For decades, PC makers haven’t been thinking out-of-the-box, like literally. Over the years, desktop computers and rectangular chassis are synonymous. That’s until Mac Pro came along with its shiny, gleaming cylindrical look. It broke the tradition which previously only available to PC customizers. A few years on, MSI also challenge the status quo and soon after, HP took the leap too with not one but two desktop computers, HP Pavilion Wave and HP Elite Slice, respectively. The former took a radical approach by taking on a triangular tower form that is 85 percent smaller than conventional towers and with the fabric woven skin, it certainly looks more like a speaker you would expect from the likes of B&O, and for good reason; its audio is powered by B&O PLAY.
Central to Pavilion Wave is audio superiority, offering 360-degree multi-directional reflective audio, though computing is not forgotten, which is driven by up to a 2.2GHz Intel Core i5-6400T processor, backed by up to 16GB DDR4-2133 SDRAM and up to 2TB storage. The HP Pavilion Wave runs on Windows 10 Home (of course!) and offers wireless 802.11a/b/g/n/ac, as well as Bluetooth 4.2 connectivity, along with twin USB 3.0 ports, a USB 3.1 Type-C port, SD card reader, HDMI and DisplayPort, “strategically placed” microphone, and of course, a headphone/mic combo jack.
At the first glance, the HP Elite Slice may not look like anything revolutionary, but it actually is. While it appears like ordinary mini-PC, its star feature is modularity. The Elite Slice can be a communications hub, a wireless charging station for mobile and tablets, a multimedia player, or a Skype device for making your million dollar deal phone call. Each module is stacked vertically without the need of cable and contains functions specific to it. Basically, with the Elite Slice, it dispel the one-size-fits-all notion and instead, leverages on modularity to offer consumers what they need without the need for a bunch of other stuff that they don’t need.
HP Elite Slice is geared towards businesses and hence, it will run on Windows 10 Pro 64 as opposed to Home. That being said, it is not cheap. While the Pavilion Wave starts a modest $529, the Elite Slice starts at $699 and you certainly won’t stop there because of modularity.
Images courtesy of HP.
