Update 9/8/14 1:04 p.m. ET: HP’s official Stream 14 page has gone live, and it indeed starts at $299.
Update 9/8/14 12:13 p.m. ET: A report indicates that the HP Stream 14 will cost $299 once it’s released on September 24.
This fall promises to be the season of new, super-cheap Windows laptops. HP is just the latest PC maker to follow suit. The company just revealed the Stream 14, which is a Windows-based system that offers Chromebook-like specs.
The Stream 14 is powered by an AMD A4 Micro-6400T processor clocked at 1GHz. Though it consumes only 4.5 watts of power, the chip has four cores, and an integrated Radeon R3 GPU. AMD believes that this version of the A4 can go toe-to-toe with Intel’s Atom CPUs. It’s also worth noting that, from a power consumption standpoint, the Micro-6400T lines right up with the Core M CPU. Core M is Intel’s latest chip, and the Intel offered more details about it at IFA 2014 just a few days ago.
Related: Intel reveals Core M processor, could pave the way for thinner, fanless PCs
Like most Chromebooks, the Stream 14 will ship with very low-end hardware. It wears a 14-inch 1366 x 768 display, 32GB of flash storage, and 2GB of memory. That’s not much hard drive space for a Windows rig, but Microsoft compensates for that somewhat by adding on a 100GB Microsoft OneDrive subscription that’s good for two years. That’s exactly what you’ll find on many Chromebooks, which ship with two years of 100GB Google Drive storage for free. Users will also be able to expand storage further via an SD card slot.
The HP Stream 14’s battery life is rated at “up to 6.5 hours.” That’s not impressive, considering that most Atom-powered systems manage that at a minimum. Port selection includes a USB 3.0 port, two USB 2.0 ports, HDMI, and a headphone/mic combo jack. Wireless connectivity is handled via 802.11n, and Bluetooth. The Stream 14’s Beats speakers should provide an adequate listening experience.
Measuring 13.54×9.45×0.7-inches and weighing 3.86-pounds, the HP Stream 14 isn’t the lightest or most portable notebook around, but it should still be fairly easy to lug without weighing you down too much. The Stream 14 will be available in one of three colors. If you prefer a conservative look, you can get the Stream 14 in Silver. For those who want to slather their Stream 14 with a layer of flamboyance, Neon Green and Purple will be available as well.
Related: Here are the 10 best things we saw at IFA 2014
It’s unclear when the HP Stream 14 will be ship. We also can’t confirm how much it will cost, though we reached out to HP with both of those questions, and will update if and when we get an answer.
The Stream 14 should ship by the time the holiday shopping season rolls around. For what it’s worth, a leak of the Stream 14’s specs last month also indicated that it would between $199 and $249.
It’s worth noting that the information HP provided to Digital Trends regarding the Stream 14’s screen size, resolution, processor, and storage matches up with the data that was in last month’s leak. This lends some credence to the rumored $199 – $249 price range as well.
DT writer Matt Smith also contributed to this report.
The absolutely absurd idea of putting a touchscreen display on a mouse isn't exactly new. Turtle Beach already did it with its Command Series MC7, which features a 2.25-inch control screen. But apparently, even that wasn't ridiculous enough for Arctic Fox Technologies. Its new Super Mouse looks like someone took the chunky old Atari ST mouse, slapped a touchscreen and scroll wheel on it, and called it an upgrade.
The result is a rather unusual-looking mouse that is now on Kickstarter, starting at $199. And as ridiculous as it looks, some of its features are genuinely intriguing.
Apple is less than a day away from launching its highly anticipated OLED MacBook Pro with a touch-sensitive screen. But it appears that the upgrade is going to cost a pretty penny. According to a report by Bloomberg, Apple is reportedly eyeing a starting price of $2,899 for the 14-inch MacBook Pro, while the 16-inch version could start at $3,399 in the US.
"At $2,899, the 14-inch model would mark the highest starting price for a new MacBook Pro model, surpassing the $2,799 Apple charged for a 17-inch version introduced in 2006," says the report. The report claims that Apple is targeting a minimum price hike of $400 for its upcoming redesigned 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models.
I've spent a good amount of time digging into the spec sheet of the new M6 MacBook Pro (14-inch), and for all intents and purposes, this is a classic Apple "chip and connectivity" refresh. It's not a full redesign. The chassis, Liquid Retina XDR panel, speakers, ports, and battery, all of them carry over unchanged.
However, the M6 brings more cores, stronger on-device AI, higher memory bandwidth on the larger configs, and modern wireless. Here’s the practical rundown of what actually improved, and whether those gains are worth your money.