Hot PC Fun In The Summertime

Hewlett-Packard has a colorful portfolio of products and promotions going into the heart of the summer months -- some old, some new, some borrowed and definitely some blue. Skip ahead to see what HP has cooking for a very hot season for notebooks, netbooks, desktop PCs and every accessory you can imagine.

The HP Mini 5101 is the company's latest netbook, a 10.1-inch number with brushed aluminum finish that's aimed at small businesses. With a 95 percent full-sized keyboard featuring "chicklet" keys and a touchpad, the Mini 5101 delivers a near-full-sized notebook experience. The Mini 5101 weighs 2.64 lbs., has a 1.66-GHz Intel Atom N280 chip, standard Wi-Fi Certified WLAN and optional WWAN, and ships with your choice of Genuine Windows XP Home, SUSE Linux Enterprise 11 or FreeDOS.

Accessories for HP's latest lineup of netbooks and notebooks include this merlot-colored optical mouse, as well as such useful items as a portable external USB optical drive, options for 65W or 90W smart adapters with integrated surge protectors, and assorted docking stations and carrying cases.

HP has really gone to town with merlot, a color the company introduced with a new lineup of ProBooks released in the spring. Merlot-accented carrying cases introduced this week with the new HP Mini 5101 netbook and ProBook 4310s include the basic carrying case seen here, a SlipCase for the Mini 5101, a backpack and a messenger bag.

For HP business notebooks and netbooks that don't have dedicated docking stations, the company has developed a versatile port replicator that allows users to plug in and enjoy immediate audio and network connectivity, plus access to up to five concurrently working USB-connected devices like keyboards, printers and desktop displays. Laptops that benefit from the port replicator include the HP ProBook s-series, HP Mini netbooks and Compaq Business notebooks.

With the HP ProBook 4310s, the company has added a 13.3-inch notebook to its lineup of new business-class ProBooks released earlier in the year. The ProBook 4310s features an Intel Core 2 Duo processor, next-generation DDR3 memory and discrete ATI graphics from Advanced Micro Devices. You're also getting HP Mobile Broadband powered by Gobi, Wi-Fi Certified WLAN and Bluetooth, plus a professional product suite from HP that includes HP 3D DriveGuard hard-drive protection and HP QuickLook, a shortcut to e-mail and other basic applications that you can access without booting up the system.

HP's 10.1-inch Mini 101 Mi is one of the most popular netbooks out there, perfect for the go-go summer months and available for under $300. The Mini 110 Mi features a 1.60-GHz Intel Atom N270, or for a bit of extra oomph, the 1.66-GHz N280 is also an option. At 2.33 pounds, it's light enough to take to the beach.

As summer arrives, interest is heating up for HP's ultra-thin, 'Entertainment Notebook PCs,' such as the 3.8-lb., 12.1-inch Pavilion dv2. Along with the slightly larger Pavilion dv3, the dv2 represents HP's assault on the ultra-thin notebook category popularized by Apple. But with a retail price of about $700, this slim system built on AMD's Athlon Neo platform is a lot more affordable than Apple's MacBook Air.

Japanese artist Hisako Sakihama designed the case for the 16-inch HP Pavilion dv6 Artist Edition notebook as a striking interpretation of the sea and sky that surrounds her Okinawa home. And the beauty on the outside is matched by the state-of-the-art insides powering this rich media delivery vehicle.

HP and Teen Vogue teamed up to create the 'Haute Spot' concept store at the Mall at Short Hills, N.J., where young shoppers can select from HP Mini 1000 Vivienne Tam Edition netbooks like those shown here, HP Pavilion dv2 notebooks and TouchSmart computers.

Who says the desktop is dead? Leading off HP's recently released lineup of desktop PCs is the Pavilion Elite e9000 series, which delivers performance and style for the most demanding multimedia tasks, from video editing to gaming and multitasking. And at just $599, it'll take the edge off your 'stay-cation.'

An even more attractive offering from HP, from a price-tag perspective at least, is the new Compaq Presario CQ5000 series desktop PC, which starts at just $379.

The HP Pavilion Slimline s5000 series is a desktop PC that is about half the size of a conventional PC tower -- small enough to fit neatly on a desk, in a small office or in a dorm room. This new desktop PC from HP starts at $289.

The HP Pavilion p6000 series desktop PC is aimed at the user who needs few frills beyond surfing the Web, mixing soundtracks and creating home videos. The bargain of the new lineup of desktops released by HP this week, the Pavilion p6000, starts at $269.

HP hit the streets of New York earlier in the year to promote its TouchSmart all-in-one PCs, and now the company has updated its software suite for its TouchSmart lineup, putting several new media-oriented tasks right at users' fingertips. New TouchSmart software features include Pandora Internet Radio service, improved photo and video editing and searching, and the ability to burn music CDs. In addition, consumers can now stream content to the TouchSmart from an HP MediaSmart Server or any home server.