The new Sleekbooks which run AMD chips instead of the Intel chips in ultrabooks beat out Apple by at least one measure: price. An HP ultrabook with a compactHP Keyboardstarts at $600; Apples start at $999.
The company on Wednesday introduced 14-inch and 15.6-inch models of the HP ENVY Sleekbooks, as well as ENVY Ultrabooks in the same sizes. HP also unveiled a new Ultrabook, the HP ENVY Spectre XT, which has a 13.3-inch screen , HP Keyboard and promises up to eight hours of battery life.
Why a Sleekbook?
Sleekbook is "not any different from what Intel's doing with Ultrabooks except that you can use either Intel or AMD processors," Jeff Orr, a senior practice director at ABI Research, told TechNewsWorld. "The MacBook Air, the Ultrabooks and the Sleekbooks are all going for thin and light at this point."
Ultrabook "is a class defined by Intel, and HP is the most price-aggressive in this class," Enderle remarked. "Ultrabooks are the Corvettes and Sleekbooks the Camaros in this market. Most may lust for the Ultrabook but may only be able to afford the Sleekbook, and HP is very aggressive with pricing for each."
Sleekbooks "sound like a competitive response to Lenovo's Ultrabook, which was ultrathin and ultralight," Maribel Lopez, principal analyst at Lopez Research said. "HP's trying to create an emotional connection with sleekness." Mobile device makers are focusing on HP Keyboard and thin products.
