HP launches rival to MacBook Air
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| The new Voodoo Envy 133 is .7 inches thin, and has a carbon fiber body strong enough to support a removable battery. Image: HP |
A little more than a week ago, Rahul Sood blogged a picture that showed him cutting his birthday cake with a $1,800 MacBook Air laptop.
It’s so damn sharp, he wrote underneath, it did a fine job.
For Apple fans this was blasphemy, something like drinking Kool-Aid from the Holy Grail, and they swiftly voiced their displeasure on the web. Sood is the chief technology officer of Hewlett-Packard’s (HPQ) PC gaming group after all, so his cake-cutting stunt was clearly not a testament to Apple’s (AAPL) design prowess. While Sood claimed that a merry mix of wine, friends and a good cigar had pushed him to it, his closing statement on the offending blog entry suggested a deeper motive:
Ahh well, I wouldn’t be needing this notebook for long anyways … : ) Stay tuned for more …
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| Voodoo Envy 133Dimensions: .7″ thick. 9.04″ x 12.65″
Weight: 3.373 pounds Screen: 13.3″ backlit LED Casing: Carbon fiber, available in various Voodoo Allure paint colors Connectivity: USB 2.0 (2), Ethernet (in power brick), HDMI, headphone/microphone, e-SATA/USB Operating systems: Windows Vista, Voodoo IOS (Linux). Includes Lojack recovery software. Price: Starting at $2,099 |
This amounted to a mischievous hint that Sood had a new product coming – and now, here it is. Today in Berlin, with Sood on hand, HP is introducing the Voodoo Envy 133, a high-fashion laptop that is HP’s answer to the MacBook Air.
While the new Envy is not as delightfully aerodynamic as the MacBook Air (this one won’t be cutting any cakes), it still cuts quite a figure. When I first saw it during a media preview, I was impressed with its clean lines and its skin made of carbon fiber, a durable material that’s more commonly seen on racecars than PCs. Sood, who founded Voodoo PC and sold it to HP two years ago, has a reputation for building high-performance computers, so the construction made perfect sense.
The laptop is part of an update to HP’s overall PC lineup that includes 17 new laptops, a new touch-screen desktop, and a flat-panel monitor that displays billions of colors. Voodoo’s computers are also getting a major update in the launch; besides the Envy laptop, there’s a new Omen desktop and more prominent display of HP gaming PCs labeled as having “Voodoo DNA.”
The new products, particularly the Envy laptop (starting at $2,099), mark a shift in how HP is approaching the PC market. Voodoo was best known for catering to the flashy tastes of gamers, but HP now wants to position it as a luxury brand within the company – something for the Lexus and Bentley crowd. “It’s going to be all about a customer who’s more demanding about technology and personalization – they want something different,” Sood says. “It’s going to be where arts and technology fuse together.”
Why would HP try to sell pretty laptops for more than $2,000 at a time like this? Because people are still willing to pay for the wow factor. Just look at Apple’s online store; the cheapest laptop Apple offers is the $1,099 MacBook, but the top seller is the $1,799 MacBook Air. The MacBook is practical, with an equal-sized screen, a faster processor and a bigger hard drive than the Air. (Plus the MacBook has a DVD drive, which the Air lacks.) Still, people are scrambling to spend 63 percent more for a less substantial computer that’s thinner and prettier – and that’s great for a PC maker’s profit margins.
HP figures two can play at that game. While the Envy 133 is bulkier than the MacBook Air (it doesn’t have the tapered look and weighs in slightly heavier at 3.37 pounds), it also includes conveniences Apple left out. The Envy has two USB ports, an HDMI port, a removable battery, and a unique feature that lets you plug an Ethernet cable into the power brick and create an instant wireless connection with the laptop. Like the Air, it uses a chip from Intel (INTC).
Most impressive, the Envy also comes preloaded with both Microsoft (MSFT) Windows and a custom flavor of Linux that boots up in less than five seconds to offer a browser, instant messenger and Skype. In the Linux environment, running light tasks, the Envy gets nearly 3 hours of battery life, Sood told me; in Vista, more like 2.5 hours. (This is less than the MacBook Air gets, but I give HP credit for having a removable battery.)
So should Apple worry? Probably not yet. The Envy has yet to prove it can attract the same crowd as the MacBook Air, and it’s always possible that Voodoo’s fan base will be turned off by the brand’s shift toward luxury buyers rather than gamers. But HP’s move with the Voodoo brand should certainly put rivals such as Dell (DELL), Sony (SNE), Acer, Lenovo and Toshiba on notice: There’s another sharp laptop on the block.
HP lacks one thing in which Apple excels: support. They need to work on that, no matter how good the product.
Its the software that Dell, HP, and Sony is missing. Software and Apple’s design is the big attraction. The software works, comes with real basic software not Calculator.
Anyway, MacBookAir still looks thinner and lighter. Not that I want a thin light book but that is the focus here.
The “me too” syndrom strikes again. An ultra thin is not for everybody, but whoever compares a machine running Windows Vista (or any other for that matter) with one running Leopard is absolutely missing the point
I bought one for my wife since she really wanted to have this cool thing.It is not practical to use. Apple support is not that great. She feels bad that no DVD ROM,no ethernet port, had to buy extra cable to connect to TV or monitor. On top of that she got really pissed that apple support dropped her call twice.
