
Despite the protests of some enthusiasts, the aesthetics of a notebook is often more important to your average consumer than the hardware inside. HP’s realized this several years ago, which is why so many of its laptops ship with color options and/or lid patterns.
Fashion changes quickly, however. After a few years in which bright colors and fancy patterns were often the trend, the entire laptop market seems to be subtly shifting towards more elegant and subdued aesthetics. HP’s response to this is the company’s MUSE (Materials, Usability, Sensory, Experience) design. The company is now rolling out MUSE 2.0, which will be incorporated into new Pavilion dv series laptops. This means a smoother, more elegant appearance and new colors such as Dark Umber, which HP states is inspired by “architecture and expensive furniture.”
Although primarily focused on aesthetics, MUSE 2.0 does have some practical benefits as well. The new dv series laptops will be given a keyboard coating similar to HP’s business models, which should prevent visible key wear.

Those of you who are less concerned about your laptop’s fashion will be happy to know that the updates are not limited to new colors and materials. The dv6 and dv7 will now be available with Beats Audio, which consists of four individual drivers and a subwoofer. Sandy Bridge based Intel processors and Radeon 6000M graphics will power these updated dv-series offerings, and USB 3.0 will be included as well.
The pricing of the dv6 and dv7 will be $749.99 and $999.99 respectively. HP also announced new Pavilion g-series products including the g4, g6, and g7. These will be priced between $449.99 and $599.99; however, HP has yet to release specifics about the hardware these inexpensive laptops will be packing. Both the dv-series and g-series laptops are to arrive sometime this spring, the vague time-frame no doubt a result of the unexpected Intel chipset bug.