As part of its ongoing rollout of new PCs and laptops ahead of the Windows 7 launch next week and a presumed bump up in PC sales, Hewlett-Packard has announced another batch of new machines for consumers and corporates. The big push today is for relatively inexpensive touch screens for laptops and desktops and low-cost Compaq-branded PCs and laptops for consumers and small businesses.

HP says that it has worked to bring the cost of touch screen technology down so it can put it in more devices and charge less money for it. There are six new TouchSmart PCs being announced today for delivery on October 22, concurrent with Microsoft's launch of Windows 7.

The new touch-based PCs are part of a fall PC refresh cycle that HP began back in mid-September and that will continue in November and December, according to HP. So the new machines debuting today are not the last of the new fall lineup. HP contends that there untold millions of PCs out there that are three, four, or five years old and that consumers and companies alike will be wanting to get new notebooks, desktops, or even maybe their first netbook because of their aging machines. (Or, more likely, because they are sick of the Windows cruft that seems to cripple a machine after it has been running for a few years).

First up of the new PCs coming out today is the TouchSmart tx2-1377nr notebook, which has one of those twisty screens that turns it into a tablet PC. This notebook is based on Advanced Micro Devices' Turion X2 dual-core RM-75 chip running at 2.2 GHz, and it comes with 4 GB of DDR2 memory (max of 8 GB), a 320 GB disk, and a 12.1-inch 1280x800 screen with an ATI Radeon HD 3200 with a total of 1.9 GB of graphics memory.

It has an integrated Webcam, microphone, and wireless LAN adapter, and it comes with Microsoft's Office OneNote tablet application, which lets you take notes and make drawings. It is preloaded with the 64-bit version of Windows 7 Home Premium edition. With the battery and peripherals, this TouchSmart tx2 notebook weighs in at 8 pounds and has a base list price of $800. That's about a 30 per cent lower price compared to the cost of a touch-screen tablet notebook a year ago, according to HP.

The TouchSmart 300 and 600s (which have two models each) are HP's third generation of touch-enabled desktop PCs, and they come with the PC guts built into the screen. They all run Windows 7 the 64-bit version of Windows 7 Home Premium edition, which is suitable for home and small business use, and for businesses in general who don't want to give Microsoft more money than they need to.

The TouchSmart 300-1020 is based on AMD's Athlon II 325e dual-core chip running at 2.7 GHz, and it sports 4 GB of memory an a 500 GB SATA drive. It has one PCI-Express x16 slot (occupied by a video card, the same ATI Radeon HD 3200) and two empty PCI-Express x1 mini slots. It has integrated wireless and wired networking, a Webcam, a DVD burner, integrated TV tuner, and a low-profile wireless keyboard and mouse. The touch screen for the TouchSmart 300-1020 is 20 inches along the diagonal (the screen resolution was not available at press time). The base price of this unit is $899.

The TouchSmart 300-1025 is the same machine, only it has a 2.8 GHz Athlon II X2 240e dual-core chip and a 640 GB disk drive.

The TouchSmart 600-1050 is based on Intel's Core 2 Duo T6500 processor running at 2.1 GHz, and this touch PC comes with 4 GB of memory, a Nvidia GeForce G200 graphics card (topping at 1.9 GB of graphics memory, some of that being on the graphics card and some of it being main memory allocated to graphics by Windows 7), plus the integrated wireless and wired LAN, DVD burner, TV tuner, and peripheral slots.

This Intel-based device, however, comes with a 23-inch touch screen (it looks like it has a 1080 pixel width, but the screen resolution is again missing from the datasheet). The base price for the TouchSmart 600-1050 is $1,049. The TouchSmart 600-1055 is the same machine, but using an Intel Core 2 Duo P7450 processor running at 2.13 GHz, an Nvidia GeForce GT230M graphics card that can have up to 2.8 GB of memory allocated to it (the same graphics-main memory split is at work here), and a 750 GB SATA disk.

HP's 42-inch LD4200tm touch screen display, TouchSmart 300 PC, and TouchSmart tx2 notebook (Click to Enlarge)

For real business customers (meaning companies that want something other than the Home Edition of Windows and who want a few other features not generally found on consumer PCs, such as a higher price tag and configurability within the model number), HP is launching the TouchSmart 9100 Business PC, which has the 23-inch screen with a glass cover, the integrated Webcam, dual microphone array, and premium speakers built into the unit.

The TouchSmart 9100 is based on Intel's Core 2 Duo P7570 running at 2.26 GHz or the T6570 running at 2.1 GHz. The device can run Windows 7 Professional 32 (the 32-bit version) or Professional 64 (the 64-bit version), and if you want to go above 4 GB of main memory in the PC, you need to get the 64-bit version. (That's base 2, baby). The TouchSmart 9100 tops out at 8 GB with its two DDR3 memory slots. It comes with a DVD drive, a Blu-ray combo drive, a six-in-one media card reader, and an Nvidia GeForce 200 graphics card on the motherboard in the system and an Nvidia 10P GT320M card as an option.

HP is throwing in 250 GB or 500 GB SATA drives into this touch PC for biz; solid state disks will be optional if businesses want to splurge for performance and quiet operations. The screen resolution was not announced, but base prices start at $1,299.

While this is not a touch PC per se, HP has also announced a 42-inch widescreen LCD monitor that is enabled with infrared touch technology that the company believes will be popular for digital signs. The LD4200tm will be available in December, and it costs $2,799. Slap a TV tuner into that puppy and strap on a media PC (the default PC to drive the screen as a digital sign is a dc7900 small form factor PC), and this thing could take over some middle-class living rooms. The other TouchScreen PCs mentioned above look kinda small next to this big screen, to tell the truth.

