While we have seen vendors try to copy Apple products at a lower price point in the past, with these new HP lines you can start to see HP both fully emulate Apple and try to improve on the theme. This is part of an embrace-and-improve strategy that resulted from Apple’s ability to increasingly define the design language for the industry. If you look at HP’s business lines, they are similar to MacBooks in terms of metal used, though they have harder lines, darker colors, and lower price points for a given performance level. In addition, they have security features like fingerprint readers and Trusted Platform Modules that Apple computers lack. They have also increased their use of liquid metal finishes, which better resists fingerprints and tend to resist scratching better, plus virtually all but the largest offerings have a very thin profile.
Consumer products now have similar cosmetic features, and are starting to include some additional security as an option and continue with color choices. (Though retailers likely will only stock one of the colors, suggesting if you want a color choice you’ll likely have to buy online, similar to what you often have to do with the iPod lines that come in a wide variety of colors.) The colors have a very rich look to them, and will be available in black cherry, champagne, and Sonoma red.
Even the HP netbooks, which were already aggressively based on designs focused on women, push that envelope further and now focus more on young women. HP is feeling the pressure to compete with the iPad in terms of battery life, as some come with six-cell batteries and potential battery life that approaches eight hours. The two new colors are preppy pink and white crystal. The flagship signature Mini 110 uses images designed by Studio Tord Boontje.
