HP Claims Innovation Over Apple With 'World's Thinnest Laptop'

[lowkey]

I believe the reason ports on laptops are on the side rather than the back is that Apple prefer its users not have to reach to the back or turn the laptop around to plug a cable in.

Apple may prefer that...for now. I've owned Apple laptops that had ports on the back before. A 520c. It's much nicer for keeping the desktop clutter free, but not as good if you are using it on your lap.

Reaching around the back of a machine that is about the size of an a4 piece of paper is not much of an effort to make .

But like I said. The thing HP has done is worked out a way to have just a small amount of the computer thick enough to house ports and a cooling system, allowing the rest to be really thin.

I've been looking to get a MacBook so I don't have to carry my MacBook Pro 15" to work every day, but that means a massive drop in CPU performance.

This HP design gets an i5 or i7 in there while being 3mm thinner than a 1.2gHz MacBook. That's an impressive design.

Apple needs to lift their game. The MacBook Pro design is starting to look and feel it's age.

 

[einsteinbqat]

Apple may prefer that...for now. I've owned Apple laptops that had ports on the back before. A 520c. It's much nicer for keeping the desktop clutter free, but not as good if you are using it on your lap.

Reaching around the back of a machine that is about the size of an a4 piece of paper is not much of an effort to make .

But like I said. The thing HP has done is worked out a way to have just a small amount of the computer thick enough to house ports and a cooling system, allowing the rest to be really thin.

I've been looking to get a MacBook so I don't have to carry my MacBook Pro 15" to work every day, but that means a massive drop in CPU performance.

This HP design gets an i5 or i7 in there while being 3mm thinner than a 1.2gHz MacBook. That's an impressive design.

Apple needs to lift their game. The MacBook Pro design is starting to look and feel it's age.

Not saying that I disagree, but I don't think Apple sees it that way.

 

[ZenThought]

Considering the reaction in this thread ... HP has hit .... a nerve.

I have sympathy for you, Apple fanpeople (look, i was politically correct). I know its hard to make excuses why the Macbook only has one port (THERE'S NOT ENOUGH ROOM IN A CHASIS SO THIN!!!) and then watch HP ... can i use the word ... Mmmm... maybe i might .... INNOVATE and figure out how to have an extra port ... wait ... TWO extra ports, by putting them in the back while making the chasis .... thinner then a Macbook.

The same fanpeople who told you that you don't need extra ports are now saying how inconvenient it is to push the lid down 1/3 of the way, reach ALL THE WAY AROUND to the back, and access your extra ports (that your Macbook doesn't have).

The same fanpeople who will tell you that you might as well upgrade to a 13" Macbook Pro if your going to buy a 13" Macbook Air ... hell, the weight difference isn't that much and is not noticable ... yet want to point out that the Spectre is SOOOO heavy because it weighs .... 7 ounces ... more then a Macbook, yet less then an Macbook Air .. AND ... Pro.

(to spare your emotional stability, I wont even bring up that fact that it has a i5/i7 processor, instead of a mobile one)

I know this laptop is causing cognitive dissonance in a lot of you. I understand.

 

[tubeexperience]

Maybe "inventive" is taking exaggeration too far. Iterative, inevitable, obvious, yeah... but "inventive"? What have they "invented"... does it run on fuel cells and have a bulletproof holographic display and have holographic light speed storage as an evolution over SSD? Does it implement ARM CPUs under a realtime x86 hardware translation layer? I was under the impression it still has a fan - can't be THAT huge an "invention". Oh, and why doesn't it have maglev instead of hinges, or why can't it jump on a Boosted Board, fly off to Tesco and fetch my shopping for me?

Yeah, it's just iterative and inevitable. There's only so many ways to skin a cat, as they say. Nothing is new, under the sun.

I am sure that he means "innovation".

And it is innovative because HP had managed to put a powerful Intel Core i7 processor into a laptop this thin.

