Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
HDX Dragon = Extreme Power in a Great Stylish Package.
I saw the beginning of the change from the basic boxy boring desktop pc with a HP Media Center 873n Desktop PC that I previewed a few months before its public release (for the launch of the first version of Windows Media Center Edition, October 29, 2002). At the time I said that it still wasn’t “sexy enough” for the living room, or any room other than the home office or the den. And it sure wasn’t something I could easily put in the car and drag around New England to show off to friends.
Fast forward to May 2008. HP, you’ve come a long way. This is my kind of desktop replacement. Sleek styling, not a dust catcher, and a computer I’d love to have downstairs and to take with me on long weekends around New England. This is computing done right (at least for me). I can see the Dragon as a complete Entertainment/Home Theater/Productivity all-in-one system for small apartments, dorm rooms, campers, and guest bedrooms/dens, and the kitchen counter. It’s a svelte and sexy computer. (The only unsexy thing, which you can hide, is the power brick which is massive and very reminiscent of the Xbox 360 power brick.)
The HDX Dragon makes a stylish addition to my kitchen counter. A mini remote control is supplied that fits into a recessed storage area to the left of the keyboard.
I was gratified to see that, with the HDX Dragon, HP has made the jump to 64 bit computing (I’m an x 64 evangelist since way back). My review/contest giveaway unit came with Vista x64 Ultimate but Vista x64 Home Premium IS an option. My advice, go for Ultimate on this one. This is a high end, high class machine. If you decide to order this computer, get Vista SP1 pre-installed. (I’ve installed the SP1 update myself).
The HDX Dragon definitely has bells and whistles and icing on top of that. HP’s website lists all kinds of options which appear at the bottom of this post. (I’ve highlighted in red at the end of this the installed options on my review unit/contest giveaway unit that some lucky reader will receive). In addition, HP and BuzzCorps have provided more software and Blu-Ray HD movies that I will ship to the winner.
Getting up and running after connecting the power supply is a good experience. Booting up the HDX Dragon for the first time involves agreeing to licensing, selecting a user name and password, and the typical Vista “optimizing system performance” routines. This is followed by a short and slick video from HP.
Once at the desktop, the Fingerprint Reader application asks you if you want to register your fingerprints. It’s quick and easy. The placement of the fingerprint reader hardware is above the keyboard in the center area, and not on the side of the display as I expected. In any case, I find fingerprint readers a great convenience factor but not necessarily a security control.
The screen and video display is absolutely stunning and viewable from even what appears to be a 170 degree angle. I’d expect no less from a high end machine. The video is powered by a 512MB NVidia 8800. 1920 x 1200 pixels is awesome. And I can’t wait to view some Blu-Ray HD DVD’s at 1080p.
Windows Media Center easily found and setup the internal HDTV Hybrid Tuner. I’m not in a good OTA reception area, and only one channel (the local ABC affiliate) has enough strength for a decent signal, but the picture quality from that one channel is pretty impressive on this display. I’ll try hooking up one of my external USB tuners (connected to a Comcast set top box) and I’m sure it will be a terrific experience. By the way, the HDX Dragon boasts both VGA and HDMI connectors. If you have a big screen TV and are having a block party, go ahead and hook up, there’s plenty of video power to drive an external display.
Four USB ports provide enough connectivity for all my peripherals (and all at the same time!). There’s even a Firewire port so importing video from my Canon HV20 is quick and easy. Trackpad/mouse controls are very similar to the TX1000/2000 series notebooks. Very tactile and extremely easy and accurate. On a notebook this size, there’s room for more than the standard notebook type keyboard. I was glad to see a number pad, separate cursor keys, etc. It’s really like a full desktop experience.
I’m depressed that I have to give this computer away. Did I say it was fast? Did I mention the stunning 1080p display? I’m very envious of the 31 folks who will end up with one of these incredible machines.
