HP was among the earliest vendors to launch PCs with touch screens through its TouchSmart line of all-in-one desktops. Today, the company is bringing the technology to its existing business laptop lines with the introduction of the multi-touch enabled EliteBook 2740p. This 12.1-inch tablet-style laptop picks up where the earlier 2730p left off, with either a Core i5 or i7 processor and support for DDR3 memory.


Much like its predecessor the new system will be available in stainless steel finish and magnesium casing. HP’s EliteBook 2740p comes with dual pointing devices (a pointing stick and a touchpad), hard drives or SSDs in 160, 250 and 320GB capacities, optional optical drive, and up to 8GB of RAM. Connectivity options include Wi-Fi 802.11n, Bluetooth 2.1, EVDO/HSDPA and GPS. The whole package is 1.25 x 11.42 x 8.35 inches and weighs 3.8lbs in its standard configuration with a 6-cell battery that’s good for five hours of use.

HP also announced the EliteBook 2540p laptop and updated its ProBook line with four new models. The first is considered the lightest EliteBook yet at around 3.3lbs and has specifications similar to the 2740p -- sans the rotating screen. As for the new ProBook s-series, they’ve also been fitted with Intel’s latest Core processors and come in screen sizes ranging from 13.3 to 17.3 inches.

The HP EliteBook 2540p and 2740p start at $1,099 and $1,599, respectively, and are expected to be available in the United States in April. The ProBook s-series starts at $719 and will be available this month.