HP's Ultra-Mobile Voodoo 'Envy' Targets Apple Air

Hewlett-Packard on Tuesday introduced an ultra-portable notebook it expects would get matched up against Apple's thin MacBook Air and other high-end lightweight notebooks.

The Voodoo Envy 133, unveiled at HP's Connecting Your World event in Berlin, is a half-inch thick with a 13.3-inch display. The portable weighs 3.4 pounds and is powered by Intel's Centrino mobile platform.

The MacBook Air, introduced in January, has a similar size screen and is three-quarters of an inch in the back, tapering to 0.16 of an inch at its thinnest point. The machine weighs three pounds and is powered by an Intel Core 2 Duo processor.

In addition to the Air, the HP Envy would go up against the Lenovo ThinkPad X300, which weighs less than three pounds at its base configuration, has a 13.3-inch display, and is powered by an Intel Core 2 Duo processor. The Air, X300 and the Envy have LED displays, which are of higher visual quality then LCD screens found on most notebooks.

The Voodoo Envy includes Ethernet and Wi-Fi wireless connectivity, an external optical disk drive that ships with each unit, and a multiple gesture touchpad that supports, for example, circular movements for scrolling and pinch options for sizing windows.

The Voodoo brand is HP's high-end computers, many of which are used by gamers and graphics professionals. The Envy 133 will have a starting price of $2,099 and is scheduled to ship this summer. Apple's MacBook Air has a starting price of $1799, and the ThinkPad X300 starts at about $2,500.

Along with the Envy, HP introduced a new Voodoo desktop called the Omen. Built for gamers and professional users, the Omen supports up to four graphics processing units and features integrated copper liquid cooling pipes. Pricing starts at $7,000 and general availability is scheduled for this summer.