Posted 11/04/08 at 02:13:22 PM by Paul Lilly

Back when boutique OEM system builders operated as standalone entities, owning a custom built rig by the likes of a Voodoo PC often required a hefty investment up to several times more than what you could expect to pay if going the DIY route. This scenario has changed somewhat in recent years thanks in part to falling hardware prices and acquisitions by mainstream OEMs. Such is the case with Voodoo PC, who was acquired by HP back in 2006. More recently, HP decided to merge its Voodoo PC unit with its consumer business unit, a move that Raul Sood, CTO for HP's Global Gaming Business, said would "ultimately mean that Voodoo and Voodoo-influenced products will be easier to buy, faster get, they will feature local service, and they have the full power of HP's marketing and sales channel behind them."

Fast forward to today and HP is making good on Sood's promise. Effective immediately, the price of the Voodoo Envy 133 drops a couple of C-notes from $2,100 to $1,900. As an added bonus, each Envy shipped will also include a second battery at no additional charge, an offer that stands until November 30. On the desktop side, the HP Blackbird 002 also gets a price cut and can now be had for $1,800.

Could the days of high-priced boutique builds be nearing an end? Probably not, but gamers on a budget who aren't interested in building their own machine have more options today than in year's past. In addition to HP's price cuts, Alienware (a Dell acquisition) this week announced an affordable dual-GPU CrossFireX gaming notebook.

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hp, blackbird, OEM, rigs, VoodooPC, Envy, hewlett-packard

Posted 07/17/08 at 11:00:59 AM by Norman Chan

Just call us licky. We mean, lucky. You've seen the official super-hot photos of the Voodoo PC's Envy laptop, but we got our hands on one and were able to take tons of close-up photos of the as well as try out the highly touted instant-on feature. Our initial impressions: the laptop is really light. HP claims the laptop (it was the SSD version) weighs three and a half pounds, and even though we didn’t have a scale in our messenger bags, it sure felt about the same weight as the Macbook air, power supply notwithstanding. Stacking the Envy against a Macbook Pro and Thinkpad X300, Voodoo’s pricey portable was both smaller and slimmer, though it sports a 13” screen.

Click the jump for more impressions and all the photos, including the instant-on Linux interface, laptop size comparisons, and gross licking details.  

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notebook, laptop, E3, hardware, consumer electronics, MacBook Air, ultraportable, macbook pro, Envy, voodoo pc, hp gaming, lick, hands-on

Posted 07/11/08 at 10:45:16 AM by Paul Lilly

Buyers who can't wait to unbox their swank Envy 133 notebook might find themselves taking pause for the occasion. And to ensure they do, Voodoo's Raul Sood plans to give the high-end laptop the white-glove treatment. Inside the box (which Sood likens to one you'd get from shopping at a Tiffany & Co.) the Envy will come wrapped in a microfiber polish sleeve stamped with the company's logo. Underneath, an assortment of accessories includes:

• Voodoo Aura power connect with an additional removable cable (should the original fray over time)
• HDMI to VGA Presentation Adapter
• ESata optical drive with hideaway cable

Sood also includes a few more close-up shots of the carbon fiber Envy in his package-pimping blog, which show a pre-production engineering sample. Shipping Envys will trade the red logo for one in silver and chrome. You can order one now, and if HP Live Chat operator iCrzyMonkey isn't flinging poo, expect it to ship in August, bodacious box and all.

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notebook, laptop, portable, voodoo, hp, hardware, rigs, Envy, raul sood

Posted 06/25/08 at 11:09:12 AM by Paul Lilly

Move over MacBook Air, and make room for a sexier, slimmer model. Rahul Sood, founder of VoodooPC and CTO of the HP Voodoo Business Unit, is showing off a pre-production Envy 133 notebook, and if looks could kill, we'd all find ourselves in a world of hurt just for peeking. Sporting a gorgeous Scuderia Red paint job with Italian racing stripes and finished off with a custom laser engraving, the carbon fiber Envy 133 looks poised to win accolades for both inner and outter beauty. Weighing in at a scant 3.4 pounds and measuring just .70 inches thick, the new Intel Centrino-powered Envy boasts a backlit keyboard, instant-on technology for quick access to the web and Skype, and USB, eSATA, and HDMI ports. Just don't expect to do much gaming on the integrated Intel GMA X3100 graphics.

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notebook, laptop, hp, VoodooPC, Envy, Rahul Sood