Besides the EliteBook higher-end business laptops, HP has announced the refreshed ProBook lineup designed for the more budget-conscious biz people.
The new models are the ProBook b-series 6470b/6475b and 6570b, with 14″ and 15.6″ displays, respectively, and the s-series 14″ 4440s, 15.6″ 4540s/4545s, and 17.3″ 4740s. The ProBook s will also come in a 13.3-inch variant, according to HP. The models ending with 0 number before the last letter are with the 2012 Intel processors, while those ending with 5 use AMD’s CPUs.
When it comes to differences between the b and s series, the most obvious one is the design, with b sporting a plastic tungsten-colored base and aluminum display enclosure, while the s uses aluminum on the base and lid.
Furthermore, the b ProBooks have chipsets supporting Intel vPro technology, which is a convenient feature for use in large companies for remote management of numerous laptops. On the other side, the s-series lack vPro support, so they’re more oriented towards small businesses.
In addition, the b-series have optional higher-resolution displays, such as 1600×900, whereas the s-series notebooks include only basic 1366×768 resolution on the 14″ and 15.6″ models and 1600×900 on the 17.3-incher.
Finally, the ProBook b have a proprietary docking connector, while the ProBook s supports docking only via USB.
All 2012 HP ProBooks come with spill resistant keyboards, optional AMD dedicated video cards, and various built-in mobile broadband connectivity choices.
The laptops are expected to become available on June 4th. The 6470b and 6570b will start at $769, and the 6475b will have a base price of $669. HP says the ProBook s-series will start at $589.
waiting eagerly for my AMD A10 APU based LAptop :))