Preview: Lenovo and HP showcase innovative notebooks and desktops for the holiday season

We were recently invited to preview some of the upcoming netbooks, notebooks and PCs from Lenovo and HP during their respective holiday preview events.  Featuring high-style netbooks, a convertible netbook, a net-top device and some inspiring premium notebooks and all-in-one solutions. We check out some of the things that stood out.

Lenovo's Consumer Push

We spoke to Lenovo's Chet Joshi who gamely showed us some new products in the IdeaPad line, we have a video of the demo (above) which features their new convertible netbook, an HDMI-toting 1080p capable net-top and a full featured consumer desktop replacement that's powerful enough for business use.

We were impressed with Lenovo's unusual S10-3T convertible netbook. Bundling the convenience of a keyboard in typical netbook mode, the S10-3T transforms into a 10-inch tablet which has full multi-touch (well, as much as Windows 7 allows) as well as the ability to be used as an eBook reader, photo frame all under 3 pounds. 

 The S10-3T comes with a 1.6GHz Atom processor with 160GB hard drive which makes it somewhat compelling for consumer as well as business use. The S10-3T is limited to 1GB of RAM, which may impact specific use cases. For surfing, writing documents and consuming content, this seems to be an interesting option for people who must have the tablet aspect. The S10-3T sells for $600 from Lenovo.

HP's Envy Impresses, 3D on the way

At the HP Holiday Showcase, we were treated to a long list of new computers coming to the market for the holiday buying season. HP's new approach to building their computers is to differentiate them from the rest of the competition though improved design, user experience, materials and features.

This approach begins with their line of HP Mini  210 netbooks (starting at $320) that offer improved finishes and even a line of complementary cases and wireless mice that's in sync with their designs. HP's netbooks still maintain what we feel are the best keyboard for that small form-factor.

HP is betting on their line of all-in-one PCs that offer TouchSmart functionality within integrated PC's ideal for home use and start at $500 (for the 20-inch model without TouchSmart capability).

Now that PC's are bridging the gap between computing and entertainment devices, HP's all-in-one desktops offer a space saving, ecologically sound and versatile solution. Some of the eco benefits of HP's all-in-one desktops include

-       ENERGY STAR 5.0 qualified and EPEAT Silver certified. It also includes HP Power Manager to help customers realize energy savings without interfering with end-user productivity or desktop maintenance, offering 45 percent energy savings.

-       All All-in-One 200 PCs use a WLED back-lit panel, which typically consumes less power than a standard panel and eliminates the use of mercury.

We were also impressed by HP's Envy line of premium notebooks specifically the 13-inch Beats notebooks which are coated in rubberized paint, offer a more lavish set of features and come bundled with a Beats headset. The photo below really doesn't do it justice as this notebook looks really impressive. the strength of this line goes beyond the cosmetics as the sound quality and power.

“Sound quality has always been important in my job and it’s cool to see Canadians value it as well,” said Canada’s own Jordan “DJ Tilt” Rulloda. “HP’s new ENVY Notebook with Beats really delivers the kind of sound we’ve all been looking for.”

“Sound quality can sometimes be compromised when it’s experienced digitally,” said Sherief Ibrahim, product manager, Consumer Notebooks, HP Canada. “To overcome the challenge, our HP engineers collaborated with Interscope Records to develop the highest quality headphone/line out experience to date. “

We also demoed the 17-inch HP Envy 3D, a derivative of the high-end Core i7 desktop replacement we reviewed but this time with 3D playback capabilities ($1,600).

We're not big fans of 3D anything but were surprised at how good the Envy 3D works.

HP's Sherief Ibrahim showed us some NBA footage as well as a trailer for Megamind, both of which were vivid, sharp and managed the 3D effects effecitively.

Lots of exciting stuff coming from the pipeline from these manufacturers heading into the end of the year. It is great to see innovation as well as a wide variety of features and materials as the differentiators within the PC market and not just price.

We also made it a point to go check out Lenovo and HP during CES 2011 when we cover the event live for Canadianreviewer.com since they both promise something special for 2011.