HP Takes on Apple with the New Voodoo
by Anand Lal Shimpi on June 11, 2008 12:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Systems
The Most Mac-Like PC Notebook Ever Made: The Envy 133
First, the most interesting one, the Voodoo Envy 133:
Built on an all carbon-fiber chassis (Rahul Sood, founder of Voodoo, is a car nut) the Envy 133 is the closest thing we've seen to an Apple-designed notebook that didn't have fruit on its lid.
HP will say that it's thinner than the MacBook Air, but that's only true at the Air's thickest point. The Envy 133 is a constant 0.70" thick whereas the MacBook Air goes from 0.16" at its thinnest point to 0.76" at its thickest. Arguing about thickness is entirely missing the point, the new Envy is a very cleanly designed machine with a constant thickness, clean lines and very elegant design. Honestly, the only detractor from its elegance is the Voodoo logo which is still a bit more gamer and less "lifestyle PC".
The internals are virtually identical to the MacBook Air; it uses the same 1.8" 4200RPM PATA HDD (a 64GB SSD is optional, just like on the Air) and there is no internal optical drive (the system ships with an external eSATA DVDRW drive). The Envy also uses the same CPU as the MacBook Air - a 1.6GHz or 1.8GHz Merom based Core 2 Duo built on a smaller package.
Also like the MacBook Air, the Envy lacks a built in Ethernet port - but here's one area where Voodoo actually out-innovated Apple: the Ethernet port is built into the power brick. If you have the power adapter plugged in, you can plug in an Ethernet cable into a port on the brick and it will communicate wirelessly with the Envy; the power adapter acts as a wireless access point. You can't use the wired Ethernet and the built in 802.11a/g/n at the same time since the integrated wireless is used to communicate with the external Ethernet, but in most cases you wouldn't want to. Voodoo tells us that the efficiency of the external 10/100 Ethernet is around 80 - 85% over wireless, which is about right given normal OS and network stack overhead.
There's a LED backlit keyboard and integrated webcam like the Air, but Voodoo goes on to add an ExpressCard 34 slot and a HDMI output. There's obviously an eSATA port but it's actually powered via USB.
The 13.3" screen is LED backlit and has the same 1280 x 800 resolution as the panel in the MacBook Air and Voodoo also built in an ambient light sensor, presumably to control the brightness of the display and keyboard.
The battery is removable but it is a lower power unit than what is in the Air (33Whr vs. 37Whr), so battery life should actually be lower than what you'd get on a MacBook Air.
The feature list is damn impressive, not only was Voodoo able to virtually clone the MacBook Air but there are also improvements. On paper, it's the most impressive notebook design we've seen from a Windows-PC vendor.
Priced at $2099 with a PATA drive, it's a bit more expensive than the MacBook Air. It ships with a custom Voodoo version of the Splashtop pre-boot OS similar to the ASUS Eee Box or some ASUS motherboards. Availability is scheduled for later this summer.
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ElFindo - Thursday, June 12, 2008 - link
Sorry for the double post, however I forgot to mention:Even if Microsoft wasn't a true search engine independant from others until 2004 (which doesn't mean I got my facts wrong as I never called it a search engine, I referred to it as MSN Search) it simply doesn't matter as not even Google was the very first search engine. Surpisingly, I'm sure, they copied others.
Why is Microsoft non innovative then if others everywhere do it too?
michael2k - Thursday, June 12, 2008 - link
Because Microsoft fails after copying something else. Live Search is ranked behind Google and Yahoo, XBox 360 is behind the Wii and Xbox is behind the PS2, Zune is behind the iPod.In a similar vein, Mac marketshare is clearly below 10%, yet at the same time in the field of industrial design (compared to HP, Dell, Compaq, etc), they are clearly innovating with designs such as the Mac mini, G4 Cube, MacBook Air, etc.
So when Microsoft is first AND successful, or second and MORE successful, I can give them credit. They obviously deserve credit for DOS, Windows 95, and Windows XP, but their other recent endeavors?
