP Chromebook 11 from other Chromebooks, but it may now be known as the laptop that failed to keep its cool.

Google has already issued a statement saying all using the HP Chromebook 11 should stop using the charger that came with the laptop and move to a third party micro USB charging cable, not the best advice but a quick workaround until they can get to everyone affected.

This does seem like a pain for the Chromebook line, a concept that has been growing ever since the Samsung Chromebook made waves on Amazon, staying number one on the best seller list for more than three months and gaining huge amounts of sales.

Reviews on the HP Chromebook 11 have been mixed, some love the new design of the Chromebook, but there are problems with battery life and the keyboard/trackpad is not a solid buy against other cheap laptops running Windows.

Chrome OS is still a small crack in the PC OS war, one that Windows is still winning by a great margin. Mac OS has been growing with the purchase of more MacBook’s and iMacs in the professional and personal market.

HP Slate 8 Pro revealed through benchmark test

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HP has been one of the least successful companies when it comes to mobile expansion, even though they are the biggest PC seller in the world, they have failed on several occasions to emerge in the mobile market.

The HP Slate 8 Pro is another try by the PC behemoth to bring an Android tablet to the market. The HP Slate 7 was released a few months back, but has failed to gain any traction, the same as most Android tablets.

From benchmarks leaked on the HP Slate 8 Pro, it seems like it will be a slightly larger tablet with some improved specs. The eight inch tablet market is currently dominated by the iPad Mini, with HP’s failure in the tablet market so far, it will be hard to take on the Mini and Samsung’s Galaxy Note 8.0.

The HP Slate 8 Pro does boast some impressive specs, with a 1.8GHz Tegra 4 processor, one of the first we have ever seen, backed with 2GB of RAM. The display will be 1,600×1,200, giving the HP Slate 8 Pro a 4:3 aspect ratio, the same as Apple’s iPads.

Android 4.2.2 will run on the HP Slate 8 Pro and HP is one of the only providers to not skin the tablet in any way. We may see some HP bloatware but nothing that cannot be put into a folder and forgot about.

The HP Slate 8 Pro does seem like a top end device and one we would like to get our hands on. HP has a simple and cheap design with almost everything they create, but we hope this will be able to compete against the Nexus 7 and iPad Mini on a design front.

As we said before, HP has had one of the worst records in the mobile world, buying Palm and then destroying it, developing webOS and then selling it to LG and not having any success in the phone or tablet market.

The HP Slate 8 Pro may be a great device, but if HP cannot up their game in the mobile market, either through great advertising or just getting the word out that these are top devices, they may see the mobile market disappear as the PC market shrinks.

HP To Enter Smartphone Business – Google Android could be the OS

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HP has stated they will be back soon to compete in the burgeoning smartphone segment. And guess what platform they are hinging all their efforts on when they embark on their smartphone adventure. Its Google Android of course which must be the most logical decision going by the popularity the mobile platform now enjoys. HP though has very limited choice here as the only other viable option to go for would have been the Windows Phone 8 OS which has among the lowest market penetration right now. In comparison, Android is among the leading operating system is use with the largest number of mobile phones now getting launched.

However, HP’s eagerness to be in the smartphone game is nothing new. HP’s CEO Meg Whitman had spoken of such a thing back in the fourth quarter of last year itself. It’s just than a senior HP executive, Yam Su Yin who happens to be the company’s senior director for consumer PCs and media tablets in Asia has once again reiterated while speaking to the Indian Express that it makes a lot sense to be in the smartphone business. More so when it can be a steady source of revenue for the company. However, he wasn’t forthcoming with any other details which include a particular time frame or the price segment they wish to compete in.

HP’s earlier tablet venture had ended in a disaster when they had to engage in a fire sale to get rid of the WebOS based tablet, the TouchPad. After a brief hiatus, the company is back in the tablet game with a budget Android tablet, the $169 priced Slate 7. In fact, HP never had the going good in the mobile connected devices segment comprising of smartphones, tablets and such which seems to emerging stronger than any other forms of computing. Its WebOS venture bombed and left the company bleeding, which made them to seek recluse in their core business areas of laptops and PCs. Having earned enough breathing space there, venturing out to other business segment makes the next logical step.

HP goes for the Chromebook arena

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It seems like HP wants to try its hand in the Chromebook arena, which already offers successful Chromebook versions from Acer, Samsung and Lenovo. The news flashed from a product PDF found on HP’s shopping page. Though HP has yet to reveal the pricing of the new Pavilion Chromebook, the document makes mention of the launch date – Feb. 17, 2013.

When it comes to features, HP’s soon-to-be launched Chromebook features a 14-inch display, which makes it distinct from the existing versions that have 11.6-inch screens. That may be a plus, but it has a relatively shorter battery life – 4 hours and 15 minutes – compared to Samsung Chromebook’s seven hours.
Weighing 1.8 kg and measuring 0.83 x 13.66 x 9.37 inches, Pavilion looks like a high-powered device. But, its processor – Intel Celeron Processor 847 clocked at 1.1 GHz – is not as impressive. However, it has a 2 GB DDR3 SDRAM, with support for 4 GB memory, sufficient to provide a good user experience on the Chrome OS. The 1366 x 768 display features a LED-backlit unit cum BrightView technology. You also get enough ports – USB 2.0 slots, HDMI out, Ethernet jack, plus an SD card slot for additional storage.
The overall specs sound good, but it remains to be seen whether the Pavilion will make it big in the Chromebook market. The processor power and battery life may be a concern for some. We’ll have to wait to see how the pricing compares with existing Chromebooks.
What’s interesting is that HP’s new product augments Google’s competition with Microsoft. And, in the light of the fact that HP is a major client of Microsoft, the new tack does draw some scrutiny. HP has yet to make an official announcement of its first ever Chromebook.