HP on Tuesday unveiled two new Windows 7 business laptops intended to shake out what’s left of the IT budget and convince businesses that Windows 7 migration doesn’t have to be (too) expensive.

The HP ProBook 6445b and ProBook 6545b are targeted at corporate customers “who want an affordable combination of business-critical and innovative features in a full-function notebook PC.” That translates to up to 8 hours and 15 minutes of battery life, as well as a wealth of wireless connectivity options.

But the coolest darn feature of these laptops is a spill-resistant keyboard with a drain underneath the laptop. I was able to witness this work in person, and it’s a frightening visual: a steady stream of water running right into the keyboard of an active ProBook and coming right out a drain hole in the bottom.

Scary — but very cool — stuff.

HP’s reps say the drain will save your PC but not your pants; I suppose the wager is that your pants didn’t cost as much as your ProBook did, and if they did, you wouldn’t care.

Other business-centric features include HP QuickLook, a light quick-boot option for e-mail, contacts, etc.; HP Power Assistant, which lets you monitor and choose power consumption levels on the fly; and optional business card reader software to pair with an optional webcam.

Otherwise, the new laptops are available with 14-inch or 15.6-inch diagonal HD LED-backlit widescreen displays and sport the following:

HP ProBook 6445b business laptop

• 14.0 in. HD LED-backlit widescreen display (1366×768)
• Windows 7 Professional
• CPU: AMD Turion II ultra dual core (2.4GHz); Turion II dual core (2.3GHz); Athlon II dual core (2.1GHz) or Sempron (2.0GHz)
• Up to 8GB DDR2 SDRAM (800MHz)
• 160 to 500GB 7,200 RPM HDD or 128GB SSD
• Upgrade Bay that fits SATA optical drive or hard drive, Blu-ray and DVD/RW available
• ATi Radeon HD 4200 graphics
• Integrated dual-microphone array with optional 2 megapixel webcam
• Wireless: EV-DO/HSPA, 802.11 a/b/g/n, Bluetooth 2.1
• Gigabit Ethernet
• 1 ExpressCard slot, media card reader
• 4 USB 2.0 ports, 1 VGA port, 1 DisplayPort, line in, line out, 1394a
• Full-size keyboard with numeric keypad, touchpad with scrollzone, optional pointstick
• Optional fingerprint sensor
• 6 or 9 cell battery
• 1.37 in. thick
• 5.9 lbs.

HP ProBook 6545b business laptop

The same as above, except:

• 15.6-inch LED-backlit widescreen display (1366×768; 1600×900 optional)

Both models come with a suite of business-centric security software (Spare Key, Disk Sanitizer, Drive Lock, Drive Encryption, etc.) and options for docking stations. They’re Energy Star 5.0 and EPEAT Gold certified

Apple Mac products have aways enjoyed a special place in the hearts of connoisseurs. For eons, the Mac PCs have ruled the roost and Apple has always ensured that its technology never turns obsolete by adapting to changing scenarios and adhering to the norms of technological evolution. The Macbook Pro has carried on the legacy of its legendary ancestors and to further it, Apple has released the new Macbook Pro, with all new features and additions.

The new Macbook Pro boasts of enhanced processing speeds and the much anticipated increase in battery life, which is now around 6 hours tops. In addition to this, the stunning device has LED backlighting for the halo effect. However, this feature will be available only in the 15.4 inch model. If you thought 1 GB RAM was fast, your jaws would drop if I told you that this notebook is lightning fast with 2 GB. With the NVidia 8600M GT video card, you couldn’t have asked for a better gaming experience.

Additional features of the notebook include Fire Wire 400 and 800, a whopping 200 GB hard disk, an illuminated keyboard and Bluetooth 2.0+EDR. The newMacbook Pro also features the Magsafe Power Adapter. This is not the end. Both the 15 inch and 17 inch models feature integrated charge indicator LEDs to let you know when the notebook needs a power thrust.

If you are already drooling over its features and looks, the pricing will make you go zany. Natural logic suggests a proportional increase of price with added features. Not quite. The notebook costs the same $1999. It certainly is a must-buy.

Asus’ U3

This 13.3 inches Santa Rosa-based notebook features piano painted LCD cover exterior, stainless contour and magnesium aluminum alloy casing with genuine leather bound palm rest.

U3 series notebooks detailed hardware specs comprise:

Intel Core 2 Duo Processor T7500/ T7300/ T7100/ T5450/ T5250/ CM540
Mobile Intel GM965 Chipset, ICH8M South Bridge
Intel 4965 a/b/g/n, 3945 a/b/g Network Connection
Genuine Windows Vista
nVIDIA GeForce 8400M GS with 128MB VRAM, Turbo Cache 384MB with 1GB system Memory; 896MB with 2GB System Memory
1.3M Pixels Video Camera
Up to 2560MB DDR2 667 MHz RAM (only 1 slot)
Support for Intel Turbo Memory
SATA HDD up to 160 GB, Turbo Memory/ GPS/ 3G/ Bluetooth Option
External USB Optical Disc Drive (Combo/Super Multi)
Ports: 1x HDMI, 1x e-SATA, External GPS RF in connector, VGA port/Mini D-sub, 3x USB 2.0 ports, Audio jack, LAN RJ-45, Phone RJ-11 jack, 1394 Type jack, TV-Out (S-video)
Dimensions: 31.85 x 24.3 x 2.22~3.22cm
Weight: 1.75kg (with 3 cell battery)

The notebook is forecasted to release sometimes in September and will hit our shelves with $2,000 price tag ballpark.

A pair of new additions have been announced for Lenovo’s ThinkPad line. So all of those business people who shunned Windows Vista and held onto XP can finally take the plunge to a new OS. These new notebooks are optimized to run Windows 7 along with a host of other little goodies.

Powered by Intel Core2 Duo processors, a 16:9 HD screen, HDMI and VGA outs are just some of the features. Lenovo also really hit the VoiP market hard with these. You’ve gotWiFi, Ethernet, Bluetooth, and some models have 3G built in. The camera resolution is supposed to be better, but we didn’t get any specs for it, so who knows. The integrated microphone now has a dedicated mute button for when you need to cut the audio. These laptops are even EPEAT and Energy Star certified to be green. So you’ll know that you aren’t horribly destroying the planet when you buy one.

The SL series is the lowest of the ThinkPad’s but the new SL410 and SL510 are the only members to be certified under Lenovo’s Enhanced Experience program. I’m not really completely sure what that means. According to the press release, “certified PCs deliver a faster, richer and easier computing experience over identical configuration, non-optimized PCs.” So they have the same hardware, they just run better for some reason? Why not just optimize all of them?