What's Missing from HP Notebooks? HP Wants To Know

[Jason Dunn]

http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com/images/dv9500tseries_400.jpg
You may have seen some other Web sites asking the same question, but I'd like to get some input from Digital Media Thoughts readers: HP is working with Chris Aarons at Buzzcorps (http://www.buzzcorps.com/) (guess they're too busy to make a site) and they've asked certain community leaders (such as myself) to ask their communities for comments on laptops and, more specifically, what they'd like to see HP do in the laptop space. While they won't post in our forums, I've been told all comments will be read by HP - so here's your chance to make your voice heard. What would you like to see HP do with their laptops? How can they improve their laptops?

[Felix Torres]

Okay.
I already dropped a few replies at another site but it can't hurt to double up, right?

It sounds like Tablet PC is an option.
In that case, absent a return of the late, lamented TC1100 form factor (easily the most usable Tablet PC to this date) may I respectfully suggest that a bit of attention be paid to human factors/ergonomics in Tablet mode?
- Dedidated page up/page down buttons on the upper left face (where righties hold a tablet) at a minimum. A jog dial would be an acceptable option.
- Placement of the CPU-fan exhaust so that it doesn’t toast the user in Tablet Mode.
- If built-in optical drive, either use a slot loader or make sure it opens away from the user. (A friend of mine had to get rid of an otherwise excellent Toshiba Tablet because the built-in drive kept opening on him in Tablet mode with incidental bumps and he almost snapped the tray once.)
- An optional outdoor-readable screen would be a big selling point on most any laptop design. Why is it that hardly any vendors offers it?
- Not sure it makes sense cost/mass-wise but has anybody looked at a solar cell panel on the back of a regular laptop? Maybe for battery extension?

As an owner of an aging TC1000, I’d kill for a return of the form factor–Motion and Fujitsu have proven there is room in the market for pure slates–but I’d really start a cult if HP would do a 3/4-sized 1.5lb TC1000-like for ebook-reader, document editing, web tablet, etc use. Keyboards are great but they’re not always needed. The TC detachable-keyboard form factor was almost perfect (even if the cpu exhaust toasts the left hand) and the leather carrier is priceless.
Please tell them to re-visit the ideas behind the TC!!!

One last thought; somebody made an excellent comment on the other site that I think HP really, really, needs to consider:
-a Tablet cover that can double as a touch-sensitive digitizer on the inside. If used with swappable, double-side inserts it could double as a membrane keyboard or a very precise touchpad. Custom inserts would provide programable menus as well as a pen tablet.

- For regular laptops, the digitizer pad could snap on top of the keyboard providing a screen and a pen surface. I suspect the photoshop image editing crowd would kill for something like this, no? And for desktop use, with an external keyboard and display, the pad is more valuable than a second keyboard.

- For that matter, why not design a musician's laptop that is a convertible tablet with a piano/synthesizer keyboard instead of a qwerty keyboard? Size wouldn't be an issue and the whole thing could be designed with dual side by side screens and still be under 20 lbs and transportable.

Okay, that one is running wild; I'd better skedaddle...

[Jason Dunn]

I'll chime in with my own feedback: battery life, battery life, battery life.

That's my #1 feature in any laptop. HP could make one decision that could change everything: when they design a laptop with enough space for an optical drive (ie: all but the thinnest, lightest notebooks), make sure that the optical drive is removable and the user can put a drive bay battery in there. Having an option for a secondary battery gives battery-centric users such as myself an option to add something that will give a 40-60% boost to overall battery longevity. It's optional, so only users that are willing to put up with the added cost/weight would need to use it, but by having the option there HP would be giving me the ability to have a battery that lasts extra long.

I loathe those "hump batteries" and am rather grumpy that I'm having to get one on my forthcoming Dell XPS M1330. A laptop should be sleek and self-contained, not have a battery sticking out it's rear.

[bcre8v2]

Wow!
I am beginning to wonder if vendors are just starting to pay attention to what people are asking for and if they (HP) have neglected to perform true contextual enquiries prior to becoming "just another player". But I digress and since HP is asking for Jason's feedback and those of the forums' readers, here's my list:

Evolutionary Features:

1. HDMI output.
2. Rugged version (similar to Panasonic's Toughbook line).
3. Cables - supply all the cables that a particular notebook lines utilizes (e.g. - if you're selling a multimedia laptop, include a 1394 video capture cable, external video hook-up cable, an extra USB cable. These aren't prohibitive costs and can be marketed as All-in-one systems.

Revolutionary Features:

1. A small integrated flash media player that docks onto either the keyboard palmrest or into the express card slot, similar to the TV Tuners.
(similar items were shown during the Vista beta - a quasi-mini display for the Windows gadgets). These removable devices could function as media players, mini GPS, data storage units, etc.

