CES 2015 offers up a different HP than the one we have come to rely upon in the post industry. In some ways it’s a relief, for the Vegas show floor is a good place to try out its new designs that offer more flair and a spark of cool ideas too. Flair combined with cool new ideas have been missing for quite some time.
The new products – most of which will ship within a few months – include a virtual display that employs “blended reality” to allow interaction with 3D objects. More standard fare also have interesting twists, such as the 5K display (but where’s the 5K content?), a cute, cheap Windows mini-computer that challenges the growing Google Chromebook world, and a curved desktop screen that’s, well, just cool.
Better late than never, right? The Palo Alto-based company, which announced more layoffs at the end of last year, will soon split into two. One company will handle its not so thriving computer and printer businesses; the other, faster-growing sibling will sell corporate hardware and services operation into a stable and growing business market.
A few years ago HP’s efforts to bust out of the slowing to a crawl PC market meant going mobile, which has been the faster growing market for years now. But nothing caught on, whether smartphones or tablets, or purchasing Palm to gain access to its vaunted WebOS. Nothing would prevail against the combined market and mindshare of Apple and the Android market.
HP’s Zvr Virtual Reality Display combines tracking sensors and 3D glasses to create “blended reality,” intended to break down “barriers between the digital and physical worlds” says the company. Collaborative real-time sharing could be a boon for architecture, mechanical CAD (MCAD), education, and scientific content.
Joining two new 4K models, the 5K Z27q is a 27-inch display with a 218ppi pixel density and a 5120 x 2880-pixel resolution. Pricing around $1300, it will still offer 10-bit color and a 99-percent Adobe RGB color gamut. Dell has a new 5K monitor that prices at $2000, while the new iMac lists for $2500, but that’s for a full computer.
HP curved Envy Z34c offers a 34-inch display, 3440 by$999 1440 resolution and a 21:9 aspect ratio. The curve isn’t a gimmick, HP says, but is designed to have reduced reflectiveness. With built-in speakers and $999 list price you might peg it as a consumer model. But if you have to stare at a monitor all day, it might be an idea for a pro product such as one of HP’s DreamColor models.