But not everything HP rolled out today had touch technology woven into it.

The no-touching variety

The Elite 7000 business desktop PC is a tower PC based on Intel's latest Core i5 and i7 processors, and the machine can not only be loaded with the 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows 7 Home or Professional edition, but if you want Linux, it can also be preloaded with Novell's SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 11. The Elite 7000 is based on Intel's P55 Express chipset, and it has four DDR3 memory slots, for a maximum of 8 GB of memory.

The PC comes with a SATA drives that range in capacity from 160 GB to 1 TB, and it can be equipped with a 64 GB solid state disk. The system board has three PCI-Express slots, and the tower has two internal disk bays (not including all the media bays). HP is supporting a variety of PCI-Express x16 video cards for this tower PC, including Nvidia's GeForce GT210 and GT230 and ATI's Radeon HD 4550 and 4650. This machine is also being configured with Intel's IT Director management tool (which is not related to vPro, oddly enough). The base Elite 7000 PC will sell for $789.

HP has also come up with two more business laptops that feature wide screens and an integrated number pad on the keyboard, which will be the envy of all the bean counters out there lugging around laptops and USB keypads.

The ProBook 6445b notebook has a 14-inch backlit LED screen (with a 1366x768 resolution, because at least someone at HP knows how to write a datasheet) and it can have Windows XP, Windows Vista, or Windows 7 in Professional, Home Premium, or Home Basic editions preinstalled; Windows Vista Enterprise and Windows 7 Ultimate are supported but not preinstalled, and SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 10 has been certified on the machine but is not technically supported.

The ProBook 6445 is based on AMD's M880G chipset, and supports 2 GHz Sempron, 2.1 GHz and 2.3 GHz dual-core Turion II, and 2.4 GHz Turion II Ultra chips (all of which but the Sempron have two processor cores). The machine has two DDR2 memory slots, supporting up to 8 GB, and has room for one SATA disk (160 GB through 500 GB) and either a second SATA drive or one of a variety of optical drives. The ProBook 6445b comes with an ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4200 graphics card, and it has wireless and wired LAN support and a dual-microphone array, but no Webcam. The base machine weighs 5.9 pounds, and costs $799.

HP's Elite 7000 desktop PC and ProBook 6545b notebook (Click to Enlarge)

The ProBook 6545b notebook is the same basic electronics, but it comes with a 15.6-inch screen with the same 1366x768 resolution. There is a variant of this ProBook 6545b machine that comes with a 15.6-unch screen that can handle 1600x900 resolution. Pricing for this machine was not announced.

One funny feature about the ProBook b series laptops: They include a "spill resistant" keyboard that includes a drain. So if you are on the airplane and someone - like you - spills a beer on your keyboard, it will pass through the keys, collect briefly in a mini holding tank, and then piss out all over your lap. Which is a lot better than losing the machine. Water-proof keyboards are apparently not in the works at HP, but I did ask.

Cheapo boxes for smaller budgets

It took HP about 15 minutes to wipe off the Compaq brands off of its x86 servers and replace them with the HP when it acquired Compaq back eight years ago, but believe it or not, the Compaq brand is still useful for selling PCs in different market segments and in different countries. (Apparently, the Compaq name still means more to people in India, Thailand, and Mexico than the HP name). And so, HP still designs inexpensive machines that bear the Compaq Q.

Four such machines that were announced today. The first is the Compaq Presario CQ61-310US, which is a notebook with a 15.6-inch screen (1366x768 resolution) that is based on AMD's 2 GHz Sempron M100 processor. This notebook comes with 2 GB of DDR2 memory (in two slots) and supports up to 4 GB. It includes an ATI Radeon HD 4200 graphics card, a 160 GB SATA disk drive, integrated wired and wireless LAN, a DVD drive, and a five-in-one media reader. Fully loaded, this CQ61 notebook weighs in at a cubby 8.9 pounds, but you can't complain much about the skinny $400 price tag, including Windows 7 Home Premium Edition (64-bit).

The Compaq Presario CQ4010F desktop machine comes in a tower case, and is based on AMD's 2.3 GHz Sempron LE-1300 processor. The machine has one memory slot, which supports either 2 GB or 4 GB DDR2 memory, and comes with a 250 GB SATA disk and a DVD burner. It has one x1 and one x16 PCI-Express slot, and all of its media bays are full, so forget about expansion. With Windows 7 Home Premium Edition (64-bit), the machine costs $309 - screen, keyboard, and mouse not included.

HP's Compaq CQ4010F desktop PC, CQ61 laptop, and 505B microtower PCs (Click to Enlarge)

The final two Compaq PCs that bowed today include the 500B and 505B microtower PCs. The 500B is based on Intel's G41 Express chipset and uses the dual-core Celeron chip as its main brain. The machine has two DDR3 memory slots (with up to 4 GB max supported) and has a single SATA drive that ranges from 160 GB to 500 GB in capacity.

The box has a DVD drive, and sports one PCI slot and two PCI-Express slots (one x1 and one x16). The machine can be equipped with either an Nvidia GeForce G210 or ATI Radeon HD 4350 graphics card. The motherboard in this box as a 100 Mbit Ethernet port and wireless is optional (meaning, it eats a peripheral slot and costs money). A variety of Windows 7 versions can be preinstalled on the 500B, as can Windows Vista or SLED 11 from Novell. The 500B costs $359 in a base configuration.

The Compaq 505B is a similar microtower PC, although it is based on AMD's Athlon II processors (and you can pick from two, three, or four core variants, depending on your processing needs and budget). The 505B desktop PC uses Nvidia's nForce 430 chipset, and it has two DDR3 memory slots and maxxes out at 4 GB. The system has the same peripherals and slots as the 500B above. Prices start at $409. ®

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