14 DAY TRIAL // Earlier this month, HP launched the Stream 14 budget laptop with Windows 8.1 with Bing. Before the official announcement came, we had hopes that the notebook would go on sale with a $199 / €148 price tag, but when the moment came, HP said customers would be able to pick it up for a much more expensive $300 / €233.
But HP has probably sensed customers’ disappointment and is looking to make things right. To that end, it has revealed a bunch of new additions to the Stream lineup, in the form of models which are going to sell for cheaper price tags.
Stream now comes in 11.6-inch and 13.3-inch form factors
Soon, you’ll be able to pick up the 13.3 Stream for $230 / €181 and the 11.6-inch Stream for the same price we were expecting the Stream 14 to retail in the first place, which is $200 / €157.
Both new laptops will be making it out in November and will run Windows 8.1 with Bing out of the box, while an Intel Celeron Bay Trail processor will be pumping life into the machines from under the bonnet. The notebooks take advantage of solid state storage and fanless designs, so they are pretty light and noise free.
HP will be marketing these new models for the budget market, so don’ expect anything premium. They offer limited viewing angles, are made of plastic and you’ll find only 32GB of storage on the base models.
The new Stream models will come with a 1-year subscription to Microsoft Office 365 which opens the gates to Microsoft Office suite plus 1TB of online storage.
With the new HP Stream models you'll find Chromebook-like specs
Related to the display, HP tells the 11.6-inch model should have an HD panel (which translates into 1366 x 768 pixels) while the 13.3-inch one takes advantage of the same HD res but can be offered with an optional touch screen option.
The specific processor inside is an Intel Celeron N2840 Bay Trail fitted with 2GB and other specs include a USB 3.0, USB 2.0, HDMI out and SD card slot.
Like it’s the case with portable notebooks these days, the HP Stream doesn’t have a removable battery. HP notes the 11.6-inch model should be able to deliver up to 8.25 hours of battery life, while the 13.3-inch version should last you up to 7.75 hours of time.
HP will roll out a 4G model of the Stream 13 notebook, one which will be offered with 200MB of free data from T-Mobile each month. On top of that, all customers jumping onboard with a new Stream will be awarded a $25 / €20 gift card from the Microsoft Store.
HP will offer the new laptops in pink and blue coloring options.
