HP has announced a new computer hybrid which it calls the ENVY Rove20. This is a “mobile All-in-One PC” according to HP. This new product “frees the desktop PC from the desk and allows families and friends to enjoy a shared entertainment experience with a built-in battery, unique design and advanced touch technology”. More simply described; it is a 20-inch tablet with a kick-stand and matching keyboard and mouse. The HP ENVY Rove20, available in July, will utilise a fourth generation ‘Haswell’ Intel Core processor.
“Customers are looking for mobility and flexibility in their computing devices to give families new ways to bring generations together,” said Ron Coughlin, senior vice president and general manager, Consumer PCs and Consumer Solutions, HP. “HP is evolving to meet our customers’ needs by designing next-generation form factors, like the Rove mobile All-in-One PC, which will enable people to connect, share and create in ways they never imagined.”
Hardware specific details are thin on the ground in this pre-release unveiling. What we do know, from a combination of the press release and HP blog post, are the following:
- Processor: fourth generation ‘Haswell’ Intel Core processor
- Graphics: Intel HD graphics
- Screen: 20-inch 1,600 x 900 IPS LED panel with 10-point touch
- Audio: built-in Beats Audio
- Ports: “a couple USB ports, a flash memory card slot, volume buttons, a rotation-lock button and power”
- Software: Windows 8 plus HP software bundle including games and leisure software
- Weight: “about 12 pounds” or roughly 5.5Kg
As well as being a desktop and a tablet HP suggest using the HP ENVY Rove20 as a tabletop computer and some of the software is intended to be used that way, “multiplayer games such as Electronic Arts’ Monopoly, Fingertapps JigsWar Puzzle, Fingertapps Musical Instruments, and nsquared makewords are an ease to play when the PC is laid flat,” says the press release.
Even HP’s own blog describes the weight of this computer as “a tablet for The Hulk” but it has its uses around the house; for example “you can think of it as a portable streaming entertainment center – wherever you need to prop it up in the house”. But don’t use the kick stand as a carry handle.
The HP ENVY Rove20 pricing and a detailed spec list are yet to be revealed, they can be expected nearer to the availability date in July.
