The dragonfly which has also inspired many poets, geishas, artists and warriors in Japan and some Asian countries, symbolises power, agility, and victory. Japan is also known as the island of Dragonfly which in Japanese is Akitsushima. One legend has it that the mythological Emperor Jimmu ascended a mountain some 2,600 years ago and declared that Japan resembled a dragonfly.
With their iridescent wings and jewel-toned bodies, they have long been an object of fascination and may well find immortality in the recently released HP Elite Dragonfly.
At 1kg starting weight (2.2 pounds with the base 38-watt-hour battery), a mark of its Japanese ancestry, the HP Elite Dragonfly is the lightest and thinnest personal computer there is in the world.
The 2-in-1 convertible notebook has the capabilities and features that corporate customers desire, such as an ultra-silent and excellent keyboard, mil-spec durability, and a light and stiff chassis that is easy to take on the road.
The Elite Dragonfly features the top-end 8th generation Intel Core i7-8665. You can view the full details of the Core i7-8665U on Intel’s ARK database, but in performance, you get about 200MHz higher clocks in Turbo Boost and 100MHz higher base clocks on paper
“It is targeted at mobile mobility if you do a lot of work on the go, this is for you,” Adeyinka Fakunmoju, HP’s Consumer Personal Systems Category Manager for Central Africa said during the launch in Lagos. “It can fit into any bag. Screen-to-body refers to the proportion of your device that is covered by your screen.”
That lightweight is due to HP’s use of magnesium throughout the Dragonfly’s chassis. For better durability, HP used thicker magnesium on the lid, keyboard deck, and bottom of the machine, which allows it to withstand mil-spec drop tests without breaking.
HP offers three screen options for the Dragonfly: A 4K UHD OLED screen that hits 500 nits; a blazing 850-nit Sure View Gen 3 FHD screen that lets you switch on a privacy mode so people to your right and left would not be able to read the screen; and a power-sipping 1-watt FHD screen.
There is also enough space for your videos, songs, and files on the 512GB capacity Intel H10 Optane Memory hybrid drive. If you love watching videos for long hours, you can loop 1080p video for 8 hours and 11 minutes on the Elite Dragonfly, which is more than you can get on the PCMark8 Home battery. When you use it strictly for work, the battery is capable of going for 24 hours. But if the battery dies and you need to do a quick job, there is a fast charge which gets you 50 percent in 20 minutes.
It also comes in a gorgeous Iridescent Dragonfly Blue color option that simply stands out wherever you plop it down. The Pantone Blue colour is very pleasant and bold for a corporate environment.
The Elite Dragonfly is also unique in that most of the raw materials (about 80 percent) used in designing it were sourced from waste products, which makes it a very sustainable piece of technology.
“Sustainability is now demanded around the world,” said Ifeyinwa Afe, managing director, HP Nigeria. “How long can this planet be sustainable? We are looking for solutions that ensure we enhance this with our products.”
The Elite Dragonfly comes with a hefty price tag of $2,169, but HP Nigeria says the first three shipments have already been sold out.