Aimed squarely at the prosumer market , the new ProBook 4510 lowers the price point of HP's business notebooks to a more affordable range. We had a quick run-in with it at an HP launch event in Beijing and here's what we learned.

The design is a little bare in a minimalist way, so if you like your notebook "clean" and nondescript, you'll appreciate the 4510. Not surprisingly, the glossy chassis makes for one giant fingerprint magnet, so be prepared to wipe the lid often. The keyboard comes with chiclet-type buttons like those on Sony Vaio and Apple MacBooks, which felt a little plasticky when we tried these out, but fortunately delivered a decent level of tactility. What caught our eye was the maroon 4510 (surprising color for a business model) which looks striking, but not in a screaming loud fashion way.

We were also introduced to some new features which include QuickLook 2, Spare Key and File Sanitizer. QuickLook 2 works with Microsoft Outlook to take snapshots of your email inbox, calendar, contact and task lists, so you can access these information without booting up the operating system. In the demo, the app took about 10 seconds to load from the time we hit the QuickLook button located to the left of the Power button.

The concept of Spare Key is straightforward. This is activated in the event that you type in the wrong login password three times. After that, an onscreen keyboard pops up and you can use the touchpad to enter the password (this alternative is to ensure that the wrong entry is not due to keyboard failure). If you've forgotten your password, you'll be asked three personal predetermined questions which you'll have to answer correctly in order to gain access to the system.

Still on the security aspect of the 4510 is the File Sanitizer. This is based on the Disk Sanitizer that lets you erase content on the hard drive permanently. File Sanitizer, on the other hand, is a selective process. This means you can pick specific files you want the program to "wipe" from the system or clean segments of the hard drive not being used. You also have an option to bleach the hard drive. This feature removes content that is corrupted or not working properly. Functioning files are left as they are.

The 4510 offers a complete array of ports. On the left you have two USB 2.0 connectors, VGA and HDMI outputs, Ethernet port and a Kensington lock. On the right there are an additional two USB 2.0 connectors, modem port and power jack. Sitting on the front are microphone-in, headphone/line-out, media card reader and a wireless switch with LED.
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Read first take of the HP ProBook 4510 »

By Damian Koh
May 28, 2009

Aimed squarely at the prosumer market , the new ProBook 4510 lowers the price point of HP's business notebooks to a more affordable range. We had a quick run-in with it at an HP launch event in Beijing and here's what we learned.

The design is a little bare in a minimalist way, so if you like your notebook "clean" and nondescript, you'll appreciate the 4510. Not surprisingly, the glossy chassis makes for one giant fingerprint magnet, so be prepared to wipe the lid often. The keyboard comes with chiclet-type buttons like those on Sony Vaio and Apple MacBooks, which felt a little plasticky when we tried these out, but fortunately delivered a decent level of tactility. What caught our eye was the maroon 4510 (surprising color for a business model) which looks striking, but not in a screaming loud fashion way.

We were also introduced to some new features which include QuickLook 2, Spare Key and File Sanitizer. QuickLook 2 works with Microsoft Outlook to take snapshots of your email inbox, calendar, contact and task lists, so you can access these information without booting up the operating system. In the demo, the app took about 10 seconds to load from the time we hit the QuickLook button located to the left of the Power button.

The concept of Spare Key is straightforward. This is activated in the event that you type in the wrong login password three times. After that, an onscreen keyboard pops up and you can use the touchpad to enter the password (this alternative is to ensure that the wrong entry is not due to keyboard failure). If you've forgotten your password, you'll be asked three personal predetermined questions which you'll have to answer correctly in order to gain access to the system.

Still on the security aspect of the 4510 is the File Sanitizer. This is based on the Disk Sanitizer that lets you erase content on the hard drive permanently. File Sanitizer, on the other hand, is a selective process. This means you can pick specific files you want the program to "wipe" from the system or clean segments of the hard drive not being used. You also have an option to bleach the hard drive. This feature removes content that is corrupted or not working properly. Functioning files are left as they are.

The 4510 offers a complete array of ports. On the left you have two USB 2.0 connectors, VGA and HDMI outputs, Ethernet port and a Kensington lock. On the right there are an additional two USB 2.0 connectors, modem port and power jack. Sitting on the front are microphone-in, headphone/line-out, media card reader and a wireless switch with LED.

This machine is already available in Asia-Pacific markets with starting price of US$799.

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