Live Search, UltimateTV, Zune, XBox, XBox 360, Zune Marketplace, URGE, PlaysForSure, and Zune-2?
Their only recent successes seem to be XBox Arcade, Surface, and Sync.
ElFindo - Thursday, June 12, 2008 - link
The point is, and why Sony was brought up, is that innovate is to produce something new, and Apple is clearly doing the exact same things you're accusing Microsoft of. Although you seem willing to turn a blind eye to that. People copy because of competition, yet you seem to want to portray Apple as making all these wonderful ideas that everyone is wrongly 'stealing' when its quite clear that, like their peers in the industry, they do the same thing. Basically, stop preaching and look at both sides for just a little longer than what it takes to snub the other side off as inferior.michael2k - Thursday, June 12, 2008 - link
No, the difference between what Apple is doing and what Microsoft is doing is that Apple is succeeding.If Microsoft released the MSTV that was 10x better than the AppleTV due to MS innovations, that would be "cleary doing the exact same thing."
You must have your own agenda and bias; I've never mentioned stealing, I only used the word innovation and derivation. If I "snub the other side off as inferior" it is because it is more derivative than innovative.
ElFindo - Thursday, June 12, 2008 - link
"If Microsoft released the MSTV that was 10x better than the AppleTV due to MS innovations, that would be "cleary doing the exact same thing."This makes little to no sense and has very little to do with my statements to this point. I pointed out Apple has done its fair share of creating competition in areas pioneered by others and its not a Microsoft specific pracice.
I've not once mentioned a bias towards either of these companies and at times have shown support for both sides. Any percieved bias would simply be towards anti-beligerance. And most of your points have referenced a perceived Apple 'innovative' product followed by a rip off or 'derivative'. Most of my points have shown the precursor to the 'innovative' Apple product mentioned.
WeaselITB - Wednesday, June 11, 2008 - link
On the software side, all they have is Windows, IE, Office, MS-SQL, and devtools. Apple at least has OS X, iWork, iLife, Aperture, Final Cut Studio, .Mac/MobileMe, XCode, and Safari.Wow ... just, wow. If that's all the software you can think of when you hear "Microsoft" ...
-Weasel
pauldovi - Wednesday, June 11, 2008 - link
Both this and the Mac Book Air are toys compared to the Lenovo X300. Why is that not mentioned.michael2k - Wednesday, June 11, 2008 - link
Because the X300 has a slower CPU and is more expensive?DiRRRtyFlip - Wednesday, June 11, 2008 - link
Benn a lurker for quite a long time but I just had to pipe in on this.Wow, didn't *I* predict this...
Dunno why Voodoo is taking on Apple, I guess they can't sell their overpriced gaming rigs LIKE THEY USE TOO. Oh wait, they STILL do... though I don't think they're selling as many units as they use to. ;)
"The Voodoo brand will stop servicing gamers specifically and turn into much more of a lifestyle brand."
Abandoning gamers that bought their 'gaming' PCs in the past, those same gamers who made them who they are are now below them - now they're a lifestyle brand.
Marking up an UGLY Mac Air Clone with a "carbon-fiber chassis" that umm... can't play games (due to on craptastic onboard Intel video) AND badge it with a Voodoo logo, price it accordingly at $2,099 and then call it one? They're sure are REACHING these days.
feelingshorter - Wednesday, June 11, 2008 - link
I started typing some anti-apple stuff and i decided to delete the message and say that I've given up. Its impossible to get through to some.But I would like to mention that you haven't even read the article or must have lost your attention span half way through. It does not say the laptop is a gaming laptop, and even says its quite the opposite. I'm sorry but that laptop is priced exactly like the MacBook Air and beats it in every aspect from looks to features. Even before the Envy 133, there are lenovo notebooks out there that really beats the macbook air in features/weight/battery life. Compare the 3000 dollar macbook air and the x300 from lenovo and you'd realize that Steve Jobs is just selling you a whiff of his fart. And your sniffing it up thinking its the best perfume you ever smelled without looking further.
Why isn't there a rating system on these comments as compared to comments on daily tech?