2. Flash Boot! Make more laptops "Instant ON".

3. For the techies: Preconfigure a virtualization product into the OS image. This is a checkbox item at purchase time.

4. For the consumer: Include a simple software tool, like CCleaner, that can be run every so often to clean up their own mess :-). This will probably save HP a ton of money in reduced support calls.

5. Piggy-backing on Jason's request for better battery life: Make the battery a handle - or have it as an option for a secondary battery.

6. Lastly: A true touch screen 17" laptop.

[Jeremy Charette]

Size. Or lack thereof. Laptops shouldn't be desktop replacements. They should be, above all else, portable. The new XPS M1330 from Dell is a great example. Small, light, and thin. Same goes for MacBooks. Small, slim, and light, with good battery life.

Oh, and an LED backlight for the screen might help battery life. Along with hybrid hard drives.

[jeffd]

I'm with jason on laptop life. I don't want to have to pay $200 for a 2nd battery that messes with the shape of the laptop just so I can get the life I SHOULD be getting. If the laptop has to be a little bit bigger, a little bit heavier, so be it. Increase that battery! I'm sure most people would over look most size concerns when you are touting 5 hours of battery life. I know id be laughing at anyone with a slim laptop as they pack it away after 2 and a half hours.

Oh yea, upgradeable video cards. A no brainer. Some people are fine with a lowere powered chip, others might want a hard core gaming chip, and most would like the option to upgrade to it a year down the line. On the laptop gaming boards i visit, this is the #1 question, people asking if they can upgrade their laptops video cards.

Ok, I lied, its the 2nd most asked question. The 1st is "will <insert newest hit game here> run on my Intel GMA950??!!oneone"

[Jason Dunn]

I am beginning to wonder if vendors are just starting to pay attention to what people are asking for and if they (HP) have neglected to perform true contextual enquiries prior to becoming "just another player".

While I'm sure HP has listened to customers before on what they want in laptops, it's probably been in a focus group where everything is controlled and recorded. Asking for feedback "in the wild" like this is another thing entirely, and has to be done on a controlled fashion - witness the chaos that is Dell's IdeaStorm Web site where it's been taken over by Linux zealots...I think HP is taking the right approach here, even if it's a few years later than it should have been. ;-)

[myrampar]

I totally agree with Jason on the battery life issue. This not only applies to HP, but to laptops in general. I purchased an HP Pavilion DV2000T laptop in February, and I am very disappointed in the stock battery life. I'm running Vista Ultimate and am lucky to get 2 to 2.5 hours just surfing the web, reading email, etc while using WiFi. I've done everything I can to tweak the power usage (turned off all the Aero effects, reduced the power consumption of the WiFi, etc) but it didn't seem to help much. So I bought the external 'hump' battery to make it though a day away from an outlet. The ability to replace the optical drive with an extra battery makes a lot of sense.

Here are a few others:


Give us the option to either order a laptop with no Operating System installed or a 'clean install' of just the OS and drivers required to make all the hardware work properly and basic CD/DVD burning/playback software.
Functional HP Update Software- I would like this software to be able to tell me when new drivers are available for my hardware. If possible, it would also be nice have the software list the existing driver version number and the new version number. This is critical right now with Windows Vista, since updated drivers seem to make a huge difference in system stability/performance.
Eliminate the misleading advertising. One of the features that I was drawn to and led to my purchase of the HP was the QuickPlay feature advertised on their site. "Play a DVD w/o booting into Windows" says the website. Well this has never worked on my laptop in Vista and I must say that I am very disappointed. I guess it worked well in XP. Boy do I miss XP sometimes. :cry: In fact, I'm very close to going back!
A physical volume control knob. This feature seems to be going the way of the dodo on new laptops, but I hate adjusting the volume using the QuickPlay button strip. While it does work, it's just not as 'Quick' and easy to get just the right volume as it is with a physical button.
A detailed spec sheet available on the website listing all the capabilities of the hardware. For example, when I was considering getting a 4GB SDHC card for my camera, I was unsure if it would work in my laptop SD reader. Upon contacting HP Support, they didn't seem to know. The same thing applies to the SATA interface. If I wanted to upgrade my hard drive, does the drive controller work with the SATA 3.0GB interface so I can possibly take advantage of the greater speed? What is the max video resolution output of their xb3000 Notebook Expansion Base? Would this be a function of my laptop's video card or the expansion base? They couldn't answer this either. Maybe I'm nitpicking now, but I want details! :wink:
This applies more to preconfigured laptops than custom ordered, but a listing on the spec sheet in store or on the box describing the memory configuration. I hate the fact that laptop manufacturers tell you that their product is 'expandable to 2GB' of memory, but they don't tell you both slots currently have 512MB installed and you have to remove both to max out the memory. I'm sure it's cheaper for them to buy bulk 512MB memory than install a 1GB stick and leave a memory slot free for upgrading, but to me this is just misleading.
A different screen technology that is readable in various lighting conditions. I'm kicking myself now for upgrading to the BrightView display. While it does look nice in the right lighting conditions, in some situations the reflection from the screen makes it difficult to see the screen. I'm not talking direct sunlight here, just settings like coffee shops or a well lit room.


