HP's New Line of Catchy Pro Notebooks

ProBook laptops are value-priced for businesses on the cash crunch.

Perhaps in an effort to appeal to the budget-conscious times, HP today announced a new line of notebooks targeted at business users.

Named the ProBook line, which joins HP’s other business EliteBook offerings, the new laptops incorporate a mercury-free design, come in ‘merlot’ red and ‘noir’ black, and feature LED backlit displays in a choice of 14-inch, 15.6-inch and 17.3-inch diagonal widescreen sizes.

Somewhat puzzling are the 16:9 displays on all the ProBook models. While the 16:9 aspect ratio makes sense on HDTVs for watching widescreen TV and movies, most content and webpages are designed for vertical strolling. The move from 16:10 to 16:9 is yet another one that doesn’t seem to make sense for office application users.

That aside, the ProBooks come in both Intel and AMD processor flavorings, the option of ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4330 or Intel GMA X4500 HD graphics, optional Blu-ray Disc drive (to make good use of that 16:9 screen). The notebooks also incorporate an HDMI port to connect to HD displays. Wireless connectivity includes standard Wi-Fi, optional integrated Bluetooth and mobile broadband using Qualcomm Gobi technology.

Estimated starting U.S. street pricing begins at $529.