The HP EliteBook 2540p balances light weight and a compact design with full-size features. It’s fast enough for day-to-day office tasks while supporting about 5.5 hours of battery-based performance.

HP were obviously demonstrating a reasonably-specified model, which whipped through Windows 7 with no issues. HP expect the EliteBook 2540p to go on sale in April 2010, priced from $1,099.

Our EliteBook 2540p scored an impressive PCMark score of 5,923 in PCMark Vantage, outranking the EliteBook 8440p we tested, which scored 5783 PCMarks, and was equipped with a 2.4GHz Core i5 instead.

HP has announced a host of computing machines -- the ruggedised EliteBook 2740p multi-touch tablet and 2540p laptop, and a bunch of new ProBooks Luke Westaway March 2, 2010 3:22 a.m. PT 2 min read ...

Thought HP was done unleashing its new line of semi-rugged EliteBooks at CES? So did we, but apparently it needed just a little bit more time to pull the 12.1-inch 2540p and 2740p out of the oven ...

Such is the case of HP’s , a 12-inch rugged-but-portable notebook with a low-voltage Intel Core i7 processor, six-cell battery, Windows 7 Professional, and a weight of four pounds.

The HP EliteBook 2540p ($1,629 direct) is certainly tiny, but it's also one of the most powerful, feature-packed ultraportables in the business.

Benchmarks Battery life: 340 minutes MobileMark 2007: 292 3DMark 2003: 1900 The EliteBook can best be described as functional. The lid and chassis are both crafted from metal and feel rock-solid ...

The HP EliteBook 2740p starts at $1,599 and will be available in the U.S. next month. HP also announced the new 12.1-inch EliteBook 2540p, which it calls its lightest rugged notebook at 3.3 lbs.

Priced at $1629 (as of May 5, 2010), the EliteBook 2540p is especially noteworthy for its solid case–a clean, metal-and-plastic design that HP says can withstand 300 pounds of pressure when closed.

The HP EliteBook 2540p has been a successful business model for HP. Today, this model sports a 12.1-inch screen, weighs about 3.5 pounds, and uses prior-generation Core i5, i7 chips.