HP Envy Move review: The most adorable all-in-one desktop I've ever used — this SHOULD be your next family PC

I'm starting to think I might be in the minority with this memory, but there was a time when many houses had a 'family computer room.' It wasn't exactly made to represent a home office but as an entire room built around a shared PC that often came with sibling arguments on who had the next turn.

Laptops almost solved that problem, but they never felt like they genuinely replaced the concept of a shared machine. All-in-one PCs came closer, but they're tethered to AC power like desktop computers.

So, what's the solution? Can you build something that fits in between? HP certainly thought so when it made the Envy Move. It's an eco-friendly touchscreen AIO PC with a clever built-in handle and a battery for portable use alongside a cute little kangaroo keyboard pouch that I couldn't pass up the opportunity to test.

Disclaimer: This review was made possible by a review unit provided by HP. The company did not see the contents of the review before publishing.

Reviewed configuration

Price: From $749.99 at HPCPU:  Intel 13th Gen i7-1355UGPU: Intel Iris Xe GraphicsRAM: 16 GB LPDDR5-6400MT/sStorage: 512GB M.2 2280 PCIe 4.0Networking: Wi-Fi 6 802.11axDisplay: 23.8" 75Hz 1440p touchSize: 21.74 x 5.85 x 14.43 inWeight: 4.1kg / 9.04 lbBattery: 4hrs 33mins (benchmarked)

Flexible options for the HP Envy Move all-in-one PC include choosing between a customizable '24-cs0000' model or the ready-made '24-cs0055t' variant featuring higher-end components directly from the official HP store.

The latter model number is listed for $1,149.99 at HP. It features a 13th Generation Intel Core i5-1335U processor, 16GB of LPDDR5-4800MHz RAM, and a 1TB PCIe NVMe M.2 solid-state drive for installing software alongside built-in Wi-Fi 6E to support modern wireless networking.

While springing for a computer with all customizable options already decided is tempting, the 24-cs0055t is essentially the built-to-order edition with all parts set to the highest, most expensive options.

I strongly recommend the more affordable, built-to-order HP Envy Move 24-cs0000, which starts at $749.99 from HP when writing this review, thanks to a $150 discount, likely to be seen again should it expire after the holiday season. As you personalize your order, spring for the increased storage as close to 1TB as possible (depending on your budget) to avoid accidentally running out of space on a family PC with multiple users.

Selecting Wi-Fi 6 or 6E depends entirely on your router and home network. It won't make a significant difference if you don't own a 6E-compatible router and have no plans to upgrade your Wi-Fi soon. Still, a $10 premium is a small cost for the upgrade if you want it.

Balancing the Intel processors and RAM for maximum value, I'd lean towards dropping to the Core i3-1315U and taking advantage of the 16GB memory. The Envy Move isn't designed as a creative machine or for AAA gaming, so raw CPU performance is less critical than extra RAM when running several applications or logging into various accounts often.

From the moment I unboxed the Envy Move, it was clear how much effort went into HP's promises around sustainability. Everything was wrapped up neatly in a box made of cardboard, paper, and other recyclable materials. It expands to the device itself, as the white chassis exhibits flecks of recycled plastic throughout, and the cloth keyboard pouch is made from 100% recycled polyester. Its standout feature, the built-in carry handle, is a plastic block attached to an almost faux leather strap, which sticks to the frame with internal magnets.

Even the cute little feet, which swing out into position with a spring-loaded button as you set it down on a suitable surface, are made from 46% recycled metals. I hear about eco-friendly efforts from literally every manufacturer I meet, and rightly so, but rarely does it become such a natural part of the product without compromising true innovation like the Envy Move. This all-in-one PC is nothing short of phenomenal, and I was sold from the first few minutes of use.

The included lapboard contains a keyboard, minus a number pad, and a touchpad akin to those you see on traditional laptops. It slips into the kangaroo-esque pouch affixed on the rear and takes 4x AAA batteries included in the box. There aren't any USB ports to allow for a tethered mode, nor are there flip-up feet to select a more comfortable typing angle. Still, this PC isn't designed to live its entire life on a desktop, so cutting some luxuries to pursue portability makes sense.

This all-in-one PC is nothing short of phenomenal, and I was sold from the first few minutes of use.

Lifting the Envy Move requires an amount of strength that might make it a little too heavy for younger children, but parent-supervised use is heavily advertised in all of its promotional listings anyway. Still, at 4.1kg / 9.04 lbs, it's only a little heavier than some behemoth gaming laptops I've tried over the years that creep over 6 lbs, so use a second hand to support it if needed. There is an undeniable feeling of hesitation to grab it and walk off too briskly, though, as the screen is especially unprotected from the sharp edges of tables and whatever else lurks in the home.

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Port selection is lacking, though this mainly depends on your everyday needs. The left side features one full-size USB-A and one USB-C port with DisplayPort 1.4a support next to a volume rocker. On the right, an HDMI-in port allows the Envy Move to act as a traditional screen for connecting game consoles or similar devices, alongside a brightness rocker, screen source selection button, and a connection for AC power.

