COMING SOON: ENVY x2 / Spectre XT TouchSmart / ENVY TouchSmart 4 Ultrabooks (Windows 8)

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HP will be releasing a brand new lineup of touch-based notebook PCs in the coming months. All of these models will be natively running Windows 8.

Due to the recent nature of this announcement, certain links may not be working just yet.

More information: Windows 8 tablet and touch Ultrabook laptops |new PC and laptops | HP

Press release: HP News -HP Unveils Innovative Multitouch Hybrid PC and Ultrabooks

Even more information (courtesy of Engadget): HP announces 15-inch Spectre XT TouchSmart Ultrabook, Envy 4 Ultrabook with touch (update: video) -- Engadget

HP ENVY x2
Available December 2012.
Windows 8 Laptop Tablet | Two Mobile Devices In One - HP ENVY x2 | HP® Official Site | HP
NBR Hands-on Preview: HP ENVY x2 Hands On Video Preview
Specifications: HP ENVY x2 Specifications

HP Spectre XT TouchSmart Ultrabook
Available November 2012.
NBR Hands-on Preview: HP SpectreXT TouchSmart Ultrabook Hands On Preview

ENVY TouchSmart Ultrabook 4

 

Interesting that they're taking the ones they currently have and basically just adding in a touchscreen capability for Win 8 now... Especially after they just added these "envy" ultrabooks to their line.. I love HP.. But Marketing ploy much?

 

Is it just me or does HP have like hundreds of laptops to choose from now...

 

Love the Spectre XT TouchSmart. Does it have discrete graphics?

 

From what I've read, no sign of any dGPU... Too bad because with a gt650m for instance, it would be a direct competitor of the Asus U500 and Macbook pro retina.

 

That's a shame. There's some time till December, hope hp changes their mind. The screen is gorgeous, look how the colors are popping:

 

NBR hands-on preview

HP SpectreXT TouchSmart Ultrabook Hands On Preview

 

Can confirm there's no dedicated graphics options for the Envy TS 4. The ENVY lineup is definitely proliferating to the point of confusion now. It used to equate to gaming capable machines, now it's mostly thin and lights, personally I think HP should have used a different branding on all these new thin and light / Ultrabooks as they're very different to the ENVY 15 and ENVY 17.

 

No, the Envy TouchSmart Ultrabook 4 does have an AMD GPU. That's the cheaper model. It's the higher-end model - Spectre XT TouchSmart - that doesn't seem to have a discrete card.

HP announces 15-inch Spectre XT TouchSmart Ultrabook, Envy 4 Ultrabook with touch (update: video) -- Engadget

 

HP doesn't currently have anything like the Envy X2 in its lineup. 11.6" IPS screen, Atom processor delivering 10-hour battery life, detachable keyboard dock, dual cameras, etc.

 

That Atom is its downfall. How Atom can qualify for something premium is beyond me.

 

Set aside preconceptions of Atom from the netbook days. Next-gen Atom processors are the same concept but far superior execution: HP Envy x2 (Intel Clover Trail) review: first look | PC Pro blog

HP Envy x2 (Intel Clover Trail) review: first look | PC Pro blog

It offers 10+ hours of battery life and fanless design that allows it to be fanless (thus quieter, thinner, and lighter than an Ivy Bridge device).

I'm not going to be playing Battlefield 3 on it. I'm going to be doing word processing, pdf viewing, etc all day long with it. Would I take a 60% CPU processing power hit (when compared to ULV Ivy Bridge) in exchange for a two-fold increase in battery life and a 30% reduction in weight? For me, for this device, absolutely. It's a better solution for this sort of device than a heat-creating-and-battery-sucking CPU would be.

 

The HP Envy X2 is the one that is the most interesting, it's more laptop than tablet and despite the stigma of ATOM CPU's these new ones are actually good enough to be a huge upgrade over last gen.
My only wish is to start seeing these laptop/tablet hybrids use a less glossy screens and finish, a matte display would be wonderful but overall the X2 is very nice, for me it's between the MS surface and this as my next portable purchase.

 

Cleaning a glossy Gorilla Glass surface is a BREEZE compared to cleaning a matte surface. Oil gets stuck in the "valleys" between the "hills" of a matte surface and you basically have to irrigate it with cleaning solution to get it out. With a Gorilla Glass device (like, say, my Kindle Fire) you wipe it with a tee-shirt every morning and it's clean. And if you aren't utterly OCD in how you clean a matte screen, how long until you start to wear smooth spots on it? Not a big deal when you clean it every few months, but when you clean it twice a day, it's a consideration.

