No, this isn't a speaker. It's actually a Windows PC.

The HP Pavilion Wave is a sneak-attack tower PC that looks — and can even act like — like a speaker. 

In a departure from virtually anything else we've ever seen from HP (now HP, Inc.) or any other Windows computer company, the HP Pavilion Wave is a category-redefining introduction that will likely leave you wondering whether this system belongs in the den, the kitchen or on a shelf next to your favorite vase. The answer may be all of the above.

HP Inc., which has been taking some design risks since its separation from HP Enterprise late last year, introduced the tiny, yet versatile and reasonably powerful Pavilion Wave on Thursday and will offer it for sale on the HP website starting Sept. 16.

The Wave's unusual triangular design came, at least in part, out of HP's desire to cater to millennials, 78% of whom, according to HP, say design matters a lot. However, that look also helps HP deliver a number of key innovations.

A speaker inside

At the core of the roughly 9-inch-tall-by-6-inch-wide PC is, in fact, a speaker, which is surrounded by system components and positioned so it fires upwards (yes, some of this will remind causal observers of the workhorse, circular, Mac Pro) This lets the sound waves take advantage of the unique parabola that tops the Pavilion Wave system. 

The new HP Pavilion Wave looks more like a speaker or subwoofer than a PC,  It does, though, feature a centrally located speaker and dual-array microphone, a first for an HP tower PC..

IMAGE: HP INC.

Even the parabola is unusual. It has been designed with a combination of plastic with metal fused to it through something called vacuum metalization, and an EVA foam core, all of which help better reflect sound and, yes, dissipate heat. Like the audio, the hot system hair is funneled up through the center of the PC, past the parabolic reflectors and out of the system.

Despite the opening at the top, HP officials claim that the Pavilion Wave operates as quietly as a notebook PC.

In addition to the mono, 360-degree speaker, which is powered in part by Bang and Olfsun technology, the Pavilion Wave is a listening device. As a Windows 10 system, the Pavilion Wave will include Windows Cortana digital assistant.

HP Inc. partnered with Intel to refine the design for optimal Cortana performance, at one point testing it with an array of eight speakers around it. They were used to gauge how the Wave's far-field listening system would pick up commands while the speakers recreated real-world background noises.

The HP Pavilion Wave has a full complement of ports, including USB-C.

IMAGE: HP INC.

HP will offer the Pavilion Wave in a range of Intel Quad-core CPU configurations, ranging from Sixth Generation Core i3 through Core i5. The systems will also support up to a 2 TB hard drive and 128 GB SDD and 16 GB of RAM. It will offer a USB-C port, as well as three USB 3 ports, HDMI-out, DisplayPort, Gigabit Ethernet and an SD Card reader. The system will range in price from $529.99 up to $699.99 for the three core configurations. Two base models will offer Intel integrated graphics, while the top end configuration will add discrete AMD-powered graphics. Consumers can configure the system how they like on the HP website, including swapping out the Core i5 CPU for a faster Core i7, but that will raise the price of the PC.

For business

HP also introduced a new business-class PC, the HP Elite Slice, a modular system that will let HP customers add features by the slice.

HP Elite Slice is a module system. This is the main PC.

IMAGE: HP INC.

Each one will snap into the other via a USB connection, without the need for external wires. The tiny systems are designed to fit in increasingly shrinking and flexible work spaces.

The main system, which is about the same thickness as two AA batteries stacked together, will feature wireless charging and dedicated conference call buttons.

Among the modules that will be offered are an optical disc drive (retro, yet cool), speakers, and a VESA Plate if you want to lock the system in place on your desktop. They are all sold separately.

The base PC will feature Intel Core i3-through-7 options, up to 32 GB of DDR 4 memory, HDMI, DisplayPort and USB-C, USB 3.0 and Integrated WLAN.

The HP Elite Slice with all its modules connected.

IMAGE: HP INC.

Elite Slice PCs will start at $99 and ramp up to $999. There will also be a special Elite Slice for use in meeting rooms, it will have a similar configuration to the mid-range, $899 model, but add Intel Unite collaboration hub technology.

Here are US Ignite’s first 15 smart communities

At the Smart Cities Innovation Summit this month in Austin, public-benefit dev firm US Ignite called out the 15 communities participating in their Smart Gigabit Cities Program — designed to build public services that could be shared with other cities in the program.

The 15 communities include: Austin, TX; Cleveland, OH; Burlington, VT; Chattanooga, TN; Flint, MI; Madison, WI; Richardson, TX; Kansas City, MO; North Carolina Next Generation Network; and Utah Wasatch Front Cities.

Each of these communities will implement a low-latency and ultra-fast network with locavore — local or edge cloud –computing and storage capabilities.

US Ignite is a non-profit that fosters the creation of next-generation internet applications that provide transformative public benefit.  They were awarded a $6 million dollar grant from the National Science Foundation in Sept. 2015 specifically for this program and plan to assist these communities through education and resources for funding and deployment.

Since the information economy is only as strong as the infrastructure it’s built on — and the US is painfully behind the rest of the world in speed and price when it comes to affordable high-speed internet — the effort has a big potential upside.

