CES 2008

We mentioned this new HP tablet briefly last week when it was first announced, and now we've gotten a chance to get our hands on the HP Pavilion tx2000.

We don't actually know too many people who use a convertible tablet PC, but everyone's always asking us about them, and the tech press likes to cover new tablets extensively. While most of these systems are meant for industrial use, in hospitals, industrial sites, and occasionally by note-taking students, HP hit on a novel idea last year, introducing a tablet aimed strictly at movie-watching consumers, called the tx1000.

Watch the HP TX2000 video on CNET TV.

When we first saw the original tx1000 at 2007's CES, we liked the media-friendly options, such as a credit-card-size remote control, and glossy 12.1-inch screen--plus it turned out to be the very first Windows Vista laptop we had gotten our hands on.

No other strictly consumer-targeted tablets have crossed our path since then, but HP still believes in the concept, revamping the unit as the Pavilion tx2000 for this year's CES. From the outside, it looks almost exactly the same, and it includes the same (fairly useless) HP QuickPlay media playing software, plus a Webcam and touch-sensitive screen. Inside, the main difference is the addition of Wacom digitizer support to the finger-sensitive 12.1-inch touch screen, something missing from the previous tx1000 model.

We got a chance to play around with the new tx2000, and like its predecessor, it's an impressive portable media laptop. It earns points for the media-friendly controls and included remote, but it's still a bit on the heavy and bulky side for a system with a 12-inch screen--the entire system's nearly as large as a 13-inch MacBook. Shaving a couple of inches or ounces from it would make it that much more impressive.

Available later in January online, and at retail outlets in March, the tx2000 will start (just like last year's tx1000) at around $1,299.

The HP Pavilion tx2000

(Credit: HP)

HP isn't waiting until the streaming masses descend on Las Vegas for CES to unveil new additions to the company's laptop lineup. Thursday, HP announced the HP Pavilion tx2000 and a slightly revamped version of the HP Pavilion HDX. If those sound familiar, that's because the convertible tablet tx2000 is an update of the tx1000 we first saw last year at CES 2007, and the new HDX has some updated parts, but exactly the same name as the 2007 version of the HDX, itself released just this past July. Overall, there are a handful of minor tweaks, but nothing radically new.

We liked the original tx1000, as it was one of the few consumer-focused tablet PCs we'd ever seen (most tablets are aimed at industrial or medical workers). The new version looks nearly identical from the outside, and inside it offers AMD Turion 64 X2 Dual-Core CPUs, 802.11n Wi-Fi and adds Wacom digitizer support to the finger-sensitive 12.1-inch touch screen, something missing from the previous tx1000 model.

HP's updated 20-inch HDX

(Credit: HP)

We said the massive 20-inch HDX was a laptop in name only when we first saw it, and the same is true of the latest version. Despite some new hardware, HP isn't changing the name, but inside you'll find updated Intel Core 2 Duo processors and Nvidia's GeForce 8800M video card, along with HD DVD or Blu-ray optical drives (no combo drives yet). A previous update added a 1,920x1,200 display, which is an improvement over the original's 1,680x1,050 screen, and the four Altec Lansing speakers plus subwoofer remain the same.

The tx2000 starts at $1,299 and will be available online on January 8 and in retail outlets in March, while the updated HDX starts at $1,999 and should be available later in January.

We'll have more in-depth looks at both of these systems next week during CES.