HP Pavilion Product Line Refresh?

I'm interested in upgrading from my three-year-old zx5000 to a new, loaded Pavilion, but don't want to drop $2,500 only to learn that HP is releasing new notebooks in 3-6 months. I e-mailed HP pre-sales support, and their reply was oh-so-helpful:

". . . as a Hewlett-Packard representative, I am unable to
provide information on products that may or may not be under
development."

Knowing that the current line was announced in late July/early August, and disregarding the already-completed "Vista" refresh, does anyone have any direct knowledge or educated guess regarding when HP will next release major updates to its Pavilion line? Is it usually late summer/early fall? Anually? Every eighteen months? In alternate leap-years sporting Friday the thirteenth three-quarter moons?

Thanks,

Jason

 

They can't disclose when their releases purely for business reasons, if we all knew something was coming in 1 month it'd kill their sales for existing notebooks. We can guess that since all manufacturers release products with an Intel chipset refresh, that date will be May for HP, Dell, Toshiba, Acer, Fujitsu, Lenovo....so on and so on and so on!

 

$ 989 for a top of the line dv200t at hp.com
2.0 ghz core2dou
nvidia 7200
512(oder a 1 gig from newegg for about 50 bucks.)
Windows vista.
60 gig hd

your set.
not 2500

 

Andrew,

Thank you for responding.

While manufacturers have certain reasons to conceal refresh dates, that's not the way things work in reality.

I've e-mailed both Sony and Gateway in the past and have been informed of refresh dates more than three months out. Perhaps this information wasn't authorized to be shared with consumers, but it only took one simple attempt on my part in each case to gain it.

Dell typically announces refresh dates sixty days in advance; HP thirty to sixty days. Insiders sometimes provide technology web sites and publications with refresh dates three to six months in advance.

Nvidia long ago gave up the idea of keeping refresh dates secret. The world knows that they refresh in the spring and the fall. While GPUs can't compare to notebooks in terms of manufacturing or retail cost, Nvidia chips are also subject to a greater risk of market delay and are sold to dozens of distributors, HP representing only one. Further, a generation-old GPU depreciates faster than a generation-old notebook. There are plenty of differences between the business models, but none that can't be accounted for. Nvidia has determined that their business won't tank if consumers know that new chipsets are on the near-horizon. They've seen the light.

Continuing this line of thought: At least some of HP's business partners are certainly aware of refresh dates long before they are announced, creating exponential avenues for information leakage.

Regarding the potential loss of current product sales due to unveiling refresh dates: 1) If I knew that a refresh date was nine months away, for example, I'd buy now; otherwise, I'll certainly wait until the next refresh, whenever that occurs. So the loss of this sale will be due to HP's reluctance to reveal the next refresh date, not vice-versa. I'm sure I'm not the only one that will reach such a decision. 2) There are plenty of strategies and tactics that contribute to the minimization of any potential damage caused by revealing refresh dates: Distribution channels and inventories can be managed accordingly; distributors can be required to assume more risk; greater and more diversified investments can be made in after-market channels, etc.

Lastly, refusing to reveal a consumer electronic refresh date that is within six months in order to gain a sale today is, IMO, unethical in light of how quickly technology advances. Any company which promotes such practices is withholding information crucial to many buyers' purchasing decision. The legality of a practice does not constitute the morality of the practice, and vice-versa, of course.

So while lazy business practices and fear may drive manufacturers to guard this information, it is certainly available. Someone knows, and I'd be naive to believe otherwise and a fool for not attempting to gain this information before making a purchasing decision.

Thank you for reminding me about the correlation between CPU releases and notebook releases. I should have remembered this. Very good point. I'll investigate that avenue immediately. You've been very helpful.

Best Regards,

Jason

 

BusinessBro,

Thanks for the suggestion.

Unfortunately, the system you've spec. out below is hardly "loaded." In fact, it's woefully underpowered for software development, video editing, gaming, and even heavy/batch image processing, all of which I'm involved with to varying degree. Among its many shortcomings:

1. There's no option for a 64-bit OS (as a developer, especially, I can't be without a 64-bit OS in eighteen months)

2. The video chipset includes only 128MB RAM

3. The display is only 1,280x800 (costing potentially tens of thousands of dollars in productivity over three years in software development time), and includes no option for a higher-res. display

4. It includes only a 60GB, 5400 RPM drive, with no option for a faster drive (desirable for overall system performance and crucial for video editing).

5. It offers a pathetic 512MB of RAM. You mentioned ordering RAM from NewEgg, but even in cases in which upgrading RAM does not specifically void the manufacturer's warranty, doing so gives the manufacturer an opportunity to blame system malfunctions on damage supposedly caused by such consumer (or third-party)-performed upgrades, thereby evading liability.

It's not even possible to spec. this thing out on hp's site to make it a suitable system for my use.

The system I'd spec. out and buy today at hp.com is the following dv9000t for $2,495:

Windows Vista Ultimate
Intel Core 2 Duo T7200 (2.0GHz/4MB L2Cache)
17.0" WSXGA+ BrightView Widescreen (1680x1050) Display
512MB NVIDIA GeForce Go 7600 Video Accelerator
HP Imprint Finish + Microphone + Webcam
2GB DDR2 System Memory (2 Dimm)
200GB 7200RPM SATA Dual Hard Drives (100GB x 2)
LightScribe Super Multi 8X DVD+/-RW w/Double Layer CD/DVD Drive
Intel PRO/Wireless 3945ABG Network w/Bluetooth Networking
HP Expresscard TV Tuner
Two High Capacity 8 Cell Lithium Ion Batteries

In fact, I've been using notebooks for many years, and I've found that $2,500(give or take 10%) is what I spend every time: It's what tends to buy a system that will stand up to every-day travel and use for both software engineering and personal purposes without "bogging down" before I get three hard years' use out of it. Not top-of-the-line, mind you (for that, I might go with a $6,700+ customized Dell XPS 1710), but still loaded and suitable to run demanding applications several years down the road. Perhaps your needs aren't as great as mine, but I know what I've required/spent in the past, and this purchasing cycle is no different.

BTW, a fully-loaded dv9000t at hp.com (not counting all the optional software, warranties, or accessories -- just the hardware) is $3,021.

My apologies if my tone appears snide in this e-mail. I don't intend it to be. Attitudes often don't translate well to plain text.

Best Regards,

Jason

 

You can always purchase the 64bit version later, theyre offered in newegg and amazon for about $100-200.

As for advising you of products that are months away, well this is bad business and not unethical when you consider that a rival company may pose as a customer and ask such a question. If they answered they would be giving away their plans, if theyre gonna release a new product in 6 months their rivals will release their one earlier and perhaps at a cheaper price if price was provided.

Its all about sales and competitive advantage, some ppl dont care about brands, just about features and cost. If you were going to sell something when it is ready in a few months, would you want your rival/s finding out and releasing theirs before?

 

When will Intel come out with a Core 2 Duo QAUD for notebooks?? (thye just released this for desktops)