It’s incredibly expensive for ISP startups to build out new fiber networks.  With this lack of competition, major telecommunications companies who monopolize the industry have no incentive to make the switch either.

Not only a broader potential economic growth at stake, but social equality as “…too many of our citizens are stuck in digital darkness, without the primary tool needed for seamless communications for health care, education, civic participation, and professional advancement,” FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn said in a 2015 speech supporting subsidizing the internet for the poor.

Access to affordable high-speed internet is necessary for economic well-being and a critical component to leveling the socio-economic playing field,  thus government officials are particularly interested in finding ways to support faster, more affordable internet solutions.

Program brings smart city efforts to smaller communities

So cue the Smart Gigabit Cities Program, including communities that US Ignite says have “made a significant commitment toward leveraging next-generation smart city and Internet technologies to keep pace with the world’s rapidly changing technology and economy,” according to a U.S. Ignite news release.

Private sector partners are also along for the initiative, including Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE), Juniper, Mozilla, internet2, and Viavi Solutions.

“HP is delighted to not only be part of the vision and sponsorship, but as the fabric for the next phase of rolls out in the first 15 cities.” said Rob Courtney, HPE’s general manager for public sector. “This infrastructure will allow the US Ignite vision to become a reality for the new generation of applications running on the next generation Internet.”

“This program is a pivotal moment for Smart Community application development,” Glenn Ricart, co-founder and CTO of US Ignite. “The benefits of each community’s program will be amplified by this network of Smart Gigabit Communities. It’s innovation in a 15-community consortium where each community’s contribution is multiplied by 15, so we look forward to working with each team in each community on their exciting projects.” he added.

HP gets serious about gaming again with eye-popping Omen PCs

HP is ready to make a big splash in PC gaming again.

It's been almost a decade since HP snapped up Voodoo, the wild and wooly PC manufacturer that built some of the most powerful and odd-looking gaming PCs on the planet. Since then HP has gone through many transitions — including splitting into two companies — and buttoned down its gaming line into the powerful, yet austere Envy line.

The new HP Omen line of Windows 10 gaming laptops and desktops, which the company unveiled on Thursday, is anything but austere.

Unlike systems that might include gaming specs, but are actually multi-purpose machines, HP says the Omen line is designed exclusively for gamers. This marketing approach might remind one of Dell's Alienware line of gaming PCs (which Dell acquired in 2006).

HP Omen Desktop

IMAGE: HP

Overall, the Omen line will include laptops, a desktop and a new 32-inch Quad HD display, with a promised, and even more powerful, Omen X platform coming later this year.

HP's renewed commitment to gaming comes as welcome news for industry watchers and, potentially, gamers.

"It appears that HP Inc. is finally, fully committed to gaming given the breadth and depth of their new Omen offering," said Patrick Moorhead, President and Principal Analyst for Moor Insights & Strategy. "They had previously let Dell’s Alienware run away with the gaming category from a tier-1 OEM standpoint," he said.

The Omen desktop, which replaces HP's Envy Phoenix, will offer both Nvidia and AMD graphics options and be certified to power HTC's Vive VR headset.

"The new OMEN platform offers the features gamers rely on — power for battling on the go, graphics for smooth gameplay and advanced thermal cooling to tackle the latest AAA games. The OMEN by HP delivers gamers what they need to strike first, and last," said HP VP and  General Manager Kevin Frost in a press release on the new line.

HP 32 in. Omen display.

IMAGE: HP

On the portable side, HP will offer two screen options: 15.3 and 17.3 inches. The laptops will offer mesh lids with the new red Omen logo and a "Dragon Red" backlit keyboard. Inside, you'll find an Nvidia GTX (up to 965M) graphics card and Intel's sixth-generation Core i CPU (up to a Core i7). There will also be a couple of memory and storage options, including 16GB of memory and up 4TB of storage.

On the desktop side, you can bump up the storage to 32GB and the graphics to an Nvidia GTX 1080 Founder Edition or AMD Radeon R9 390X. The desktop also includes a liquid cooling system.

The Omen laptops, which start at $899.99 for the 15.3-inch model and $979.99 for the $17.3-inch model, arrive on July 10.

Pricing has not been set for the Omen desktop or the 32-inch display, both of which arrive in August.

Can HP win back the hearts and minds of Windows gamers? Moorhead thinks it may come down to marketing. These new systems will have to be marketed appropriately to the target audience "and that means non-conventional approaches that HP doesn’t currently do, so I’m interested in seeing their plans," he said.

HP's new 2-in-1 laptops are inspired by Nike Flyknit sneakers

As part of its annual back to school refresh, HP's updated its Pavilion-branded laptops, which include its 2-in-1 laptops, standard laptops and all-in-one PCs.

All of the Pavilion machines are now running Windows 10. But most striking, on the laptops, they're all sporting a new "digital threaded" design on the palm rest that HP says was inspired by Nike's Flyknit sneakers. You'll either really love the design or hate it. 

