The ENVY of Others…
So now that Microsoft has officially released Windows 7 and made it widely available for purchase, the spotlight now goes on the original equipment manufacturers (OEM) to see what they have done with this impressive new operating system.
In today’s day and age mobility is key, and the longer you can stay mobile without having to plug yourself into a chair near a wall outlet, the better! I’m talking of course about notebook computer systems. I wanted to see what each of the major OEM vendors were up to, as we now have Windows 7 technology available which boasts longer battery life, faster wake up time from sleep mode, and multi-touch capabilities among many other features. I specifically looked at Sony, HP, and Dell notebook computer systems as they are the top three most common OEM vendors found in many retail outlets.
Dell Latitude Z
Dell has done a fine job upgrading their offerings to Windows 7 and is now offering their customized-PC orders with the new operating system. One of the most amazing new technologies that they launched with the advent of Windows 7, was their mind-blowing Latitude Z notebook computer system. This machine boasts a 16″ wide LCD screen, measures in a little over a 1/2 inch in width, and weighs a little over 4 pounds! With its back lit keyboard you are sure to never have difficulty seeing your keyboard in even the darkest of rooms, and with such impressive touch controls supported on the trackpad (commonly referred to as gestures and very similar to an Apple MacBook glass trackpad), flipping, resizing, moving and working with data has never been easier.
The most compelling reason to purchase one of these machines which starts for around $2,000, is really for a technology known as Latitude ONâ„¢. Latitude ONâ„¢ is a technology that allows you to start your notebook computer in a mode that will let you surf the web, check your e-mail, connect to a network, and even view and work with your office documents all without starting Microsoft Windows!
Dell Latitude ONâ„¢ technology helps you to get up and running even when you’re running late. Simply turn it ON for instant, no boot-up wait time; interactive access to information you need (Web, e-mail, calendar, contacts); and the added benefit of idle battery life that can extend for days, not just hours. – Dell
How would you use this technology and make it use of it in your business? Lets use this scenario: envision your current computer system. Now, envision your cell phone sitting next to your computer. For the purposes of this conversation, lets assume your cell phone is a smart phone device (a device that can perform PC-based functionality like read e-mail, browse the Internet, open and edit documents, etc like an Apple iPhone 3GS). Lets suppose that you were called to a meeting starting in 10 minutes, however you only have half of the data that you need for your meeting! You call an associate that has the data you are looking for, and you tell them to e-mail that data to you. You now can relax, because before the meeting, you can pull up the data you were looking for on your phone, as it accepts incoming and outgoing e-mail.
Dell Latitude Z booting up into Latitude ON mode
It may look a little funny pulling up data from both your phone and your computer, especially when you don’t have an accessible Internet connection for your computer. This is where Latitude ONâ„¢ comes in. As stated earlier, Latitude ONâ„¢ is a a specific mode in which your computer operates and therefore you don’t have access to your Microsoft Windows environment. Even though you may not have access to Microsoft Windows, it doesn’t mean that you cant save, edit, or mutate data and make it accessible to Microsoft Windows when you should restart in Microsoft Windows mode. Using Latitude ONâ„¢ is like using your smart phone. Its lightweight, rigid, and only accomplishes a few tasks, however it alleviates having to carry around both your smart phone as well as your computer. Latitude ONâ„¢ may run on your computer, however it consumes very little power, which in turn gives you an extra boost on your battery. Combine both the ease and speed and accessibility of your smart phone device and the ability to run Microsoft Windows and you have Latitude ONâ„¢.
The machine however impressive, has some limitations. First of all, Dell only supports 32-bit versions of Windows 7 on the Dell Latitude Z. The performance of the 32-bit version of Windows 7 versus that of its 64-bit counterpart is noticeable. With its limited reach of only 4 GB memory, the machine can tire under the strain that a business user with many open applications could present. But most importantly, the machine can seem a bit cramped for some users who have a lot of data, may that be music, photos, documents, or e-mail, as the base model comes with only a 64 GB hard drive, and to get the maximum configured amount of hard disk space, you would pay almost $1,000 more!
All in all, not a bad offering from Dell.
Sony VAIO X
Sony VAIO X
From Sony, launching in early November, I got the chance to see their new innovation, their VAIO X Series running Windows 7 Home Premium.
