HP (Compaq) Houston testing lab tour articles

HP (and Compaq) notebook enthusiasts and lab buffs:

FYI, HP's testing lab (at the former Compaq headquarters in Houston) opened its doors to a few reporters last week. Ars Technica and eWeek compiled slideshows with descriptive captions, while AnandTech and TechRadar explain the tests in more detail, with accompanying images.

Apparently, HP rigorously tests early manufactured engineering sample notebooks, tablets, and components in the months between when a new processor or other component becomes available and when HP is ready to sell HP devices sporting that component. HP's tour showed equipment for testing packaging (crush), case/connectors (drop), board (strain, twist), hinge (wear), keyboard, touchpad, touchscreen (wear), emissions (noise, electromagnetic interference), environmental stress (heat/cold, vibration, salt spray, electronic shocks), etc. In addition to the special equipment for each of these repeatable tests, they also showed spectrometers, x-rays, electron microscopes, and other instruments that help diagnose what is poor when something fails, so they can improve the design or manufacturing (or negotiate improvements with their manufacturing partners and suppliers).

(I suspect their higher-end business models must survive higher test requirements than the lower end consumer models.)