I think that, for touchscreen devices, the importance of having an easy-to-clean screen (and a screen with the durability to not be affected by hundreds of cleanings) outweighs the reflections issue.

 

My question about the Specter XT TouchsSmart is whether or not it will use full power processors (like full sized notebooks) or whether it will use the slower ultra low voltage CPUs that Ultrabooks are using.

 

I guess all laptops with Ultrabook specifications have to use the ULV processors. The Touchsmart is an Ultrabook.

 

Anyone knows if HP is releasing a 17" version of the Spectre XT?

A 15" is on the way:
HP announces 15-inch Spectre XT TouchSmart Ultrabook, Envy 4 Ultrabook with touch (update: video) -- Engadget

 

No, they haven't announced any 17 inch yet.
17 inch notebooks are a dying category. Sony already killed their 16.4 inch Vaio F series. Even 15 inch notebooks don't have the importance they had just a year ago. If you look at the Windows 8 devices announced by various OEMs, the focus is clearly on hybrids & convertible devices, ultrabooks and all-in-one desktops. Among the 14 & 15 inch laptops announced, most belong to the lower end or midrange. Premium powerful 15 inch laptops are getting the cold-shoulder. Vaio S15, hp Envy 15, Dell XPS 15, Samsung Series 7 Chronos - all have not been refreshed at all for Windows 8. They'll just be offered with the same Win 7 hardware running Win 8.

 

HP Spectre XT TouchSmart - Microsoft Windows

Spectre XT TouchSmart page up on the Windows site

 

I agree the OEMs are clearly focused on on hybrids & convertible devices,ultrabooks and all-in-one desktops and that's fine but I would like to see more 17 inch notebooks for windows 8 not everyone wants a small screen. Plus they are focused on all-in-one desktops I thought they would go away before 17 inch notebooks.

I would like to see a HP Spectre XT 17 inch notebook with no optical drive.

Infact I would like to see a 17 inch version of the Apple Macbook Pro 15 inch (Retina Display) version (from any OEM). That notebook has no optical drive, 2 USB 3.0 ports and 2 Thunderbolt ports if i am not mistaken.

 

Unfortunately, demand for 17 inch notebooks have been dwindling for a while, which is why the Vaio F series and 17 inch MBP were discontinued. There will always be people who want them, but they're a niche category. It's not profitable for OEMs to manufacture a particular model if they're not moving enough units.

 

The Envy x2 is pretty exciting for me, I think convertibles (similar to the ASUS transformers) are the way of future for portable devices. I'm glad HP went the Intel route (even if it is an Atom) instead of ARM; it will be much more useful for work/school this way. I'm also interested in seeing how the x2 and the Lynx from Lenovo compare.

 

Indeed, but if they can deliver a high-resolution and really high-end 15'.6 inch laptop in a super slim design then the need for the 17'' models will completely disappear.
Of course to see something like that from HP we need to wait a couple more of "light-years" as the majority of the company's 15 inch notebooks still comes with a 1366 x 768..

Samsung already showed prototypes of their amazing Series 9 series running in WQHD resolution. The video bellow displays the 13inch model with WQHD resolution.
Samsung Series 9 WQHD Hands On with Retina 2560 x 1440 Display Resolution - YouTube

Personally I will be very interesting for their 15.6 inch model running in that resolution.

 

The Spectre XT TouchSmart looks yummy May have to look into that....

Not crazy about the starting price of $1400 though, but I guess it's warranted.

 

The good thing with hp is that you can expect coupons to bring the price down.

 

Anyone have any more solid info on when the release date is? HP said December, but it shows a 1/15/13 ship date at the Microsoft Store. I would hope they could get it out in time for the holidays.

 

I am very interested in the envy x2, but I think it needs 4-6gb of ram for comfortable usage. Does anyone know if they will offer a version with more RAM ?

Also, does the screen support wacom pens ?

I think the battery life on the envy x2 will be better than the lenovo

 

Yes, shipments will start from HP on December 4.

 

HP Finally added a 128 SSD option to the Spectre XT TouchSmart. I wonder why they havent added a 256 SSD option for their top of the Line Ultrabook, like the Spectre 14. And where is the16GB memory option as an upgrade from the 8GB standard. It feels as though something is wrong.

 

They had announced a 256 GB SSD config back in August, so that option should become available soon. But, on the memory front, 8 GB is the maximum memory the Touchsmart will take.