Hewlett-Packard is seeing how its consumer creativity PC, the Sprout by HP, will perform in a pair of disparate new markets. The company announced today that a new version of the PC, Sprout Pro by HP, will be pushed toward the education and enterprise sectors.
The all-in-one Sprout Pro’s specialty is making use of immersive technologies such as photographing and manipulating images of 3D objects.
The Sprout has an overhead camera that can project images onto a desk or scan objects, tasks that are often performed in schools and workplaces, HP said. The new Sprout’s capability in 2D and 3D scanning and augmented reality is aimed at creative professionals and students, as are its immersive dual screen and added security.
3D Object Scanning
The original 23-inch Sprout was released in October 2014 and came with an overhead projector that could project an interactive image to a touch mat. The HP Sprout Pro will augment that feature by including Windows 10 as well as the 3D object scanning feature that was added to the original Sprout in a software update last year.
HP hasn’t released sales figures for the original Sprout, but company executives told reporters yesterday that sales met expectations, prompting the move into new markets with a new model.
Among the other features bundled with the Sprout Pro are the Sprout Companion for Skype for Business, which offers new levels of remote sharing and collaboration, including the ability to share a Sprout 2D capture during a Skype meeting, or to annotate on the Skype whiteboard using the Sprout pen and mat.
HP’s External Display Mixer lets users share whatever is on the Sprout dual screen, on video from the webcam or on the downward-facing camera. The Sprout Pro also has pro-level document scanning and optical character recognition with features like custom resolution, exposures, color or grayscale and scan destinations.
The new PC also comes with HP Magnifier that takes the place of a document camera and allows users to share live physical objects or documents with their audiences.
Adaptive Learning Possibility
With something like Sprout, schools would be encouraged to use cloud-based assessment systems that support adaptive learning, or other styles of learning that adjust the level of difficulty based on what the student knows, HP said. The company is placing Sprout Pro computers in 60 schools as part of a research program.
In enterprise settings, HP said the Sprout Pro could easily find a home in healthcare, retail and manufacturing — anyplace where collaborating on creative projects is an everyday occurrence.
Sprout Pro comes with 18 hours of battery life and high-end wireless networking. It has an Intel Core i7 processor with DDR4 main memory and integrated graphics. Also, Autodesk has adapted its 3D tool for Sprout. The new Sprout is shipping in February, and retails for $ 2,199.
Image Credit: HP.
