HP

HP announced its entry into the ultrabook space, the HP Folio 13, this morning, and it's quite fetching with its cool brushed metal casing. Coming in at only 18mm thin, weighing 3.3 pounds, and stocked with a 13.3-inch HD Briteview display and 128GB hard drive, the Folio 13 also boasts rapid start and boot times and a whopping nine hours of battery life.

There are plenty of ports on the Folio 13 as well (unlike the thinner MacBook Air): USB 3.0, USB 2.0, Ethernet, HDMI, and an SD card reader. A backlit keyboard helps you work in low-light conditions (like on a plane perhaps?), while HP's CoolSense technology keeps the machine running at lower temps so you don't burn your legs. Bonus — there's a feature called TPM Embedded Security that protects the data found in your emails and info on your hard drive from hackers, thieves, and prying eyes, which will make the Folio 13 an easy choice for business types.

As for the price, $900 undercuts most of the ultrabook competition, and while it's not as sleek-looking as the MacBook Air or Asus Zenbook UX31, it's a nice all-around slim and light laptop for all your work and personal needs. Expect the HP Folio 13 to hit on Dec. 7.

HP celebrated the 30th birthday of one of their most iconic pre-personal computer designs this week, their financial calculators. To commemorate the anniversary of what is now ubiquitous in businesses and classrooms, the company is bringing back the calculator, along with a scientific version, in their original, limited-edition designs.

The retro style 12c financial calculator was the first to use the landscape layout and tiny replaceable batteries to let the device fit in a shirt pocket. Though it's currently available as a mobile app, the 15c scientific calculator is also making a comeback. The vintage look remains, but with a processing speed 100 times faster than the old version. The financial calculator is available for $80 and the scientific is $100. Sure, you can use the calculator on your phone or computer for graphing homework and finances, but those are so boringly modern.

Last year's Grammys may have been all about tech, but this year's awards were a solid nod to awesome music. (Did you catch Arcade Fire's awesome helmet cam?)

Interspersed into great music, though, were ads for HP's newest line of products, and they spared no expense to promote their new line of tablets. Alicia Keys signed on as a spokesperson for the new TouchPad, which was announced to much fanfare without a release date or pricing information.

Ads for HP flanked many segments of the popular awards show, featuring HP's TouchSmart technology and Beats Audio with glimpses at the brand new, iPad competing tablet. While the commercials didn't reach Super Bowl proportions, it was great exposure for the brand new tablet and technology. What did you think?

• More details on HP's soon-to-be-released tablet — Engadget
• How to pick your next Android phone — Lifehacker
• Some Florida schools have replaced teachers with computers — Switched
• A hilarious dramatic reading of a bad video game review from a 13-year-old — Urlesque
• Is Facebook taking over our lives? — Dvice

Just before CES, HP announced an impressive list of updates to its Pavilion dm1, Envy 17, Pavilion dv6 and dv7, and Mini 210. Here are all the details on what to expect in 2011.

HP Pavilion dm1
One of HP's most portable laptops, the dm1 is less than one inch thick with an 11.6-inch display and full size keyboard. It also features HP's CoolSense technology that adjusts cooling levels according to the user's preference. GPS and an external Blu-ray player are optional add-ons, and the dm1 has nearly 11 hours of battery life. It's available starting on Jan. 9, from $450.

Check out the latest news about the HP Envy 17 and Mini 210 (my fave!) after the break.