• On TechRepublic: 10 cool USB flash drive tricks
September 9, 2008 2:08 PM PDT

HP says Voodoo Envy 133 now shipping, hints at new product

by Erica Ogg

Custom HP Voodoo Envy 133 (Credit: Hewlett-Packard)
Hewlett-Packard said Tuesday that the Voodoo Envy 133 laptop introduced in June, is now finally shipping to customers.

It's HP's version of the Lenovo X300 or the MacBook Air: incredibly thin and pretty to look at. It was introduced as part of an elaborate product rollout at a high-profile event in Germany.

The Envy is a good example of the kind of design chops and credibility Voodoo brings to HP. When HP bought Voodoo a few years back, the enthusiast PC maker became HP's gaming PC unit, which made sense, especially after Dell bought Alienware.

But soon after the Envy was announced, HP said it was folding Voodoo into its consumer PC line. It doesn't seem like HP wants to draw a distinction between gaming PCs and regular PCs anymore, and we wondered what the future of the Voodoo brand was at HP.

But it's still hanging around, and Voodoo is also trying to stir up some buzz, if a post by Voodoo co-founder Rahul Sood to the company blog is any indication.

In a blog titled, "Good things happen in threes," Sood talks about the Envy shipping, and a new contributor to the blog, but gets all mysterious about the third "good thing."

"There's also this other thing we're working on right now. Actually, on second thought--forget it. I'll save it for another day. This week's good enough as it is," he writes.

Sooooo, dear readers, what could it be? Chime in with your guesses in the comments.

Erica Ogg is a CNET News reporter who covers Apple, HP, Dell, and other PC makers, as well as the consumer electronics industry. She's also one of the hosts of CNET News' Daily Podcast. In her non-work life, she's a history geek, a loyal Dodgers fan, and a mac-and-cheese connoisseur. E-mail Erica.
Recent posts from Crave
Ricoh goes modular for GXR camera system
Moxi cuts price on its DVR, adds step-up model with a triple tuner
2010 Tesla Roadster Sport first drive
Sneak peek: Xobni e-mail app for BlackBerry
The DIY secret-knock door lock
New BlackBerry software will make your phone cooler
The 411: Storage limits and more on data plans
Can Bheestie Bag save your soaked device?
Add a Comment (Log in or register) (7 Comments)
  • prev
  • 1
  • next
by techguy00000 September 9, 2008 7:40 PM PDT
I want this so bad. No. I NEED this so bad. This is the sickest laptop. so much nicer than the air. I have a MBA, a dell, an hp, and another macbook. I like the macbook but i HATE the MBA and i NEED to replace it. My hp's have been doing me absolute wonders for years, and this envy will only compliment them so well. I don't even think I'll sell the air... i might just throw it out my nyc apt. HAHA
Reply to this comment
by renGek September 10, 2008 9:54 AM PDT
At first I thought this was a great laptop but soon realize its only a decent laptop. First, this should not be called a gaming laptop because it doesn't have the specs to be a gaming laptop. The graphics card is not up to snuff. A gamer only needs to read "intel integrated graphics" and move on. While it can play most games adequately, the title gaming laptop comes with expectations that this laptop doesn't meet.

As a general purpose laptop, its a great one with lots of nice features. But holy cow is it overpriced. If you want that red paint job its an extra $500. The solid state drive is extra as well and on and on. By the time I finished configuring the model that I wanted, the price was already $3600. For $3600, I expect pretty much the best parts.

Also, this laptop was suppose to have built in noise canceling. Has that feature been dropped because I haven't read any articles pointing it out
Reply to this comment
by JordyKun September 14, 2008 6:13 PM PDT
Well, I wouldn't consider the Envy a decent laptop, maybe if compared to a mainstream laptop then yes it would be. But in ultraportables, it is actually very good. Because of its size, there is now way it could be a gaming laptop.

You are right though, on the price. But since every Envy laptop is handmade and the whole body is of carbon fiber (which is black by nature) it is costly, especially since they have to dye the carbon fiber to give it a different color; yet generally the smaller laptops come at a higher price so $3600 is a lot, but it sure is better than the Macbook Air (the air doesn't ship with a DVD drive).
by Brooklyn Bankruptcy September 10, 2008 11:27 AM PDT
This is an awesome laptop!
Reply to this comment
by phun-ky September 10, 2008 3:45 PM PDT
I don't know enough to guess what the "3rd good thing" is so I just wish it 's an Envy-style TABLET with an iPhone-style UI! Please!
Reply to this comment
by AppleSuxLeo September 14, 2008 6:53 AM PDT
Nice...I want one to go with a Ducati 1098 !
Reply to this comment
by rnaoncfixd September 16, 2008 9:19 AM PDT
I'm mostly an Apple fanboy, but this has got me drooling. Well done, HP!
(I'll probably find some secret way to install OSX on it)
Reply to this comment
(7 Comments)
  • prev
  • 1
  • next

About Crave

The name says it all. Crave is our blog about gorgeous gadgets and other crushworthy stuff. If you would like to contact Crave with a tip or comment, please write to: crave@cnet.com

Add this feed to your online news reader

Crave topics

After 5 years, Firefox faces new challenges

Mozilla helped reshape the Web since releasing Firefox 1.0 five years ago. Now it's got a reawakened Microsoft and Google Chrome to reckon with.

There's a map for that: GPS or smartphone?

Almost every handset comes with mapping software these days, but standalone GPS devices are becoming more affordable than ever.