HP refreshes enterprise notebooks, offers 32-hour battery life

HP has overhauled its enterprise laptops, adding new processors and a sturdier, more power efficient design. HP's new EliteBook and ProBook models are constructed with the company's "Forge" framework, which includes aluminum-alloy hinges, titanium-alloy display latches, a magnesium-reinforced ABS chassis, a bottom-case drain in case of spills, and an HP "DisplaySafe" frame.


The EliteBook 8460p (14-inch) and 8560p (15.6-inch) appear to be the premium offerings, boasting an HP DuraCase that meets the MIL-STD 810G military standards and up to 32 hours of runtime with an HP BB09 Ultra Extended Life battery. The ProBook line carries many of the same hardy attributes while offering more flexibility with configurations ranging from ultra-light to desktop replacement.

EliteBooks start at $999 and can be outfitted with Intel's latest Core i5 and i7 Sandy Bridge processors, a 1GB Radeon HD 6470M discrete graphics chip, up to 16GB of RAM, mechanical or flash storage, as well as Windows 7, SUSE Linux Enterprise 11 or FreeDOS. Meanwhile, the new ProBooks start at $579 and have cheaper options such as Intel's Core i3 and Celeron, and Windows Vista.


Connectivity on the upper-end models includes two USB 3.0 ports, two USB 2.0 ports (one eSATA combo), VGA and DisplayPort outputs, an ExpressCard 54 slot, a multi-card reader, and various Wi-Fi/WWAN/Bluetooth options. Budget systems have less I/O, but HP has covered the important bases. All of the new enterprise machines should be available in the US on March 15.