Hewlett Packard is a household name around the world but you might not recognise them in their with their latest venture. They've recently been churning out some absolutely fantastic and ridiculously innovative electronics and accessories and their latest offering is the Sprout. Jam packed with technology for the creative mind.
The Sprout showcases what can be achieved if you're creative designer or simply have a creative mind, taking the physical world and digital world and blending it into one space. It breaks away from all the borders that are set by traditional personal computers. I'd say it's so advanced that it can't even be classed as a PC and almost requires its own category. This Windows machine will definitely give any Apple fan-boy a run for their money within the creative market.
The Sprout consists of two "screens" and the HP Illuminator. One is a 23 inch diagonal; 10 point touch enabled full HD 1920 x 1800 LCD display. And the other one is the HP Touch Mat that is a 20 inch diagonal, 20 point touch enabled mat that receives its screen image from the Illuminator, powered by the HP DLP Projector.
Using Intel RealSense™ 3D, you can scan in bascially any 3D object or documents and it will be instantly displayed on the Touch Mat projected by the Illuminator. The Illuminator consists a high resolution camera with up to 14.6 MP resolution and it also functions as an LED desk lamp. Once you've scanned in your objects, these can be manipulated in almost every design program. The freedom of touch manipulation with the added functionality of a pen makes it easy to express your creative side like never before.
Need to share a design with a friend? HP's My Room application lets you share your work with any other person that has a Sprout device. Changes you make on the go will be instantly synced to everyone connected to 'the room' and allowing you to work on a concept collaboratively.
The Sprout comes pre-loaded with Windows 8.1 64 bit and is powered by the 4 th generation Intel Core i7-4790S processor. It comes standard with 2 x 4 GB 1600 MHz DDR3 RAM modules but it can be upgraded to 16 GB of RAM. The hard drive is a 1 TB SATA 6G solid state drive to further enhance the speed of the machine.
It's also flexible with a 802.11ac wireles connections, Bluetooth receiver and offers local LAN with the integrated Gigabit Ethernet port. Further connection types include a 3-in-1 memory card reader, 2 x USB 3.0 ports, 2 x USB 2.0 ports, 1 x HDMI, 1 x line out and one headphone and microphone combo.
The graphics are powered by a NVIDIA GeForce GT 745A with 2GB DDR dedicated memory and Intel HD Graphics 4600. There is also one mini PCIe x 1 expansion slot should you find the need for something that is not already included in the device.
Although the touch mat and projector doubles as a keyboard, you do receive a wireless keyboard with your purchase. The keyboard features volume controls and hot keys that you can map for routine tasks. If you're trying to keep your desk space clean, a good idea is the HP Desktop Organizer that keeps your creative space clean by stashing your keyboard and mouse in the custom designed and durable organizer.
The HP Touch Mat comes with an ultra-resistant top coating but for further protection you can add a Cover to deflect spills, cuts, glue, ink and other everyday accidents. It is a lot cheaper to replace than a whole new Touch Mat.
There are already some handy apps that were specifically developed to make use of the Sprout technology. Martha Stewart's CraftStudio and the Crayola Colour Draw and Sing app provides a creative and educational experience for kids.
Put simply, this is a fantastic piece of hardware for any designer. The only thing that may hold you back with this device is your imagination. At $1899.99 it's a fairly hefty price to swallow but well worth it if you're looking for that edge over your competition. As an innovative attempt to blend new interfaces with 3D scanning by a brand that's willing to push the boundaries, the HP Sprout certainly delivers on the promise of bringing creativity to life instantly.
