HP announced late this afternoon it was partnering with fashion designer Vivienne Tam to create a “special edition notebook positioned to become the ultimate tech accessory for fashionistas around the globe.” There really isn’t much information available on the HP Vivienne Tam Special Edition, but we can tell you it is expected to be available early next year.

This new fashion notebook was being shown off today at Tam’s fashion show during New York’s Fashion Week at Bryant Park. HP said the “top of the notebook is gleaming red and bursting with peony flowers. The peony design is meticulously carried inside the notebook, under the keypad. The notebook also features a complementary embroidered storage sleeve that helps keep the exterior protected while being carried as a clutch.”

Remember back in June when HP dropped 16 new laptops in your lap? It is now claiming one of these – the EliteBook 6930p – can offer up to 24 hours of continuous notebook operation on a single battery charge. There are, of course, some specific caveats to this claim.

HP says that, in order to get the 24 hour battery life promoted, you have to have “separately purchased [the] Ultra Capacity Battery and [that the] customer [must have] download[ed]…the latest Intel graphics driver and HP BIOS. Notebook must be configured with optional Intel 80 GB SSD drive and HP Illumi-Lite LED Display (planned to be available October 2008) and requires Microsoft Windows XP operating system.”

HP has its sights set on offering up some new computers to desktop PC business users. This line is called the HP Compaq dc7900 and you’ll find starting prices set around $600.

HP’s new Compaq dc7900 line will be available in ultra-slim desktop, small form factor or convertible minitower models. The company hasn’t yet unveiled a lot of technical details, but we do know these models will be Energy Star 4.0 qualified as well as running something new called the HP Firefox Virtual Browser. This is a real-time Web surfing environment which “corrals malicious content from a user’s Internet interactions and removes unwanted programs with a single click.” The dc7900 is apparently the first HP PC to have this offering.

It seems like common sense right? Package gadgets in a way that protects them, yet minimizes shipping materials. Not only is it good for the environment, it will save your company a whole lot of dough. How many times have you opened a box full of Styrofoam and other unnecessary packing materials, only to throw most of it away? Apparently it took awhile for HP to figure this out, but they are feeling much better now.

They are selling the new Pavilion dv692 laptop in its own recycled material laptop bag. Other then that, the only packing material in the bag with the laptop are some air bubbles. They ditched the extra cardboard and styrofoam, reducing the packing materials by a stunning 97%. It’s being sold at Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club, but I think we’d all like to see this become a larger trend. Hopefully other companies are paying attention. It’s simple, economical and beyond time. I recently bought an Acer Aspire 6920 and at the time I was happy to find that the box was not nearly as full of garbage as I feared it would be. This is a brilliant move.

HP had a few new laptops to show off today, including its smallest and lightest notebook to date with a built-in optical drive. Featured were two HP laptops - one a tablet - and a Compaq.

The HP EliteBook 2530p and HP EliteBook 2730p are expected to be available by early September, pricing around $1,500 and $1,670 starting, respectively. The HP Compaq 2230s is currently available for around $1,000. You can get full details after the jump via HP’s press release.

HP recently did some updates to its consumer printers and technology, unveiling two compact photo printers, a new five-ink printing system and a home printer which can print from the Web. The HP Photosmart A630 and A530 Compact Photo Printers are expected to be available in August at around $150 and $100, respectively, while the HP Photosmart D5460 Printer is available now for around $100.

The main item of interest here is the five-ink printing system, which uses  a single dual-drop-volume printhead that delivers an extremely small drop size and offers consumers what HP says is “better control over costs by requiring fewer cartridges to manage.” You can get full details on these new HP printing functions after the jump.

One of the cool devices that HP was showing off back at CES in January was its MediaSmart Connect device. With the MediaSmart Connect HP is set to take on other streaming media devices like the Netflix Player and the Apple TV.

HP announced today that the MediaSmart Connect is now available for pre-order at a price of $349. The device will be available to pre-order starting today on Amazon.com, Best Buy, Circuit City, and at Newegg.com. Included with the device is an HDMI cable and learning remote that can operate four additional devices as well as a $20 CinemaNow certificate.

