HP attempted a throwback to the good ol days of the Commodore 64, with the reveal of the Eliteboard G1a. This keyboard PC boasts an ultra sleek form factor, along with some very capable internals, and more surprisingly, the option for a built in battery.
It’s a bold new take on an all in one PC (ignoring all the AI marketing being associated with it), and could be a potential future for office to home computing.
The HP EliteBoard G1a Is a PC Contained Within a Keyboard
HP’s EliteBoard G1a is essentially a keyboard with laptop internals. Powering it is an AMD Ryzen AI 300 series CPU, which is quite a capable mobile CPU. The system supports up to a Ryzen AI 7 350 PRO (8c/16t), along with built in Radeon 860M integrated graphics, which can actually game! (even if it is at lowered resolutions and settings)
Its spread out over a standard chiclet styled keyboard, with a numpad built in. The device is also surprisingly well built, and the keyboard itself appears to have impressive travel and tactility.
The EliteBoard G1a also has two SODIMM slots and an NVMe slot as well, allowing for easy upgradability. There’s even a variant with a built in 32 Whr battery, effectively making it a portable office PC.
As far as connectivity is concerned, the device has two USB 4 ports built in. USB 4 has up to 40 Gbps bandwidth, and this allows it to connect to a variety of hubs, docks and even external GPUs.
The idea is, presumably, to drop these in an office, and connect each unit to a singular monitor using a USB-C cable and a Bluetooth mouse to create a very compact but incredibly functional mini PC.
Tech enthusiasts might also take an interest in the form factor, either for personal use or as a dedicated spare computer that won’t take up too much space.
Regardless, its a very fascinating product, and one that we will hopefully see more of.
