HP? 2008 is calling... they want their laptops back!

HP? 2008 is calling... they want their laptops back!

I ordered my HDX 18 in December of 2008, although I received it in 2009.

Dell is now selling a new XPS 17 with Sandy Bridge and all the goodies like backlit screen, etc.

I've given up hope that there will be an HDX line extension, but at least there should be a DV7 matching the Dell XPS 17 specs already.

PS: The Wall Street Journal said that HP acknowledged their earnings had slipped because while they focused on the business market their laptop specs had slipped.

 

I agree the specs slipped bad if they ever were there. I looked at the HDX's in i think 2009 and the best video cards they had to offer were the 9600GT and 130M. So yeah I was not paying more money for less.

I was willing to forgive them for past machines but they couldn't even sell me decent hardware at a decent price.

 

Well, it's questionable as to whether they ever meant an 18.4" machine to be a gamer. Having had my HDX18 canceled in November 2009 and turned into a DV8t - same computer except: Core i7 quad, nVidia 230 (big whoop) and, get this NO BACK LIT KEYBOARD!. I would wager that if they kept the "panache" of the HDX line, along with its superior customer support, kept the backlit keyboard and perhaps - but not essentially - offered a better graphics card option, the refreshed HDX 18 would have outsold the DV8 by 2:1 or greater. For that matter, the HDX 16 would have creamed the sales of the DV6, if only because of the 1080p screen.

I'll have to look at that WSJ article and see the quote about taking their eyes off the consumer market, but I have my doubts, as the early 2010 refresh of the entire consumer line, including the intro of the Envy 14, was not exactly seen as losing touch with their consumer market.

What I think HP, and most others, have failed to do in the consumer market is to recognize the demand for premium products - like the HDX series and the Envy 14 WITH the Radiance screen. And pleeeeeeze, don't reply by saying it wasn't HP's fault that the Radiance mfr went out of business; that was last August!!! There are some 500 LCD mfrs out there and HP could easily have a screen comparable to the Radiance available for the Envy 14 - and for that matter, on many other of its consumer notebooks - with "Radiance" being nothing but a weird trade name for an early rendition of a high quality display that nearly everyone observing the consumer notebook market believes any mfr worth their salt must offer, along with a back lit keyboard, even if they add $200 and $25 respectively. How many people spend an extra $1,000 to get an MBP with mediocre hardware, just to get a decent screen and a backlit keyboard???

Pet peeves? Not hardly.

 

How many of these supposed hundreds of screen manufacturers would be willing to produce a high quality 14.5 inch screen, that btw, isn't used by any other laptop vendor.

The answer is zero. This was HP's biggest failing, using a screen size that no one makes. What lcd maker in their right mind is going to go out of their way to make a screen that is only usable on a single laptop line, if that laptop line fails to sell then they fail to make money.

So yes, I do not think it is valid to say HP should have a replacement by now. They will likely need to use a different chassis size on their refresh. a 13.1 or a 14.0

 

Agreed. 14.5 is weird. I played around with my girlfriend's Envy 13 the other day, and it was sexy! It has a default 1366x768 radiance screen with 410 nits of brightness, 82% color gamut, and crazy good contrast ratio. If I remembered correctly, there was even an option to get a 1600x900 screen! On a 13in laptop! The form factor was perfect. It was only 3.7 pounds and .7in thin, yet feels just as solid as the Envy 14. Put a backlit keyboard, sandy bridge and ATI 5650 in there and we'll have the perfect laptop. Come on HP, revive the Envy 13!