HP Elitebook: "Coming Soon"? Anyone have a better estimate? :)

I am really interested in this notebook for its durability, weight, battery life, and the option of a dedicated graphics card. Only problem is I can't seem to find a release date for it. I'm going to need the laptop in-hand by the first week in September. I was under the impression that the 6930p was using the Montevina platform, and I have noticed that other manufacturers, including HP, have already released their montevina notebooks.

My only guess was that the delay on the intel integrated video was delaying the elitebook, but I don't want the integrated graphics anyway. Do you think HP would release it without the integrated option, or would I have to wait until the intel igp's were ready so both models could be released together?

I wish there was another notebook like it that I could buy, but I'm kinda stuck on this one...

 

Expect it to ship in end August to early September.

 

You can get the specs on hp.com Just look under small business notebooks and it's all the way to the right. It's a 14.1", can have up to 8gb of 800mhz ddr2, 256mb vga, weighs less than 5 lbs i think and has really long battery life.

 

Anybody else think the specs are kind of weak? I'd expect more power from something called an "Elitebook". There's nothing elite about it's average GPU and lack of a modular expansion bay. Removing the MultiBay was a bad idea.

 

Well I think it is the fact that it even has a dedicated card because it gets 8 hrs+ battery life and weighs like 4.5lbs. That and you can step on it and throw it against the wall. I don't want a gaming notebook, I just want a lightweight laptop with good battery life that has some sort of decent vga card.

You can't expect to have 8800M GTX SLI in a 14.1" form factor with 8+hrs battery life and under 5 lbs. I wish such a product existed, but as far as I know it doesn't. And the elitebook is supposed to start at only $1200 USD, compared to the lenovo x300 for instance or the macbook air that are in the $3000 range.

 

How much I like marketing, but still not as much as people that buy into it...

It will get 8+ hours of battery life only if you attach a huge 8 or 12 cell battery to the bottom of the notebook. The standard 6 cell battery may get like 4+ hours.

It starts at 4.7 lbs, but that's without the DVD, when you add it, it will 5.1+ lbs. The same as the current HP 6910p.

Seriously?

I wouldn't do that, business notebooks are usually more durable than consumer ones and can withstand some abuse, but they definitely aren't rugged notebooks.

And if you are referring to the "MIL-STD 810F" testing, then that's pure marketing, that has been used before and could be said for the current high-end business notebooks as well. Not to mention that HP is playing safe and virtually admit that:

Fine, it may work for you then, just don't expect it to be better than it really is.

 

I myself am very curious about the new 6930p - especially for its appraised "ruggedness" - at least in comparison to the Thinkpad series. Next to that I really want to see tests involving checking on that the 6930p's screen. I'm not very pleased with my 6910p's screen brightness and view angles - and wonder how this one is compared to the Thinkpad series. In general, I'm somewhat disappointed how little testers normally pay attention to screen quality. In the end, that and they keyboard's what you're literally facing in the first place. What's the deal with a great video card if the screen doesn't deliver?

 

You seem angry...

If you don't want one then don't buy one...

in fact if you dislike grad school lemmings like myself who are brainwashed by clever marketing, then you should sit back and let us blow what little money we have on overrated products.

 

Not at all...

I didn't say it was bad or something, in fact, I expect it to be an excellent notebook. I just pointed out that some of your expectations were a bit unrealistic.

Or I might help you to see beyond clever marketing and make a better and informed decision, which is one of the purposes of forums like this.

 

Part numbers and specs are showing up on the price lists of some european sites:

HP Elitebook 6930p GB995EA#ABB
http://www.computer.lt/product.php?pid=657929&product_price=4729.6532&special_price=

Certain HP Elitebook 6930p, 6530b/s, 6930b/s model specs are also available:
http://www.computer.lt/print_layout...tid=0&cid=9478&layout=product&vendor=&search=

mmm, now T400 or 6530b/6930b.. that's the question!

Here's one pre-built spec of T400 with hybrid graphics and DDR3
http://www.nzicait.com/acquire/default.asp?PageID=ProductDetail&pf_id=1460407&dept_id=1000020

 

Is that T400 $2500 USD? I hope not

 

No, NZD.

Part number: 27652KM, ~$2.5K NZD (-$500 markup -> $2K NZD -> ~$1.4-1.5K USD. It'll be cheaper for me to get it on ebay or shopblt.com when it does become available.

T400 P8600 2.4 2GB 250 14.1" WXGA+ VB Lenovo ThinkPad Notebook 2.4GHz 250GB multiburner Express Card + 7-1 media card AMD M82XT(256NB) Camera fingerprint reader bluetooth vista business intel 5300 AGN(3x3)

 

Oh okay. What do you mean by 'markup'? I saw earlier you said you could get it for cheaper. Do you mean coupon codes or ebay or something?

Just curious because I'm buying a notebook soon for school and money is a big consideration.

 

The ThinkPad T400 isn't out yet, but you can see a few models on http://www.shopblt.com/ (Type "TOPSELLER T400" into the search box.)

Also, the Dell Latitude E6400 is another notebook that should be released soon.

 

Elitebook sounds good....too bad its release date is after the release date of most centrino 2 laptops...if someone really need a business laptop now....consider the thinkpads