Word to HP managers: People only care about seeing a logo on your products when that logo is instinctively and subconsciously recognised and acknowledged as a symbol of good taste, ubiquity and a known symbol of "cool" - an unspoken language that people instantly associate with the most successful, iconic technology company of the last 40+ years... and, sorry to say, it's not HP, so you may like to save looking pretentious, and remove it for the sake of not looking daft. I don't care how sleek and angled the typeface is - in fact, if anything, your logo triggers the EXACT OPPOSITE instinctive reaction to that observed when people see the bitten Apple... save face, just scrub it off completely, it's a detractor.

Oh, and "Spectre"? Doesn't that mean a ghost? What's that got to do with a computer? Hey, "MacBook" = Mac notebook - a logical, lateral follow through. Don't be awkwardly naming your trend-following, landfill fodder, it will just make it easier to throw away with contempt when it melts or reaches end of support life in about 14 months... or gets rejected by HP's "support"... or when it is 3 years old and the user realises the resale value is about ⅛ of what they paid.

You must have drank the too much Apple flavored Kool-Aid.

HP released a desirable product must have hit a nerve.

 

[uid15]

Whoop de doo.

 

[Cubytus]

I must say, this is impressive. They were able to cool it properly (hopefully), put at least almost-regular ports on it (save for this pesky USB-C), unlike the MacBook.

But it runs Windows. And why only 9 hours battery? I thought technological advances in CPU manufacturing would yield much better runtime!

And one can only bend (pun intended) rules of physics so far: I wouldn't bet on such a laptop to be able to take even a slight hint of pressure as happen in an overloaded backpack.

 

[uid15]

I am sure that he means "innovation".

And it is innovative because HP had managed to put a powerful Intel Core i7 processor into a laptop this thin.


You must have drank the too much Apple flavored Kool-Aid.

HP released a desirable product must have hit a nerve.

Why does a vocal disinterest in a product have to be aligned with an overly simplistic "love/hate" choice, and there be no subtlety of opinion inbetween? Gosh, the internet is so utterly stupid in its binary YES/NO, GOOD/BAD rationale. I don't hate it, how can I hate an object I've never seen? I just can't see the point of all this crass, transparent "Apple killer" piffle and poppycock. Sheesh, it's as if they feel threatened by Apple or something, you'd think... ya know? You implied that you think I feel "threatened"... well I put it to you that YOU feel threatened by someone who doesn't fawn over something just for the sake of proving to a total stranger that he's unbiased. Big whoop, I hope they sell lots and I still think it's a mess of a product with thin obsession and gaudy chrome for the sake of it - not one bit threatened, why would I be? I'm not Apple's CEO, and if I were, I'd calmy dismiss it as a nice try, and carry on with my tunnel vision, which is what contributes hugely to their success.

I don't have to like it, and I don't have to hate it, but it's extremely tacky and hardly a revolutionary product. If they'd designed their own OS which wasn't Windows and wasn't some lame, rebranded Linux spin-off, I would be more curious, but the world is full of average "little man syndrome" devices from companies DESPERATE to prove they can "one-up" Apple, and yet they all fall for the same mistakes of copying the skin and not understanding the heart beating inside Apple, and why they're so very adored.

Again, whoop de doo. I bid you good night my friend.

 

[tubeexperience]

Why does a vocal disinterest in a product have to be aligned with an overly simplistic "love/hate" choice, and there be no subtlety of opinion inbetween? Gosh, the internet is so utterly stupid in its binary YES/NO, GOOD/BAD rationale. I don't hate it, how can I hate an object I've never seen? I just can't see the point of all this crass, transparent "Apple killer" piffle and poppycock. Sheesh, it's as if they feel threatened by Apple or something, you'd think... ya know? You implied that you think I feel "threatened"... well I put it to you that YOU feel threatened by someone who doesn't fawn over something just for the sake of proving to a total stranger that he's unbiased. Big whoop, I hope they sell lots and I still think it's a mess of a product with thin obsession and gaudy chrome for the sake of it - not one bit threatened, why would I be? I'm not Apple's CEO, and if I were, I'd calmy dismiss it as a nice try, and carry on with my tunnel vision, which is what contributes hugely to their success.