Seems like calculators are making a comeback, though why, I have no idea. Maybe it has something to do with the calculator in your computer and cellphone no longer working in a Mad-Max type future, after a burst of Gamma radiation hits the planet or something…

At any rate, HP wants you to be prepared, going so far as to offer a variety of colors. They’re small enough to fit on a keychain too, so if you have to battle zombies you won’t lose it. Thank God for HP. You’ll be the only survivor who can do math.

Hewlett Packard, as you’ve probably noticed today, kicked out a ton of new digital products as part of a special coming out event. HP seemed to particularly go crazy in the laptop department, unveiling some 16 new notebook computers.

The rainbow of new HP laptops focuses across both consumer and business platforms. HP said in summary all of these notebooks are designed with new materials and software features that “enrich the user experience.” To get a general summary press release, check after the jump.

HP & Voodoo has unveiled the Voodoo Envy 133 which is just 0.7 inch thick. The very nicely designed and anorexic desktop replacement features a 13.3 inch LCD display, a fast processor, an SDD drive, WiFi N (100+ Mbps), and has an instant-on OS (most likely linux-based) that can boot super quick to let you access the web and other basic applications. Weighing in at about 3.4lbs, the Voodoo Envy 133 has a carbon fiber shell and starts at $2,099. It looks pretty amazing. What’s not to like?

Computers and cars have a lot in common when it comes to speed and performance. Namely the faster you want to go, the more money the machines will cost you. Voodoo computers announced a new Omen gaming PC today that is everything you expect form a high-end gaming machine—fast and expensive.

The new Omen isn’t even available to the masses, at least not at first. You can only get the machine by invitation sent to previous buyers of Voodoo systems. Even if you get an invitation to buy one of the shiny rigs you better come with deep pockets—the new Omen will set you back at least $7000.

All-in-one PCs are appealing to lots of people because they take up less space on top of the desk and under it. Rather than having a computer tower under your desk and lots of cables running around your workspace you simply have a monitor, mouse and keyboard making things nice and tidy. Apple does this with its iMac line.

HP announced a new all-in-one system today called the TouchSmart. HP says that the TouchSmart is designed to resemble a messenger bag—I don’t quite see that in the design myself. The PC features software that allows users to make play lists, watch TV, check email and ore by using their finger—no keyboard or mouse is required.

Two versions of the TouchSmart will be available, the IQ504 PC without a TV tuner will sell for $1299 and the IQ506 PC will retail for $1499. Both share …

HP recently introduced a new business-focused Compaq desktop PC which is reportedly energy efficient. It is known as the HP Compaq dc5850 Business Desktop PC and you’ll find it with a starting price of around $600.

The HP Compaq dc5850 Business Desktop PC, available now, makes use of AMD Business Class processors, including the AMD Phenom processor. You’ll also find integrated ATI Radeon 3100 graphics with support for DirectX 10 technology, standard support for dual monitors and standard support for RAID technology with data mirroring.

Many of us have lots of digital content on our computers from digital home movies and photos to recorded TV shows. One of the good things Vista offered in its more expensive versions was Windows Media Center making it easy to record programs over-the-air. The catch for many of us is that watching movies and TV shows on a small computer screen is less than ideal.

This is where HP came in with its Internet connected HP MediaSmart TV that can view Internet programming with built-in Wi-Fi connectivity. HP announced this week that it is the first company to release Microsoft’s Media Center Extender capability in an Internet-connected HDTV.

Hewlett-Packard has now officially released the HP 2133 Mini-Note PC, 8.9-inch ultraportable laptop. It’s priced at around $500, and the Asus Eee-PC competitor comes packed with a VIA C7-M ULV processor (in 1GHz to 1.6GHz), Chrome 9 integrated graphics, and it supports up to 2GB of DDR2 667MHz main memory. Some other features include a 8.9″ 1280 x 768 LCD display, and up to 160GB of hard drive storage. How about an optional 64GB solid-state drive or 4GB Flash drive, optional web camera, built-in stereo speakers and microphones, Broadcom 802.11a/b/g or b/g wireless module, optional Bluetooth 2.0, a Gigabit Ethernet connection, two USB ports, an ExpressCard slot, Secure Digital (SD) slot, and VGA output.

It also sports a 92% full-sized keyboard, accompanied by a touchpad with scroll zone. The battery provides just over 2 hours of juice with the standard 3-cell battery, and 4 hours with the 6-cell extended life battery.