HP puts Beats Audio in monitors and NFC in a line of new PCs

At IFA today, Hewlett Packard did a couple of interesting things that caught our eye. HP used the show to announce its ENVY Recline All-in-One PC series with a pivotable touch screen that goes lower and closer than traditional models.

“Customers have told us that they want touch on their PCs, and at HP we’re always looking for ways to improve the experience,” said Mike Nash, vice president, Product Management, Consumer PCs and Consumer Solutions, HP. “HP’s family of reclining all-in-one PCs offer new ways to stay productive and enjoy immersive experiences such as movies and games with the most natural touch experience available.”

To back its claims, HP said a study revealed that while using touch screens, an overwhelming majority of people preferred their screen in a low and close position for 100 percent of touch-related tasks. The ENVY series displays are full HD, and the IPS touch screen responds to all 10 fingers at once, and has a unique hinge that allows the screen to be repositioned with ease. The hinge enables the screen to seamlessly move below the table and closer to the lap for a natural touch navigation position, or it can be adjusted upright for traditional use and to watch movies.

The components are a 4th-generation Intel Core i-series processor and Nvidia discrete graphics. The HP ENVY Recline27 also features Near Field Communication (NFC) technology, which should be standard on all computers and devices in our opinion.

Additionally, HP is offering a the ENVY Recline23 TouchSmart PC Beats Edition with black and red accents and a Beats Audio driven dual speaker system. Which leads nicely to the nicely priced HP Touch Monitors.

The Pavilion 23 Touch Monitor is Windows 8-certified, has a 23-inch full-HD touch screen  with five-point touch technology, wide viewing angles and an adjustable stand that allows users to tilt the monitor to a 70-degree deep recline position.

HP also announced the ENVY 23 IPS Monitor, an ultra-thin monitor with two HDMI ports and integrated Beats Audio headphone jack. Oh, yeah.

 

  • The HP ENVY Recline23 TouchSmart All-in-One PC with an Intel Core i7processor, 8 GB of memory and two-year limited warranty will be available at hpshopping.com on Sept. 6 for a starting price of $1,349. Other configurations will be available in select retail stores in late September starting at $999.
  • The HP ENVY Recline23 TouchSmart All-in-One PC Beats Edition with an Intel Core i5 processor, 8 GB of memory and a two-year limited warranty will be available at hpshopping.com in November for a starting price of $1,249. Other configurations will be available in select retail stores this fall starting at $1,099.
  • The HP ENVY Recline27 TouchSmart All-in-One PC will be available Sept. 6 for a starting price of $1,399.
  • The HP ENVY Phoenix 810 Desktop PC will be available Oct. 16 for a starting price of $1,299.
  • HP Pavilion 23 Touch Monitor will be available Oct. 6 for a starting price of $349.
  • HP ENVY 23 IPS Monitor will be available in November for a starting price of $249.

Screw the PCs. The monitors sound really interesting to us. And the pricing seems pretty good, but it’s not like we can afford them.