When are these tech companies going to stop playing Apples game. As soon as apple comes out with something they all copy it 6 months later. Everything at the tech expos are copies of existing apple products. I am seeing less and less innovation which is not a good sign to any investor. If they really want to take a page from Steve Jobs book they should just look at existing technologies and see how they can combine them with others to create a great user experience. In my opinion they should really have their focus on preparing for the 4G networks coming out in the next 5 years from Sprint, Verizon and at&t. I know Apple is. I don’t think Apple cares if Windows is on 9 out of 10 computers. OS X will be on 10 out of 10 iPhones. The next platform is about portability. IBM went through the same problem when there was a shift from large mainframes to PCs. Dell was the victim of the swing from desktop to laptop.
I unfortunately had to run Vista. Thankfully, it caused so many headaches I was able to upgrade back to XP.
@david…you trade futures and stocks…I’ll trade a little knowledge. You can two-finger tap the mouse pad to perform a right click. RTFM! I’ll take that TOY off your hands anytime.
To be honest with most I buy a computer to get some real work done, not to stare at its beautiful casing and imagine all the dreams of my life being solved. I use an HP smartbuy system that to an Apple fan would just burn their eyes out without me even turning it on, but hey I am highly productive with it, oh and did I mention it runs Vista and is extremely stable with all my apps and after a year strong, not one crash or forced reboot. But hey its Vista its gotta be junk. People need to stop drinking the propaganda juice that the Apple fans want to push on you. I never bash another OS and to have been using one for over a year and not have one issue is really disappointing in the characters of those around us and trust is what those people say. Use what makes you happy and stop bashing others to advance your cause. Make a good case for your cause and you will find it much more useful.
I would love to know how many people who trash talk about vista have actually used it for any substantial amount of time, it, just like any other new OS, has had it’s kinks but i’ve been using it basically since launch and it is by far easier to use than OS X in my opinion. And I have spent substantial time using OS X as well so i do know the differences
It’s one thing to say Apple can successfully sell a nicer computer for $700 more than their base model. But can HP sell a laptop which is bigger and heavier, runs only Vista, gets half the battery life, and is $300 more expensive than the corresponding Mac? The “conventional wisdom” (whether true or not) is that Macs are more expensive; products which give Apple an excuse to show how they’re cheaper don’t tend to do very well.
I bought a Macbook Air. Yes its a pretty little TOY….but I found out the hard way that many of the web sites I use just don’t work well with Mac. I have spent insane amounts of time on the phone with Apple and others and even doing a Bootcamp windows boot does not solve the problem….only one mouse button.
I trade stocks and futures, and the web hosts have said that they are not willing to double their software development costs to capture a tiny amount of clients…..and since most also have PC’s (or will get them) they don’t have too.
I now own the worlds most expensive email “computer”
Anyway, anyone want a cheap Air?
It is amazing they (HP) just don’t get it.
No matter what HP does, they are not running Apple OS X!
And on top of it HP forgot to hire a designer, you cant just make it thin and call that good design.
Walmart-ish
It’s ugly and boxy.. and from an aesthetics viewpoint doesn’t hold a candle to the MacBook Air. Nice try.
The best kept secret in this category – the Toshiba Portege R500, actually looks and competes with MacBook air, lighter than it, has 1″ smaller screen but makes it up with a DVD drive – really neat and nice finish.
FIRST OF ALL… SINCE WHEN HP IS SYNOYM OF LUXURY??… I THINK THAT IS THE FIRST MISTAKE THAT THE COMPANY IS MAKING… IF THEY HAVE LAUNCHED THIS PRODUCT JUST AS VOODOO MAYBE IT WOULD HAVE WORKED. BUT WHEN YOU REALIZE THAT THE MANUFACTURER IS HP YOU KNOW THAT THE MACHINE IS GOING TO WORK PERFECTLY FINE FOR 3 MONTHS AND AFTER THAT PROBLEMS ARE GOING TO ARISE. IN MY OPINION IT IS A GOOD TRY FROM HP TO ENTER A NEW NICHE; BUT THEY SHOULD FOCUS IN WHAT THEY ARE GOOD: DISPOSABLE LAPTOPS THAT COST MUCH LESS THAN 2099….
What is missing here is that the business traveler, a.k.a. road warrior, is the market for the MacBook Air. These people don’t buy a computer to play games they buy it to do work and they like it light and sleek because nothing provides more WOW effect than to have a clients impressed by a hot looking Mac. Also since Vista is a dog and Linux, although a very good OS, does not have a large following in the enterprise arena; added to the fact that the Mac runs both OS X and XP makes it the top choice. But the clincher is that no company on earth with the exception of Porsche and several exotic Italian brand car makers, can beat the artistic design capabilities of Apple. Jonathan Ive rocks!
Thin is only part of the story. The MacBook Air’s overall industrial design is stunningly better than the Envy, but most importantly, the Air runs OS X and Windows (for those who need it), while the Envy only runs Windows. So, no “envy” on my part. The Mac and it’s native OS is still the clear winner on several key levels.
10 % heavier; 15% more expensive; shaped like a brick; Won’t double as a common utensil. where is the beef?
“The “me too” syndrom strikes again.”
Like the “me too” iphones piggy backing on RIM’s phones??
And all the hoopla over Vista being the worste things since a crooked republican…. bla bla bla, more likely you moaners are the types that can’t get pissed in a brewery.
Apple showed it’s true colours Monday, discounted ” smart phone ” ( aka: toy) and still the stocks took a hammering, Steve must be fuming now!