The 2016 HP Pavilion x360 laptops in 11-, 13- and 15-inch.

IMAGE: RAYMOND WONG/MASHABLE

HP says this was what they were shooting trying to shoot for with the new design:

IMAGE: RAYMOND WONG/MASHABLE

Like last year's models, the Pavilion x360 comes in three sizes: 11.6-inch (starting at $379.99), 13.3-inch (starting at $479.99) and 15.6-inch (starting at $579.99). And since they're convertible machines, you can switch between laptop, tent, stand and tablet modes.

The laptop in "stand" mode.

IMAGE: RAYMOND WONG/MASHABLE

Their lower price points means they're made of plastic and not premium metal like on the Spectre x360. The 2-in-1 laptops come in multiple colors and as far as I could tell, the design is sturdy enough to survive a typical student lifestyle.

HP's streamlined the Pavilion x360 laptops to tighten up some of the nuts and bolts. The hinge on the 11- and 13-inch models are metal (the same one from the Spectre x360), but the 15-inch's is plastic. 

The keyboards feel great on the laptops, except the cramped on on the 11-inch.

IMAGE: RAYMOND WONG/MASHABLE

In my brief hands on with the machines, I found the keyboards were comfy and felt good (the 11-inch is still cramped), the trackpads felt more responsive than last time around with smoother tracking and scrolling, and the the touchscreens were responsive, too.

The laptops have HD screens, which, truthfully, didn't look great. But you can bump it up to a full HD IPS screen on the 13- and 15-inch laptops for extra. HP's partnership to include B&O Play sound in its devices extends to the Pavilion x360s.

Tons and tons of ports on these laptops.

IMAGE: RAYMOND WONG/MASHABLE

Performance-wise, the 11-inch is configurable with an Intel Celeron, Pentium or Core i3 (Skylake) processor and up to 8GB of RAM. The 13-inch with a Core i3 or i5 (Skylake) processors and up to 16GB of RAM. And the 15-inch with a Pentium or Core i3, i5, or i7 (Skylake) chip with up to 8GB of RAM and an optional NVIDIA GeForce 930M graphics chip.

Battery life is rated at up to 10 hours on the 11-inch, up to 9 hours on the 13-inch and up to 9.25 hours on the 15-inch Pavilion x360. Some models support HP Fast Charge, which lets you charge them up from 0% to 90% in about 90 minutes.

HP Pavilion Notebooks

IMAGE: RAYMOND WONG/MASHABLE

The Pavilion Notebook lineup doesn't come with a hinge that lets you flip the screen all the way back, but it does come with the new threaded palm rest design.

They also come in three display sizes and in various colors: 14.-inch (starting at $539.99), 15.6-inch (starting at $579.99) and 17.3-inch (starting at $899.99). Resolution choices include HD, full HD and 4K; touchscreens are optional.

The 2016 Pavilion Notebooks are still made of plastic. There's nothing remarkable about the design. The 14- and 15-inch are up to 22% thinner and have occupy a smaller footprint over last year's models, though. Like all of HP's laptops, they have B&O Play sound.

IMAGE: RAYMOND WONG/MASHABLE

The 14-inch Pavilion Notebook is configurable with Intel Core i3, i5, or i7 (Skylake) processors, up to 16GB of RAM and an optional NVIDIA GeForce 940MX graphics chip. The 15-inch with Core i3, i5 or i7 (Skylake) chips, up to 16GB of RAM and optional NVIDIA GeForce 940MX, GTX 950M, GTX 960M graphics; seventh-generation AMD A12-9700 quad-core with optional Radeon R7 Graphics is also an alternative. The 17-inch model is configurable with Core i3, i5 or i7 (Skylake) processors, up to 16GB of RAM and an optional NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960M graphics chip.

Battery life is rated at up to 10 hours on the 14-inch and 9.5 hours for both the 15- and 17-inch laptops. All of the Pavilion Notebooks come with the aforementioned HP Fast Charge.

Pavilion All-in-Ones

IMAGE: RAYMOND WONG/MASHABLE

Not a laptop person? No biggie. HP's also refreshed its all-in-one (AiO) Pavilion desktop running Windows 10.

Available with a 23.8- or 27-inch full HD or QHD resolution display, the new AiO can be specced out in and Intel Pentium or up to Core i7 (Skylake) processors, up to 16GB of RAM, up to 3TB of hard drive storage (or hybrid hard drive/SSD up to 1TB), and optional NVIDIA GT 930A graphics of seventh-generation AMD A10 graphics.

IMAGE: RAYMOND WONG/MASHABLE

Audio is, of course, by B&O Play. Below the front-facing speaker grille all the ports, including a USB Type-C port that can be used to charge other devices, USB 3.0 port, 3-in-1 memory card slot and a headphone jack. Around back are more ports: another USB 3.0 port, a USB 2.0 port, ethernet, and HDMI.

A touchscreen isn't standard, but you can customize it with one. You can also opt for an Intel RealSense camera for Windows Hello authentication.

The 23.8-inch model starts at $699.99 and the 27-inch model starts at $999.99.