HP recently announced new Pavilion Sleekbooks, devices that the company is touting as laptops that are cheaper than Ultrabooks but competitive in both weight and thickness. The new Pavilion Sleekbooks will have
two models, the Sleekbook 14 and the Sleekbook 15. The Sleekbook 14 is a 14″ laptop with a base price of $499, while the Sleekbook 15 is a 15.6″ laptop with a base price of $599.
The devices themselves are expected to ship in the United States by October 26 with Microsoft’s Windows 8 OS. The Sleekbook 14 will come with Advanced Micro Devices A-series processors, code-named Trinity, with the Sleekbook 15 coming with Intel Core processors based on the Ivy Bridge microarchitecture. HP was unable to disclose any information on worldwide availability.
The new Pavilion Sleekbooks measure 21 millimeters thick and weigh in at just under 1.8 kilograms and have received a downsizing similiar to Ultrabooks, though are less expensive according to Technical Marketing Manager for HP Kevin Wentzel. Ultrabooks start pricing around $600 and have strict design requirements from Intel, like only being able to use Core processors and being no larger than 21 millimeters thick.
According to Wentzel, “I always talk about Sleekbooks as a kind of superset of Ultrabook, where Ultrabook has strict requirements in terms of size, technology, weight, all of that. Sleekbooks expand that and give us a few more options. Lots of people like the ultraportability and thinness, but were probably waiting for a price point they can afford. We feel like we’re getting that now.”
In addition to the new Sleekbooks, HP announced a new HP Notebook 3125 laptop, which is the successor to the Pavilion DM1Z laptop. The 3125 has an 11.6″ screen and AMD’s low-power E2 processor, which puts a CPU and graphics core in a single chip. HP didn’t offer up any pricing information on the 3125, nor any information about a release date or release countries.
Source: Computer World – HP announces more Sleekbooks as cheaper ultrabook alternatives