Like Dell, Sony seems to favor the 32-bit flavor of Windows 7, except unlike Dell with this machine we can see why. Featuring an Intel Atom processor running at 2.0 GHz and only supporting a maximum of 2 GB of memory, at first glance this machine may be passed up by many. Sony however is not marketing this machine to the average user. This particular machine happens to be a netbook computer (a computer system that is designed for extreme mobility and undercuts performance, expandability, and power).
Weighing in at only a mere 1.6 pounds (Ive lifted one–believe me, its true) , this machine feels literally featherlight. The screen size at 11.1″ is small, but better than its rivals in the netbook classification. Sony will start selling the machine with a base price at $1,299, which is a lot easier to digest when you figure in its whopping 14 hour battery life!
All in all, a decent investment for a great battery.  People who know me, know that I have one infamous saying: you cant miss what you don’t have, and in this case, after seeing what Dell can bring to the table with its Latitude ONâ„¢ technology, Sony needs to up its ante if its going to compete with OEM vendors like Dell come soon, as battery life alone will not win over a crowd.
HP ENVY
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Last but not least, we have HP. HP has started a trend with its new slogan: The Computer is Personal Again. Many OEM vendors are now creating crafty, artistic, eye-appeasing machines for purchase while sacrificing the computing power inside, but not HP. HP has worked especially hard on its Windows 7 lineup and is proud of everything that they have accomplished. For starters, HP is one of only a few OEM vendors that prefer shipping the more performant Windows 7 64-bit editions versus their 32-bit counterparts. HP also has a reputation of building machines to last, and when you couple that with some of the Windows 7 technologies that HP took advantage of with their Windows 7 lineup, you have an unstoppable line of performance.
My choice in the HP line, is the ENVY. With an overall design that will make other computers drool in envy (all puns intended), its easy to see how this machine could even make Apple worry as the machine actually closely resembles a 13″ Apple MacBook Pro. With two versions of the product line available (one with a 13″ screen and the other with a 15″ screen) HP gives you the option of power and performance (15″ version) or extreme mobility (13″ version), but interestingly enough does so in a way that does not sacrifice overall performance.
The HP ENVY13 is the 13″ screen version that features a battery that will make Sony cry–17 hours of battery life! The machine is outfitted with not one but two graphics processors which will switch depending on whether the machine is plugged in or not, as to help with battery life. The graphics cards each render an incredible image with processing maxing out at 512 MB of memory for this variation. Multitasking wont be an issue either as the machine supports 5 GB of system memory.
The HP ENVY15 is the 15″ screen version that features the new Intel Core i7 processor. The Intel Core i7 processor is revolutionary in nature as it introduces Intel quad-core computing for notebook computer systems. Also, unheard of in a notebook computer system, the ability to address up to 16 GB of memory making this machine a computational powerhouse! This variant of the HP ENVY also sports dual-graphics cards, except this version will max out at 1,024 MB of memory. That’s twice the performance of its 13″ sibling!
At this point, I’m convinced that not only is the HP ENVY an attractive and well crafted piece of artwork, but a crowd pleaser as well. Like the Dell Latitude Z, the HP ENVY also supports touch controls (gestures) on the trackpad making working with data easier than trackpads that don’t support this feature. With a base price of $1699 and a 256 GB hard drive that comes standard, the only edge up Dell may have over the HP ENVY is with its Latitude ONâ„¢ technology, but that quickly lifts when you see that HP has a similar technology in every HP ENVY that functions exactly the same way as Dell’s Latitude ONâ„¢ called ENVY IOS.
My HP ENVY13 machine running Windows 7
I was fortunate enough to get my hands on an HP ENVY13 and have to say, the machine is everything that they say it is, and then some. In fact, I have decided to use this machine primarily for the purposes of writing my blog here at wwww.infosource.net and have appropriately named my machine myNV.Â
As the coming weeks bring us closer and closer towards the holiday season, I believe that we can expect to see some pretty amazing things come from the OEM vendors that are supporting Windows 7. It is evident that no matter what OEM vendor you go to, they have each stepped up their game quite noticeably since the general availability of Windows 7. What new innovations will come from this new playing ground? Will these new innovations change the way in which we work? We will just have to wait and watch, but as always, you can count on me to be here to help clarify and demystify the solutions and products that are coming down the pipeline.
James Zepp
October 30, 2009
Tags: Dell, ENVY, HP, laptop, Latitude Z, netbook, notebook, OEM, review, Sony, VAIO X, Windows 7 Posted in: Business, Microsoft, News, Windows 7
Name: James Zepp
Occupation: CTO
Company: Acxsis
Age: 26
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