HP Releases Ultra-Thin Laptops for Business

HP is expanding its line of business notebook PCs with a slew of new models aimed at both enterprise and small- to midsized business buyers.

The company on Monday unveiled two new additions to its business-rugged HP EliteBook lineup -- the EliteBook 2740p and 2540p -- as well as four new HP ProBook notebooks in a new standard-series ("s-series") line.

HP's (NYSE: HPQ) new models come as PC makers like it, Dell (NASDAQ: DELL), Lenovo, and others are aiming to cash in on what many industry observers expect will be a wide-ranging refresh of aging business systems thanks to Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) Windows 7 and an improving economy.

Aimed at hard-core corporate road warriors, the new EliteBook 2740p starts at 3.8 pounds and is HP's first touchscreen-enabled Tablet PC convertible for business users. The model offers a choice of Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) Core i5 and i7 processors and up to 8GB of DDR3 memory.

The 2740p's 12.1-inch touchscreen, which can be folded back onto the notebook's body to create a tablet, supports multitouch gestures, finger taps, and swipes. The notebook also includes a tethered pen for on-screen writing and similar activity.

The model includes a six-cell lithium-ion prismatic battery that HP says provides up to five hours of power. Coupled with an optional HP 2700 Ultra-Slim Battery, that total is extended to 11 hours.

The HP EliteBook 2740p also supports the addition of a dock -- the HP 2740 Ultra-Slim Expansion Base -- which includes a DVD±RW drive plus eSATA and DisplayPort connections. As the names imply, both the Ultra-Slim Battery and Ultra-Slim Expansion Base are designed to be lightweight and low-profile, enabling business users to throw both into a briefcase without significantly increasing their load.

Read the rest at Hardware Central.