Above the screen, the built-in webcam comes with a physical privacy shutter. However, this deactivates Windows Hello face recognition for fast logins and other perks specific to this PC regarding presence detection. Considering how many features are designed around the IR depth sensor, I'd recommend leaving the webcam shutter open. Still, I'll always applaud the inclusion of a physical switch over a digital deactivation, so it's there if you prefer.

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Analyzing performance down to the minute details isn't as critical for a family-oriented computer, but it's worth checking the HP Envy Move against the closest matches from our database. Testing the 13th Gen Intel Core i5-1335U processor in PCMark 10, Geekbench 6, and Cinebench R23 shows the laptop chip score and impressive result, keeping up with the slightly higher-spec Core i7-1355U despite its lower clock speeds.

For comparison, the Envy Move edges slightly ahead of expensive laptops made for specific needs, like the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Yoga Gen 8, which I praised in my review as the 2-in-1 champion for remote workers, and the ultraportable ASUS ZenBook S 13 OLED reviewed by Rebecca Spear. The Lenovo holds a hefty $3,039 MSRP, while the ASUS ZenBook S is much lower at $1,399.99. A better-suited competitor in the previously-reviewed Lenovo IdeaCentre AIO 5i 27 retailed at $1,240 MSRP and scores lower than the Envy Move, thanks partly to its previous-generation CPU.

It falls short in raw performance for graphics. Still, the onboard Intel Iris Xe chip was never intended to support AAA gaming or anything intensive like high-definition video editing. That might change in future revisions with the upcoming 14th Gen Intel Meteor Lake processors using Intel Arc graphics to replace Iris Xe. However, the Envy Move never pretends to be anything more than a family PC intended for media and web consumption with a focus on straightforward interactivity.

The Samsung MZVL4512HBLU-00BH1 512GB PCIe 4.0 x4 M.2-2280 solid-state drive in my review unit managed 2,532 MB/s data read speeds and 3,613 MB/s for writing, which are slightly over the target rates listed by Samsung so no issue there. It's fast enough for this purpose, and Windows 11 boots rapidly, especially if you use Windows Hello to log in with the built-in webcam. 16GB of LPDDR5 RAM modules are listed as SK Hynix H58G56AK6BX069 and clocked at 6400MT/s, which feels somewhat excessive. Frankly, I think 8GB would be fine for the Envy Move.

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Testing the touchscreen with a SpyderX Pro colorimeter shows it produces 99% accuracy for the sRGB color gamut used for general web browsing. Creator-focused AdobeRGB and DCI-P3 tests only scored 81% on both accounts, but again, the Envy Move was never designed to be an ultra-color-accurate editing machine for digital creative professionals. The QHD panel has a glassy finish and can reflect natural light sources like open windows; otherwise, it looks fantastic.

At 100% brightness, the 23.8-inch screen hits 361 cd/m2 and as low as 38 cd/m2 at 0%. A comfortable setting of 75% settles at 286 cd/m2. At the same time, the MyHP app offers pre-made display mode profiles that can reduce the amount of blue light and automatically adjust the brightness to suit your room conditions. After testing various environments, leaving the webcam privacy shutter open made for a better overall experience, as the Envy Move could automatically alter its settings.

It's unusual to discuss battery life for an all-in-one PC, as they're almost always permanently tethered to AC power like a traditional desktop computer. Naturally, the unique selling point behind the HP Envy Move is proudly displayed in its name. It's made to be moved, so a built-in battery offering you some temporary time away from a dedicated power supply is necessary, and it's pretty impressive.

The whole notion of a battery-capable AIO PC is something I genuinely admire.

During the 'modern office' battery benchmark in PC Mark 10, which simulates everyday productivity apps, web browsing, and video calls, the Envy Move survived for 4 hours and 33 minutes. On another day, I set it up in front of my treadmill for an hour of walking while Netflix automatically played through some TV show episodes with the volume set to 30%. Once I'd finished, the battery level had only reached 76%, so you'd have no issues watching a feature-length movie.

It feels almost unfair to display it alongside our previously benchmarked laptops in a graph like this. Still, the result is genuinely impressive for a 24-inch PC loaded with fantastic speakers, which I'll get into shortly. It's not unreasonable to find a spare AC outlet if you're settling down for media consumption or work lasting over four hours, and the whole notion of a battery-capable AIO PC is something I genuinely admire.

In the interest of authenticity, I'm writing this section with the included lapboard to get a genuine feel for long-form typing work. Though it lacks extendable feet to position the keys at an adjustable typing angle, it's undoubtedly following the same design goal of prioritizing portability over desk-based ergonomics. Still, the keys feel like the weakest overall feature of the HP Envy Move. They're clunky with a considerable travel distance since they're raised so high that it feels almost like a toy.

The arrow keys suffer from the same shrunken form that comes with many laptops, which makes navigation a bit of a pain in some less common scenarios like moving around cells in spreadsheets or selecting items from menus on web pages. There's no print screen button, but the F9 key takes care of that with a secondary function, alongside media controls and quick access to screen brightness with the remaining keys on the top row.

