Introduction

Palo Alto-based HP is striving to be green. HP's major focus this year was on green computing initiatives, beginning to the company's achievement of getting all of its products an Energy Star rating. The entire display area-HP set up a model home room and office-was made of recycled materials. HP did introduce a few new products, as well as show off some current ones.

TouchSmart all-in-one

HP showed off the TouchSmart all-in-one computer. It has a 19" widescreen, touch display. It has a DVD drive on the front and everything is easily accessible. The mouse, remote, and keyboard easily stow underneath the all-in-one unit, so a desk can be quickly cleared for a meeting or such. The keyboard and mouse are wireless. It has a 500 GB hard drive, 2 GB of RAM, a GeForce Go 7600, an integrated webcam, and 802.11b/g wireless, all powered by a dual-core AMD Turion 64 X2.

HP's SmartCenter software runs on top of Windows Vista, and includes a variety of touch-using applications. Examples are a sticky note program that integrates very well with the calendar program. I should mention that the touchscreen isn't just single touch: it's multitouch. This video shows an example of the multitouch coolness in action.

The TouchSmart is available now for $1499.

MediaSmart Receiver and MediaSmart TVs

The MediaSmart Receiver is HP's foray into the field of digital media adapters. It easily connects to any TV via component or HDMI. The Receiver can connect to up to 10 devices to play media files. It supports a pocket media bay, which fits one of HP's Pocket Media USB hard drives sized up to 250 GB.

The MediaSmart TV is essentially an HDTV with a built-in MediaSmart Receiver. These have been out for a while, but HP is finally going mainstream with the design.

Media Vault and MediaSmart Server

The new HP Media Vault is HP's foray into the NAS market. The small unit houses a 500 GB, 1 TB or 1.5 TB Linux-based backup server. The smaller of the sizes is the mv2100, and it is designed for homes. It runs a web-based file manager and a DAAP server for iTunes. The larger two sizes are the mv5100, aimed at small businesses. It is paired with 2 GB online, offsite backup.

Users can add a second hard drive for additional storage-and the drives are hot-swappable. The 500 GB model is $599, and the 1 TB model is available for $799. Both are available now.

HP plans to roll out a heavy update to its current MediaSmart Server users in February. This upgrade is automatic, so the users won't have to do anything. MediaSmart Server runs Windows Home Server, Microsoft's customized version of Windows for the home backup market.

Laser Printers

HP showed off new technology to be integrated into all of its laser printers. It calls the technology "Instant On." Most laser printers have a short period of time-10 to 30 seconds-before it can print. Printers with this new technology use less power overall than equivalent printers without the technology. HP estimates that this new line will consume approximately $4/year at current power rates.

Custom Laptops

HP conducted a design contest in which artists were asked to submit lid designs. There are five designs that were chosen and they are available now on HP's web site. The lid designs are not stickers nor painted on-they are actually molded as a part of the lid (by the description of the HP person who told me about it).

Additionally, HP teamed up with SkinIt.com for vinyl stickers for all of its laptop models. A user can go to SkinIt.com and design his or her own lid sticker for a modest fee.

Be sure to check out our CES 2008 Photo Gallery!