I don't have to like it, and I don't have to hate it, but it's extremely tacky and hardly a revolutionary product. If they'd designed their own OS which wasn't Windows and wasn't some lame, rebranded Linux spin-off, I would be more curious, but the world is full of average "little man syndrome" devices from companies DESPERATE to prove they can "one-up" Apple, and yet they all fall for the same mistakes of copying the skin and not understanding the heart beating inside Apple, and why they're so very adored.

Again, whoop de doo. I bid you good night my friend.

Is this English?

 

[jeremiah256]

It's kinda steam punkish...and I like it.

 

[uid15]

Is this English?

No, it's Dutch translated to Chinese, translated into English.

 

[reza87]

What are some innovations that has came from Apple lately?

And I don't mean things that were already coming down the pipe when Steve Jobs died.

Sorry, I didn't mean to start a whole thing. I just think it's ironic that a company which used "Innovate" as a slogan is now promoting a product as a different version of something else.

Just because I say that HP is not innovative does not necessarily mean that I believe Apple to be highly innovative. That would be a red-herring.

With that said, I will take the bait.

Apple is a highly innovative company. Not only in terms of what they create but also how they have made it so much more attractive/easier for users to adapt to new technology.

We can sit here all day and argue whether or not fingerprint scanning is innovative. The question I pose is: how often do you think the average person used a fingerprint scanner prior to Apple implementing it in their devices compared to after? How about Apple Watch and NFC. What about chip architecture (especially mobile). Mobile software design and distribution. The list is endless.

Not bringing up things that were already in the pipline when we lost Steve is silly. By all accounts, they were working on the iPad prior to the iPhone. Was the iPhone less innovative for that reason, was the iPad? I believe that it is highly unlikely that the Apple Watch, for instance, is exactly as Steve imagined it before he passed. Just like innovations since his death will transform the AppleTV from what he imagined into something different. Technology is not static.

One last thing, Apple is a highly secretive company. They don't give us sneak peaks. I can guarantee that with the capital and talent that Apple has accumulated that the technology they have developed in their labs rival those of Google, Tesla, Microsoft or any other company you care to mention.

 

[bmac89]

Out-Ived.

Next generation of Macbooks will be even thinner now.

Well next generation Macbooks might actually just be Macbook Air minus the Macbook... with very special price increase!

 

[uid15]

Products are polarising, and if you've got enough reputation and respect for customers then people forgive a few mistakes, even huge ones, but it's not often you hear Apple say "HP ChromeBook Killer"... do you? A company secure in itself doesn't need to upstage others or mention them in derogatory light to elevate themselves, by contrast. What you're seeing here is a story being posted about a laptop which is directly and overtly showing off how much "better" than MacBooks they think it is. Derogatory comparisons as a marketing tactic, which involve elevating oneself by pushing the other down, as with people and personal insecurities, never gain respect - they cause a sensational media chatter, but NO ONE respects trash talkers.

No one will even remember this thing in six months, whilst the core Mac brand products stand firm and unfaltering, quietly confident and with no need to defend themselves, even with lesser specs, because the specs are one tiny slice of a FAR greater picture of integrity, symbiosis, seamless working and customer care. It's a nice laptop, that's okay, but when you begin to brag, it's all over, and your already weak reputation is weakened a tad more.

Who cares about mere specs? Making all the usual mistakes Android phone mfrs make... specs specs specs... Great. What can I do WITH IT, and how does it save me time that I free up for LIFE? I don't care how it looks, it's got to do things reliably time after time, have walk in support so I can repair and swap without a one week telephone battle with some poor call centre worker in India, yeah... I'll pass thanks.

 

[matrix07]

New HP logo is really nice, and this laptop design isn't too shabby either.

 

[uid15]

New HP logo is really nice, and this laptop design isn't too shabby either.

