Everything You Need to Know About the New HP Ultrabooks — Positioning, Pricing, and Release Dates

Posted on 14 May 2012, Last updated on 17 March 2023 by

HP Sleekbooks – 14″ and 15.6″

Positioning and Specs

HP’s ‘Sleekbooks’ were certainty the hardest of HP’s announcements to unravel, thanks to some genuinely confusing descriptions.

All accounts point to the Sleekbooks being exactly the same external design as the Envy 4 and Envy 6 Ultrabooks with the only caveat being that they are based on AMD processors instead of Intel. By Intel’s definition, this makes the Sleekbooks not an ‘Ultrabook’, hence HP’s naming scheme. The Sleekbooks will thus be missing many of the features that make a computer an Ultrabook (Smart Response, Rapid  Start, etc.). This will allow HP to push the price down a bit further and offer the Sleekbooks as a step up from netbooks, but not quite an Ultrabook.

Price and Release Date

The 14″ Sleekbook is available as of May 9th, according to HP, but as far as I can tell, it is nowhere to be found on their site. They say that it will start at $699. The 15.6″ Sleekbook should be available on June 20th, starting at $599

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15 Comments For This Post

  1. Aaron says:

    The HP envy 4t-1000 sleekbook is currently available and it has an intel core i3-2367m. It doesn’t have to have an AMD processor to be a sleekbook. In the customization area under the Hard Drive Acceleration Cache it states:

    32GB mSSD Hard Drive Acceleration Cache
    Select this Solid State cache to upgrade the ENVY 4t to an Ultrabook (TM). Supports Intel Rapid Start Technology for quick resume from power off and Intel Smart Response Technology for fast access to files.

    So it is a sleekbook to start and adding the 32GB mSSD upgrades it to an ultrabook. The current article on HP’s new lineup isn’t completely accurate pertaining to the sleekbook designation.

  2. Aaron says:

    The HP envy 6t-1000 is considered an Ultrabook because the 32GB mSSD Hard Drive Acceleration Cache comes standard (already included in the price).

  3. Ben Lang says:

    Thanks for pointing this out, Aaron. According to HP’s press release, the Sleekbooks are supposed to come equipped with AMD APU (which would mean the Fusion platform). This is wholly different than an Intel CPU with an AMD GPU.

    It’s quite possible that the PR folks got it wrong (the release was a mess), but it still seems like HP intends to offer the Sleekbooks with AMD processors given that if the Envy 4 without the mSSD is a Sleekbook, why wouldn’t the Envy 6 Sleekbook be available until June 20th… even though the Envy 6 Ultrabook is currently being offered with the mSSD by default (surely it wouldn’t take a lot of effort to offer an Envy 6 sans an additional hardware part — you don’t even need to wait for a shipment, just don’t include the part!)?

    Here are the official release words:

    “The HP ENVY Sleekbook—available with either a 14-inch diagonal display and the latest Intel Core processors,(6) or a 15.6-inch diagonal display and the latest AMD Accelerated Processing Units (APU)—boasts up to eight or nine hours of battery life,(4) respectively. With optional discrete graphics on Intel platforms and discrete-class graphics from AMD on AMD platforms, users can create and edit videos quickly and experience incredible gaming and multimedia.”

  4. Jordan says:

    Rather dissapointed with the “premium” Spectre XT. The downgrades seem more significant than the upgrades. Hopefully it can be customized to restore its resolution to its former glory.

    Im also disappointed in the Envy 6. There’s no reason to solely offer a low resolution for a 15.6″ screen. I guess I like my laptops screens like I like my land, with plenty of real estate.

  5. david says:

    Do you not think the current spectre 14 will be refreshed?

  6. Nklenchik says:

    Does the xt have a backit keyboard as well?

  7. Ben Lang says:

    Yes, backlit keyboard has been confirmed on the XT.

    For the Envy 4 and 6, the backlit keyboard is optional (+$20).

  8. Adam says:

    The Spectre XT is pretty exciting, except for the screen.

    Despite the fanatics that will state that any metallic, thin laptop is a Macbook Air rip-off, I think it’s a pretty unique design, too. Very “stealth-bomber” looking.

    The screen and the price considering it includes a fake hybrid SSD are the only downsides assuming that it’s battery is as good as the Folio 13.

    $1000 computer should include a REAL SSD.

    Adam

  9. Ben Lang says:

    Adam what do you mean about a fake SSD hyrbid? The XT can be equipped with a 128GB or 256GB SSD — I haven’t see anything about a hybrid HDD.

  10. Charlie says:

    I can understand your sentiment, but the 32GB mSATA SSD gives you much of the perceived benefit of an SSD, but with the larger 320 or 500GB hard drive too. Boot times with the mSATA cache SSD are very similar to actual SSDs.

  11. Kezi says:

    HP Spectre XT or Acer S5, which is more premium and is there a big difference in price between those ultrabooks.

  12. shivakumar says:

    i want to prchse a neew hp ultra book

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