What would you like to see HP build?

HP has reached out to me and a few others to interact with them to make sure they understand what consumers want.  I am sitting down with some HP folks this afternoon so what would you like me to ask them?  What suggestions do you want to get through to them for future products?  Don't make do with what they produce, let them know now what you need and I'll pass it along to them.  But you'd better hurry, my meeting is in a few hours.

Comments

[Bruno]

Bring back TC1100! :-)

[Eric Link]

I have an HP pavilion computer. It is very 'busy' - lots of lights and buttons on the hardware. It's distracting - very un-zen (is that a word?). I would like to see them strive to make products that are more fung shuei (sp?) / zen / relaxing to interact with. There are so many blue lights on the pavilion I find it hard to focus on the screen. Especially in darker environments. There are numerous studies showing that w/ more than 5-7 items in view the brain has to work hard to filter out the excess. This results in a tiring user experience.

[Eric Link]

I would like to see them offer linux, as Dell and Lenovo are.

[Mike Wiedman]

I'd like to see a successor to the HP Jornada 720/728. Same size, OLED screen. The OS and Full-Fledged Office applications (instead of pocket versions) would be in flash ROM for instant on capability and so that there would be an upgrade path. Battery life no less than 8 hours. USB ports, CF card slot(s) and built in VGA support. Touch screen viewable in broad daylight. Backlight keys. Batteries not integral to unit (user replacable. WiFi and/Bluetooth.

[David]

Hmmm... the list...

1) A refreshed PDA - high res, decent WiFi, largish screen, storage card slot, modern/hi-speed processor, large (8/16GB) built-in storage, DAP-only mode where you start songs, they play, but battery usage is minimal.
2) Bring back the old calculator division! It should never have been shut down.
3) All the normal requests -- smaller, more efficient, cooler Media Centers, Tablets, etc -- but you already knew that.
4) Printers with decent sized and affordable ink cartridges. They've been giving away the printers to sell the ink. We all know ink doesn't need to be the most expensive fluid any of buys on a regular basis! Oh, and making them pigment-based would be a plus.
5) Easy way to not order/strip extra programs from PC's. But keep basic virus software for the folks so they're protected from the first boot.
6) Better OOB experiences - pre-boot the machines and let all the set-up take place at the factory so the first boot at home is quick and gets you going asap.
7) Always ship restoration DVD's with the machines.
8) Make a Cintiq clone that is affordable.
9) Challenge Apple (in particular, Samsung comes to mind as well) in the design department.
10) Create a square box PC that anyone can make a "cover" for -- wooden, stylized, etc and keep the dimensions consistent. I could get a custom case made that I could upgrade the interior of by just pulling the "PC box" out of every other year or so. Plus, you could order cases with a wider variety of styles, and never have to deal with "PC maker" skills.

That's probably enough.

[Benz145]

I have grown to hate HP/Compaq products. It seems like every single one I've ever used has had problems, and bad designs. Whether it be a printer, or a desktop computer, or even a friends laptop, all have had issues. First of all let me start by saying that the inside of some of the older HP desktops have absolutely terrible designs. I can't say anything about their newer ones because I've stopped buying their products. As for the old ones, trying to change a hardware component is like solving a puzzle. If you want to get to the CPU or RAM, you need to dig your way through all kinds of cables and other components before you get down to the motherboard. This problem arises because they try to make their desktop computers somewhat smaller and more squat than others, why? I have no idea. But it makes swapping drives in and out nearly impossible. I wanted to take a few drives out of an old HP desktop and after 45 minutes of trying to figure out if you were even supposed to be able to get them out, I started to tear apart the case. I think if I actually wanted to take them out the right way, I would have had to remove the entire PSU just to pull a drive out. Oh and don't even get me started with all the hidden screws inside this desktop, some didn't even seem like they were on an angle that would make them possible to unscrew. The entire inside is unintuitive and quite obviously not meant to used by the end user.

Now lets move onto their product appearance. Right now I see HP as a company who just wants to sucker people into buying their computers, rather then providing a good product. I would imagine that most of HP's home desktop/laptop sales are bought through third party retailers such as Best Buy or Circuit City. And often times the people who don't know much about computers go there to buy them. Maybe HP knows this and thats why they could win the award for most shiny stickers and flashing lights on the front of their computers. Its like a fishing lure where they reel in the unsuspecting.

If HP wants to start to regain my and many other peoples trust, you can begin with the following.

*Make the inside of your desktop computers user friendly. Believe it or not people do open up your products and play around with the hardware components. Maybe you haven't gotten this complaint very often because the majority of people who buy your products from a third party retailer are those who don't know much about computers and don't ever upgrade their computers, which brings me to my next point...

*Stop trying to market the less computer educated, start trying to offer a good product. I know that it might seem like the easiest and fastest way to make some money is to put some shiny stickers on the front of your computers and make them appealing to the people who don't really know what they need in a computer. Yes HP we know that the computer has a lightscribe drive, do you also mention right on the front that the drive requires special CD to use? I don't think so. Again trying to nab the less computer educated.

*Try redesigning your desktops... I don't know what it is about them. They are just ugly in my opinion. I hate the flaps that cover the disk drives. They are usually really low quality which can be felt as soon as you push them. If you want to make those same flaps electronic and motorized, please feel free to do so. And I really dislike the often very low quality feel of the CD storage compartments that you have on some of your computers. Its usually just a plastic flap with some plastic hinges and it stores maybe 10 CD/DVDs. I'd rather have nothing on the top of my computer than have a broken plastic flap.