The car is as good as the fuel you put in it. Looks are nothing if it's got no experience to match.

 

[lowkey]

The car is as good as the fuel you put in it. Looks are nothing if it's got no experience to match.

It's got an i7 inside while still being thinner than a MacBook with a lowly 1.1gHz Core M.

To use your car analogy it's like getting a Polo GTI instead of the 900cc 3 cylinder option

 

[uid15]

"Speaking ahead of the Spectre's unveiling at the New York Times' International Luxury Conference in Paris, the company's PC chief Ron Coughlin said that the laptop is an example of HP's determination to lead the way in the PC industry. "For years, Apple has been seen as the innovator and the driver of innovation [but now] HP is really taking over that mantle," Coughlin said."

According to whom - public opinion and feedback, or according to some fabricated marketing copy? Being "leader" is what others say OF you, not what you boast of about yourself. Cocky? A little too much. Show me the rest of this legacy of Spectre that qualifies it to be even in the same REALM as Apple... I challenge anyone to substantiate this in real world terms, detached from marketing spin and overly optimistic, arrogant spiel...

Stand on Time Square and take a survey:

1: Have you heard of the MacBook? (get a sideways look and a laugh - "OF COURSE, are you insane?")

(I can't believe I even suggested that as something to do - SOMEONE is gonna take me seriously, LOL)

2: Have you heard of the HP Spectre? (get a sideways look through confusion, and then "Uh, the what?")



This is so funny!

 

[spinedoc77]

Well I can spend a whole day doing CAD/CAM work, designing Electronics circuits + the PCB.

So, here is a test for you, hold you arm out in front of you and see if you can make 5 minutes, let alone 8 hours like that.
Never mind the fact that the hand/arm are now obscuring parts of the screen, which when you are looking at how to route tracks becomes a bloody nuisance. And the average human arm weights about 8 pounds.

I have an iPad, I know about touch interfaces and how inaccurate they are, and yes I prefer to do something on my iPad because touch is more intuitive, but not when that screen is at 90° to the keyboard, lying flat(ish) is OK.

I have had my partners 11" MB Air tip when its been on my lapland someone has "pointed" to something and touched the screen.
[doublepost=1460077174][/doublepost]


No they frustrate because I for one would like better battery life .

Sure I'll make sure and do that test, but here's my test for you. Hold your arm out in front of you and see if you can make 5 minutes, let alone 8 hours like that. Here's the thing, my laptop is pretty close to me and usually I don't have to lift my elbows off the table, but even when I do it's for a second or 2, and it's really not much farther than having to lift or slide down my arm to get the trackpad. Although I suppose I am getting a mental picture of you actually sitting 3 feet behind your laptop and stretching your arms fully forward to the keyboard, so no wonder your arms hurt. Personally I'd trade the arm pain to not have the carpal tunnel issues and sore hand from using a trackpad for 8 hours. Thankfully I have neither.

I understand that the type of work you do would be crazy on a touchscreen for 8 hours, but that wasn't my intent at all and was misunderstood. No one is putting a gun to your head and forcing you to use the touchscreen for 8 hours, it's simply an option, another choice. You are free to use the trackpad for 8 hours, or better yet hook up a mouse, or best yet use a combination of all of them. Some things are much nicer without a layer of abstraction such as zooming and fine manipulation. Some things like browsing the internet I can't enjoy anymore unless I have a touch screen, it's just so intuitive to browse the web like that.

Yeah I see what you mean with the MacBook air, those can tip over they are so light.

 

[uid15]

It's got an i7 inside while still being thinner than a MacBook with a lowly 1.1gHz Core M.

To use your car analogy it's like getting a Polo GTI instead of the 900cc 3 cylinder option

Again with the specs... and I wasn't even stooping to specs.