If you don’t win one of the contests, you can still order an HDX Dragon and configure it just the way you want. Below are the choices, and I’ve called out the options on the unit I’ll be giving away.
|
|
Choices: Upgrade to Windows Vista Home Premium with Service Pack 1 (64-bit) Upgrade to Windows Vista Ultimate with Service Pack 1 (64-bit) |
|
| Processor A faster processor supports more efficient operations and applications performance |
Choices:
|
|
| Display The window to applications, the Internet and more |
Choices:
|
|
Use more programs at once and make them run faster with more memory |
Choices: 2GB DDR2 System Memory (2 Dimm) 3GB DDR2 System Memory (2 Dimm) 4GB DDR2 System Memory (2 Dimm) |
|
| Graphics Card |
Choices: 256MB ATI(TM) Mobility Radeon(TM) HD 2600 XT 512MB NVIDIA GeForce 8800M GTS |
|
|
|
Choices: HP Imprint Finish (Dragon) + Fingerprint Reader + Webcam + Microphone |
|
|
|
Choices: Intel(R) PRO/Wireless 3945ABG Network Connection and Bluetooth(TM) Intel(R) PRO/Wireless 4965AGN Network Connection and Bluetooth(TM) |
|
Store your applications, data, digital music and digital photos on your hard disk drive |
Choices:
|
|
|
|
Choices: LightScribe SuperMulti 8X DVD+/-RW with Double Layer Support Blu-Ray ROM with SuperMulti DVD+/-R/RW Double Layer |
|
|
|
Choices: Integrated HP HDTV Hybrid TV Tuner and 4 Altec Lansing speakers +the HP Triple Bass Reflex subwoofer |
|
|
|
Choices: 9 Cell Lithium Ion Battery Extra 9 Cell Lithium Ion Battery |
|
Stay protected from the latest online threats when connecting to the Web. |
Choices:
|
|
Software to help you get the most out of your PC. |
Choices:
|
|
|
|
Choices: Roxio Backup MyPC(TM) |
|
Get the tools you need to save time and improve your productivity |
Choices:
|
|
|
|
Choices: Quicken Deluxe 2008 QuickBooks Pro 2008 |
|
|
|
Choices: $30 OFF Corel(R) Paint Shop Pro(R) Photo X2 |
|
HDX includes full versions of all the software you need to protect, create and share. |
Choices: Power Pack software – muvee autoProducer Premium, Cyberlink DVD Suite Premium and Serif Web Plus |
|
| Dimensions | 9 cell: 18.7 (L) x 13.4 (W) x 2.3″ (H) |
|
| Weight | 15.3lbs Weight varies by configuration |
|
| Total memory slots | 2 DIMM | |
| Maximum memory expansion | 4GB | |
| PCI expansion | Expansion port 3 connector | |
| AC adapter |
180W
|
|
|
Front-side bus (processor dependent)
|
Up to 800 MHz | |
| I/O ports |
4 Universal Serial Bus (USB 2.0), IEEE 1394 Firewire, expansion port 3, Integrated Consumer IR (remote control receiver), HP HDX dockable media center remote control, 5-in-1 digital media card reader, microphone-in, integrated stereo microphone, eSATA port, HDMI external port, RJ-45 (LAN), VGA
|
|
| Speakers |
Altec Lansing (4 Panel Mounted and 1 Sub-Woofer)
|
|
| Software – full versions | HP PhotoSmart Essentials, Muvee AutoProducer Premium 6.x, Adobe Reader 8.x, Microsoft Works 9.0, Microsoft Windows Media Player 11, HP Games Powered by Wild Tangent, Serif Web Plus 10.x, The Sims Life Stories Laptop edition, SlingPlayer from from Slingbox, QuickPlay, Cyberlink DVD Suite, Slingbox Flash Tour (Desktop icon only) | |
| Software – introductory versions | Symantec Norton Internet Security 2008 (includes 60 days of complimentary live updates; subscription required to continue receiving updates) | |
| Basic warranty |
|
|