Well anyway thats about all I have for now, given a bit more time to think about this I assure you I'd have many more complaints, but hopefully I've submitted this in time : P

[Scott]

1 Thing:

A printer that can receive print commands via the internet, so I can print to my home printer from wherever I am--as long as there is an internet connection on both ends. (must work on a mac too).

Lemme know when it's ready!

[Wiley Johnson]

Calculators are still there: http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/pscmisc/vac/us/en/sm/calculators/index.html?jumpid=re_R295_prodexp/busproducts/computing/calculators

[TC1100 user]

Tablet with TC1100 form factor, dedicated graphics card, as much hard drive capacity and memory capacity as physically possible

[Joe O'Laughlin]

Re-issue something like the portable hand scanner they used to make.

Swipe ACROSS a page a few times then auto-stitch the text images together into one page. USB to other devices with OCR, etc.

[RamEffect]

UMPC

need i say more?

[Brian]

My dream machine from HP would be a Nokia E90 Communicator type device of roughly the same capability/size with an internal touch screen, video out, USB host/client and the Sirf GPS chip that runs Linux as the OS.
A lightweight battery operated full sized keyboard and hi-def display in a portfolio the size of a sheet of letter paper and thickness of no more than a deck of cards will supply charging/backup for the unit as well as extensibility.

[Keith]

Some interesting pipe dreams so far!

I personally would also like to see a new Jornada, though instead of building an uber device that would cost as much as a laptop and have even less of a viable market footprint then UMPCs, I'd just like to see it take over where the (recently cancelled?) i-mate Ultimate 750 was headed, ie the king of the smartphones. A stylish, easily pocketable WinMo Pro phone with sliding QWERTY and static numpad, the 3G/WiFi/GPS trifecta, tilting VGA screen ala HTC Kaiser, storage measured in gigs and a speedy chipset.

In other words make a peerless smartphone that bests Apple and HTC in one swoop, not a laptop replacement that loads faster but is extremely limited in all other ways, especially in its available software (comparing even just the freeware available for a WinXP machine vs WinMo is laughable).

[Dave Haupert]

I agree with Keith- I would like to see something to compete with the toshiba g900. A slide out keyboard with a big screen 800x480 ideal, a lot of internal memory (unlike the g900) - 4GB would be a good amount. Tilting like Kaiser capability would be nice as well. The g900 lacks in that the screen is so high res but it super small for the case it's in. I'd like to see something that makes full use of the outer case to maximum the screen without getting too big. WM6 would be the OS of preference.

The reason I would want HP to do this- price. They seem to be able to get things down under that 500 sweet spot for this type of device.

Overall I think the problem with HP products across the board- they have a plasticy feel to them and no real industrial design qualities at all. If they would play with some new less plastic-y materials, and work on the design, they could reinvent themselves in this space. Remember the original Compaq ipaq and how it was the one others all tried to compare themselves to? For it's time, it was flashy and fast. That requires something unique and a step ahead of other people!

[Douglass Carmichael]

HP still stands in the mind of most for quality. But the use friendly has been poor in computers and printers. Design should be simple and elegant and result powerful. HP should have set out to be THE standard in quality, which would have built on its strength.

What I would like is a new tech version the original NEC slate tablet that was the lightest, at 2 lbs. A two pound slate with real power and attractive would be terrific.

[jt3k]

UMPC of course.

Also, a linux-based PDA would be awesome.

[Greg]

I would like to see a form factor similar to the tx series, without the swivel screen, no touch screen, no disk drive, a 100 gig hard drive, a weight of 2 lbs., without Vista and a low price. Sort of like the VAIO, without the high price. Many people just want a light weight, easy to use laptop they can use when watching TV or travelling minimalistically. I have tried the UMPCs but they just are not there yet.

[Benz145]

Eww an HP UMPC? Please no!

[dbrotzen]

Something like the HTC X7500 sizewise. Basically just a handheld, 5 inch screen, light, light, light, enable high resolution powerpoint (XVGA?) so I don't need to drag along my pc, Vlingo capable so only occassional use of foldable keyboard with built in track point (no need for separate mouse), HSDPA 7.2, and with a FUNCTIONING (unlike the HTC) webcam regardless of carrier (so the consumer decides how to use their hardware). Possibly both WM and full Windows like the HTC Shift. That's it.

[dbrotzen]

...and hot swappable batteries.

[dbrotzen]

...and Wibree.

[tfserna]

Renewed hp tc1100. Core Duo 2, dedicated graphics card, etc.
A slightly bigger screen perhaps?
Best form factor to date... and die hard user base!

[Visna Harris]

Nah...

A Tc1100 type HandTop, not Tablet PC that’s smaller, like an OQO /Big IPhone with a 5" Screen.

With a Cool dock for the Car / Home / Office…

SSD, HDMI, A2DP, Core Duo..etc

I know, I can Dream..
V,

[Don't Panic!]

Bring back the HP Jornada 500 series form factor. Nobody out star trekked that PPC. That flip top was so cool and protective and the all metal construction felt really reliable. DO'nt use the SH3 chip set though.

[Jamie Poster]

An update to the TC1100! If I had my druthers, it would: have a super fast processor, lots of video power, 8-hour battery life, and it would weigh under 1lb.
I can dream, right? :)