Never mind, never mind.
[doublepost=1460088872][/doublepost]

Sure I'll make sure and do that test, but here's my test for you. Hold your arm out in front of you and see if you can make 5 minutes, let alone 8 hours like that. Here's the thing, my laptop is pretty close to me and usually I don't have to lift my elbows off the table, but even when I do it's for a second or 2, and it's really not much farther than having to lift or slide down my arm to get the trackpad. Although I suppose I am getting a mental picture of you actually sitting 3 feet behind your laptop and stretching your arms fully forward to the keyboard, so no wonder your arms hurt. Personally I'd trade the arm pain to not have the carpal tunnel issues and sore hand from using a trackpad for 8 hours. Thankfully I have neither.

I understand that the type of work you do would be crazy on a touchscreen for 8 hours, but that wasn't my intent at all and was misunderstood. No one is putting a gun to your head and forcing you to use the touchscreen for 8 hours, it's simply an option, another choice. You are free to use the trackpad for 8 hours, or better yet hook up a mouse, or best yet use a combination of all of them. Some things are much nicer without a layer of abstraction such as zooming and fine manipulation. Some things like browsing the internet I can't enjoy anymore unless I have a touch screen, it's just so intuitive to browse the web like that.

Yeah I see what you mean with the MacBook air, those can tip over they are so light.

Any sane designer can see a hundred years in advance that overing one's arm in mid air to touch a wobbly screen is VERY POOR ERGONOMICS. Having touch just because every other poor conception of ergonomically designed laptop has it, IS NOT a compelling argument.

Next... (boy this thread is hilarious).

 

[zgm77]

Do you really guys like it? Is the ugliest thing ever!
It has no class at all, it might be appreciated in the Chinese market tho..

 

[uid15]

Do you really guys like it? Is the ugliest thing ever!
It has no class at all, it might be appreciated in the Chinese market tho..

I'll wait and see if the HP product placement chappies manage to win over Hollywood studios enough to replace those glowing Apples in movies.

It's very likely, and also, the earth is flat.

 

[lowkey]

Again with the specs... and I wasn't even stooping to specs.

Yeah, cause computers are all about fuel and experience

 

[uid15]

Yeah, cause computers are all about fuel and experience

Erm... they are. Unless you'd like to go back to DOS?

I honestly cannot think of a way in which the rationale in this thread can go any lower than it already has. I am awed at the lack of comprehension.

Never mind, never mind.

 

[zgm77]

I'll wait and see if the HP product placement chappies manage to win over Hollywood studios enough to replace those glowing Apples in movies.

It's very likely, and also, the earth is flat.

I'm not against innovation, but good design it can be recognized as soon as you see it, if you have to get used to it then is simply not god design.
And let me tell you, gold, shining gold, looks kind of vulgar... but that is my opinion.
I'm sure many loves it and I'm in the minority.

 

[uid15]

I'm not against innovation, but good design it can be recognized as soon as you see it, if you have to get used to it then is simply not god design.
And let me tell you, gold, shining gold, looks kind of vulgar... but that is my opinion.
I'm sure many loves it and I'm in the minority.

The rational are the few, which is mirrored in the percentage of Mac users as an overall percentage of computer users. Rationale and good taste is not a majority sport, I am happy that way - not in a way that makes me feel "superior" - it's just worth a chuckle and a giggle when these things come along, and their staff defensively state "We're the new innovators" - yeah, okay, well I'll come back in 5 years and see you taking Apple's slice of the pie, along with SmartPhone sales.

Niiiice. Classy

Another product death is waiting to happen. It's not that I don't think it's a decent enough Windows laptop - it's good... (notice I don't feel the need to over-compensate and dishonestly swing to the opposite extreme and say "It's EXCELLENNNNNTTT!!" to pacify those who feel I *HAVE* to like it or I'm "drinking the koolade") for a Windows machine, apart from the gaudy tacky chrome, but when you bring baseless arrogance and contempt into play, it becomes a farce, and we all love a good farce to giggle at - silly old HP, pffft.

Yeah, no, it's no threat to Apple - it's a threat to HP that they like to parody themselves this way. Ah well