Hewlett Packard has launched  6  new notebooks in India, across   four  of  its bands, including  a new Pro series for   business  users.  They include:
 
The  HP Mini 110  in  what is generally called the Netbook or Mini notebook form factor comes with a 10.1 inch LED backlit  screen; 160 GB of hard drive and a 6 hour battery life. It weighs  just over one kilogram. (Rs 22,990)
 
The HP Pavilion series  models, DV2, DV3 and DV6 have 12.1 inch, 13.3 inch and  15.6  inch( 16: 9 ratio)    LED backlit  screens respectively.  The DV2   claims to be a third lighter than comparably sized notebooks ands is optimised for  high definition ( HDMI v 1.3b) speeds; the DV3  is optimised for on-the-move entertainment freaks  with a fast eSATA interface which is six times faster than USB;   the DV6 has in addition 1 GB of discrete graphics  memory and a Blu Ray DVD drive. (Rs 38,490,  Rs 50,990 and Rs 40,990 respectively)
 
 The new  ProBook series  touted as the ultimate machine for professionals on the move  features a 2 MP webcam  and an industry-first 'chicklet' keyboard  for  extra ruggedness. The Quicklook2 feature allows the user to check mail, calendar  or organizer without booting. It also comes with a suite of security features including a deleted file sanitizer. ( Rs 40,990)
 
HP's   entry level Compaq notebook series has a new entrant the 610 which is tailored for  budget business mobility (Rs 33,500)
 
The new offerings reflect HP's perception that the archetypal customer today is younger -- 18-30 years and demands  a multimedia mix of movies, music and 'masti' even  in a productivity machine, says  Director, Mobility Business Unit, Rajiev Grover.
 
The six new releases are nicknamed  cover drive, hook, straight drive, pull, sweep and cut shot, in keeping with  the  Super Six tag of the launch.
 
We looked for a compelling  offering in the mini note or net book category that would bring the  asking  price below the lakshman rekha of Rs 20,000... which is what the Atom processor  combined with a smaller screen and no optical drive seemed to  point at.  But HP clearly has no game plan to  address the   market at the very bottom of the portable PC pyramid.  It has not  given up the wintel mindset to explore a non Windows  OS. Pity;   that would have been a sneaky leg glance going all the way to the boundary for   budget-conscious,  young Indian buyers.
 
(Anand Parthasarathy, Bangalore June 23)