Hewlett Packard has announced that it will be updating several of its business laptops. The new models will be thinner and lighter, feature the latest Core i5 and Core i7 chips, and they are even creating the company’s first multi-touch tablet for professionals.

The Elitebook 2540p is an update to the 2530p. At just a little over an inch thick and with a weight of 3.4 pounds, it’s the most portable EliteBook so far. The 12.1 inch laptop has a newer Intel processor than its predecessor, that operates at standard voltages. It can be configured with the with the 2.40GHz Core i5-520M, 2.53GHz Core i5-540M or 2.6GHz Core i7-620M. This is something other companies are lacking. Dell doesn’t currently offer a 12-inch or smaller laptop with Core i5 or Core i7 and while Lenovo does, they are only available with the low-voltage versions.

Battery life could end up being a problem for the laptops, but HP claims the battery life will range from four hours (3-cell battery), to eight hours (6-cell battery) to ten hours (i-cell battery). Another potential problem is that an internal optical drive can only be configured if you go with the slower 1.8-inch hard drive. But the EliteBook 2540p will start at $1,099 and will be available for purchase in April.

The EliteBook 2740p is an update to the 2730p. The convertible tablet now supports multi-touch. It has a 12.1-inch LED-backlit display, Core i5 and Core i7 processors, and Intel graphics. It’s a little thicker and heavier than the 2730p, at 1.3 inches and 3.8 pounds. It can’t be configured with an internal DVD drive, but HP says it will offer an optional display for outdoor viewing. According to HP, the battery lasts for about five hours and an optional HP 2700 Ultra-Slim battery will increase that to eleven hours. It will be available in April and will start at $1,599.

HP has also redesigned its ProBook small business series of laptops, which includes the 13.3-ProBook 4320s, 14-inch ProBook 4420s, 15.6-inch ProBook 4520s and 17.3-inch ProBook 4720s. The new ones have a brushed-aluminum metal case and has the latest Core processors (i3, i5, and i7). The laptops in the ProBook series will start at $719 and will be available later in March.

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MSI has announced the latest model from its new X-Slim series. The award-winning X620 will be displayed at the CEBIT 2010 Expo on March 2nd, in Hanover, Germany, but pricing and availability information is not yet known.

The X-Slim X620 is said to be nothing like the original X620. It has an optical drive and promises to have a better video playback experience. It is Windows 7-ready and comes with ATI’s Radeon HD 5000 series mobile GPU. The display is 15.6 inches and it has won the German iF Product Design Award.

The new laptop comes with color film print patter and mineral grain pattern for a textured outside. However the texture is minimal around the screen and keyboard, due to MSI’s chemical-free pigment technology that gives it a more natural look. It supports 1366 x 768 pixel resolution and 16:9 aspect ratio.

As far as hardware goes, the machine offers the option of a 1.3GHz Intel Pentium SU4100 processor and consumer ultra low voltage 1.3GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor. This means the different between 2MB cache and 3MB cache respectively, but both processors have 800MHz FSB. It also features a Intel GS45 chipset, which means it will support up to 500GB SATA HDD for storge. It also features a DVD Super-Multi optical drive.

It fully supports ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5430 graphics with 1GB of video memory and its DirectX 11 API support, as well as its 3D Boost Technology will make for great gaming and multimedia watching. The SRS Premium Sound technology ensures quality audio.

The laptop also includes a 1.3 megapixel webcam, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth v 2.1, two USB 2.0 ports, LAN port, Kenningston Port Lock, dual built-in speakers. Even better, its 8-cell battery, the company says, means up to 11 hours of battery life with their ECO engine technology. ECO mode makes it possible to adjust between five various levels of power.

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Sony is known for having top of the line laptops. Before netbooks and CULV laptops, the Z-series of Sony’s laptops was one of the best-selling lines. They were the most chic and powerful laptops available. Right now, the VAIO VPC-Z116GXS is the only 13-inch ultraportable laptop that runs an Intel Core i5 processor and a switchable graphics system. If any of this has caught your attention, then keep reading.

The Z116GXS is beautifully designed. It is enveloped in carbon fiber and magnesium metals that make the laptop extremely sturdy and durable, as well as attractive. Sony was able to design the Z116GXS in a way that allows it to weigh in at only 3-lbs. The laptop features 1,600 x 900 resolution that allows for a crystal clear picture.

The keys found on the keyboard of the Z116GXS are smaller than many of their competitors, but Sony made sure to leave plenty of space in between the keys to make sure that the user didn’t feel cramped when typing. The keyboard also features backlighting which is becoming more prevalent in laptops today. It also has a spacious touchpad and a mouse button that is pleasingly quiet.

There are countless features to be found on the Z116GXS. Some of these include: an internal optical drive that can be switched out for a Blu-ray player, three USB ports, HDMI-Out, card slots for SD memory cards, a fingerprint reader, Bluetooth, and the latest 802.11n Wi-Fi cards from Intel.

The performance of the Z116GXS is outstanding. It could easily be called one of the most powerful laptops available today. As I mentioned previously, the laptop runs on a Core i5-540M processor. The 4GB of DDR3 memory allows the Z116GXS to be an extremely fast machine.

The laptop has both a Intel GMA HD graphics chipset and a Nvidia GeForce GT 330M graphics chipset. It also has the ability to switch back and forth between the two chipsets. The Nividia will allow you to enjoy 3-D intensive graphics, while the Intel will help you to save your battery life. The Z116GXS comes standard with a six-cell battery that lasts around 5 hours.

As you can see, the Sony Z116GXS is truly an amazing laptop. It has so many incredible features that make it stand out among many other laptops. Now it also has a price tag that makes it stand out as well. The Z116GXS starts at $1,800. It is your decision as to whether or not this laptop is worth putting out the cash. It you do make this decision, I can guarantee you will not be sorry.

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According to a survey from PriceGrabber.com, over half of consumers do not see netbooks as a replacement for their traditional laptops. Of those surveyed, 55% said a netbook is a nice compliment to their laptops but they’d never buy one to replace it.

The findings probably aren’t all that surprising. Sure, netbooks are cheaper and smaller, which makes them more portable but the point of having a laptop at all is so that it is portable, right? Most people prefer doing most of their tasks on their laptop that is capable of handling anything they might run across. The reasons? 54% said the netbooks are too uncomfortable due to size, 50% were unhappy with the lack of CD drive, 49% didn’t like the lack of storage, 38% felt the computers are too slow, 26% don’t feel they can run their multi-media files on them, 16% believe the netbooks won’t run their games as well, and 14% had other reasons for their feelings.

On the other hand, 45% of people do see netbooks as laptop replacements. This could mean any number of things but it seems as though a lot of people aren’t in need of big screens and lots of power for their everyday computing needs. The study defined a netbook as any laptop with a smaller than 11-inch screen, that cost less than $500.

The survey does point out that the netbooks have caused an overall drop in the price of computers. In December 2008, the average laptop cost around $800, compared to $654 in December 2009. They also noted that the average netbook user falls into the 45-64 years old age category. It used to be that 35-54 year olds preferred the smaller computers.

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