I could go on, but these are some of the major changes I would like to see.

[jeffd]

myrampar, the automatic updates for drivers? not gonna happen. Even MS started ditching vendor drivers a couple years after windows update came out. And this was when vendors were personally handing MS the drivers (for testing), imagine if HP had to go out and beg for them. Dell maintains a driver cd, but its buggy and has a ton of false positives.

As for the LCD tech, guys, if it could be done, it would be done! We do have transflective screens, but my guess is it is far more expensive, and it probably is why we don't see it on screens bigger then 3.5 inches. Also luminance won't be as strong due to using a light diffuser that reflects light back as well as allowing light to travel through it.

The majority of laptop users are not outside and in the sun. Even if my laptop did have such a screen, its to hot out, and I would hate to nerf my all around viewing experience for movies and games at the benefit of out door viewing.

Oh and I think you should prolly ditch the volume knob. I too used to love the dial on my toshiba better then the buttons on my dell, until the knob started creating tons of static when it was moved. If I need to turn down the volume quickly, theres a mute button (and, atleast for my dell, I can still turn down the volume while muted so I can turn the audio back on safely).

[leslietroyer]

How about working with auto manufactures to make the laptop communicate with the auto, so I could use it for music, gps, maps... Should be bluetooth so I don't need any cables (other than power if desired). I'd rather spend my money on an upgradable laptop rather than a fixed un-upgradable device in the dash.

With the kids about to need laptops for highschool - I agree with the battery issue, should have at least 6 hrs of runtime. Use of flash memory for cache so you don't spin the HD so often.

Les

[cdcooker]

Hi, did you find out whether the DV2000 can read SDHC card or not?

Also, I would like to have DVI instead of VGA out. HDMI is good also, but there is no HDMI to VGA converter, as far as I know. So DVI can solve both analog and digital needs. Ditch the S-Video and put an HDMI port. Who use S-Video anymore?

Some of HP notebook has SPDIF out, but there is no way I can find a suitable cable to connect to receiver. HP should bundle the SPDIF converter or cable.

It would be nice to make the webcam twistable. So I can use it as a camera for something other than myself.

I like the new Apple and Sony keyboard also.

I would like to have another line-out port in the back of the notebook, so if I want to connect to external speakers, the wire won't tangle in front of me.

I would like HP to put the stick pointer back to their consumer notebook. Their business notebook has both stick pointer and touchpad, why not the consumer notebook?



A detailed spec sheet available on the website listing all the capabilities of the hardware. For example, when I was considering getting a 4GB SDHC card for my camera, I was unsure if it would work in my laptop SD reader. Upon contacting HP Support, they didn't seem to know. The same thing applies to the SATA interface. If I wanted to upgrade my hard drive, does the drive controller work with the SATA 3.0GB interface so I can possibly take advantage of the greater speed? What is the max video resolution output of their xb3000 Notebook Expansion Base? Would this be a function of my laptop's video card or the expansion base? They couldn't answer this either. Maybe I'm nitpicking now, but I want details! :wink:

[Jason Dunn]

Great feedback guys, keep it coming! Let's try not to dissuade others from what they want though, that will just clutter up the thread when one user doesn't agree with what the other user wants. If someone wants 20 pound laptops that are pink, well, let them want that. ;-)

[Crocuta]

Okay, I'm going to take a slightly different tack here. It'll probably sound like complaining, but I'm serious in saying that these are the things that it would take to make me buy an HP laptop.

Ditto to all the cool features others have said, and now add...

1) ...high build quality. I have finally stopped buying any HP products (after buying almost exclusively HP in several product lines) because every single HP product I have bought in the last five years has become defective within the warranty period. It's hard to believe that the same company that made several laserjets I owned that ran without a service call for over 12 years is now selling me computers, printers and pocket pcs that won't last even one. I like having a warranty, but I don't actually want to have to use it.

2) ...decent tech support. Given what I've mentioned above, you might gather that I've had lots of experience with HP tech support recently. I have and it stinks. I have nothing against Indians and have several very, very intelligent Indian colleagues. Unfortunately, HP doesn't hire any of those to man their tech support lines. It is obvious that the tech support people are working from a script and haven't the slightest clue what to do if the script does not apply to your problem. They rarely even understand enough about the product they are 'supporting' to even follow my explanation of what is wrong and what I have done before calling to troubleshoot the problem. If you want me to buy one of your computers again, give me decent tech support.

Yeah, I know. These aren't sexy, and its hard for the marketing folks to find a way to say, "we've started building high quality products again" and "we've hired competent tech support staff again", but in the real world, these are the things that really matter. All the bells and whistles don't matter if the product breaks and no one can help. I also know these aren't the kinds of features that are being requested, but they are features nonetheless and they're the ones I'd like to see.