HP to separate notebooks, thin and light laptops

HP has treated journalists and retailers to a sneak preview of its upcoming range of consumer laptops and desktops, introducing a new category, 'thin and light', which is intended to help consumers identify the different models and their functions.

Basically, the 'thin and light models' are what they say they are: extremely thin, extremely light laptops such as the new Envy Spectre.

It gets a little complicated because two models in the traditional 'notebook' category are also called Envy; HP New Zealand consumer market development manager, Chin Edirisuriya, says the naming pattern will make sense once some forthcoming models have been released.

The problem is that to fit the traditional definition of an 'ultrabook' a device has to have an Intel chip, but HP will be offering some of these models with a choice of Intel or AMD processors.

But Edirisuriya says 'thin and light' is also easier for consumers to understand.

"Customers come into the store and they say, I want a notebook that's thin and light," Edirisuriya says.

HP's other notebooks will also be getting facelifts in the next few months, for example the Pavilion g-series will sport a new red colour option.

As well as the laptops HP also had a few all-in-one desktops on display, including the Omni 27-inch PC.

Most of the changes will be coming through in the next few months.