Whether the keys' cheap feel is detrimental to using the Envy Move, I'd have to say no. This isn't designed to be a business-grade device aimed at professional journalists or those likely to write emails all day; it's a family PC that needs little more than typing in web pages or writing homework assignments. I've used higher quality keyboards on similarly priced devices, so I'd have appreciated something that feels better to type with, but there are upsides, too.

The touchpad saves the day with its smooth feel and wide size, seemingly never exhibiting any irregularities when navigating Windows 11. Whether sitting on our sofa with the keyboard in my lap or setting it up on a kitchen countertop, there's no issue with typing or mouse inputs. Besides, reaching out and touching the screen for the quickest tasks becomes more tempting. I'm more comfortable using a traditional mouse and keyboard, but this Bluetooth-powered lapboard suits the Envy Move without question.

Including a touchscreen ultimately completes its appeal as a family-focused PC, and navigating streaming services or cloud gaming is much more straightforward when kids can touch what they want on the screen, just like using a tablet. There's no need to take time to educate younger users on how a laptop touchpad works when they can just point at what they want and confirm it with a tap. Aside from minor downsides with the typing experience, interacting with the Envy Move is a breeze. Just keep some AAA batteries nearby because the keyboard needs four and doesn't have a USB connection.

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The dual 5W Bang & Olufsen speakers on the HP Envy Move are, without exaggeration, some of the best I've ever heard in person. Immediately better than any laptop I've ever tested without being excessively thick or affecting the sleek design of the PC, they fire out an incredible balance of genuine bass and high-end treble. Besides a subtle 'audio by B&O' message on its official store listings, the impressive sound quality is severely underplayed, and I'll find it difficult to return to anything less.

These are, beyond any doubt, some of the best speakers I've ever heard.

A clever 'adaptive audio' function found on the Envy Move via the MyHP software uses its built-in webcam to adjust sound playback depending on how far you're sitting from the screen. It's a neat little trick that makes it more comfortable to position the PC on a tray table or somewhere convenient in front of a sofa and have a group watch streaming video or an entire movie. My fiancée and I had scheduled a Zoom video meeting with our wedding planner, so I positioned it similarly, resulting in a natural, relaxed speaking environment that all video calls would aspire to.

If HP can deliver sound quality like this with the help of Bang & Olufsen, I sincerely hope the partnership will last for decades. These are, beyond any doubt, some of the best speakers I've ever heard when built into a device and not marketed as a separate soundbar. Honestly, I'm jealous that I don't have this on my desk.

If you asked some people for recommendations on an all-in-one PC with a battery, they'd likely tell you to buy a laptop, but that's not a genuine comparison. Sure, massive laptop variants are out there, some with 18-inch touchscreens and incredible components under the hood, but they don't match the family-friendly audience targeted by the HP Envy Move.

For a close match in its specifications, our Lenovo IdeaCentre AIO 5i 27 review describes it as the 'ideal office and family desktop,' which is an appropriate title for this 27-inch offering. However, given Lenovo's affinity for business-grade hardware, the IdeaCentre undoubtedly leans more towards the aesthetics home workers would prefer and doesn't quite match the sleek charm of the Envy Move.

Alternatively, as you would expect, our HP EliteOne 870 G9 review shows a much more familiar design language, but the price spikes to $1,933 MSRP. It's appropriately named as it's loaded with extra ports and a more 'professional' theme, though the 12th Gen Intel Core processor will show its age as we move into Intel's 14th generation.

Zac Bowden's Lenovo Yoga AiO 9i review shows how the brand can make genuine efforts into design with a sleek, almost bizarre circular stand and a higher-end Intel Core CPU. None of these can compete with HP's Envy Move portability since they all lack an internal battery and serve as more of an alternative consideration for those who are solely interested in a family-shared PC.

I'd never have anticipated that a portable all-in-one PC designed for family use would be one of the most fascinating computers to land on my desk this year, but HP has thoroughly impressed me with the Envy Move. Although it's never advertised as traveling outside the home, simply transporting it from room to room still feels precarious since the 24-inch screen is exposed to common household threats like coffee table edges, door handles, and excited youngsters.

If I can offer genuine feedback to HP, it would be to consider a potential screen protector accessory that attaches to the chassis in a magnetic fashion similar to the carry handle. Besides that minor gripe, this genuinely feels like the PC I wish my family could have owned when I was younger. It's perfect as a shared computer, with flexible input options for all ages, and the built-in battery gives it versatility similar to a laptop. No headphone port is a shame, but wireless Bluetooth headphones are affordable enough to fix that.

The HP Envy Move is, by far, the best all-in-one PC I've ever seen overall. I applaud the inclusion of a battery and admire its reasonable price point provided by an intelligent selection of components. It's technically not perfect, but rarely anything is without inflating the cost to an unreasonable degree. It's close enough to perfection to recommend it to friends with children, and I have almost nothing negative to say.

4.5 hours of battery life make this touchscreen AIO PC a viable family-sharable option that can be set up in almost any scenario around the home without relying on AC power. Flexible and fun, the Envy Move is just plain clever.

HP Envy Move All-in-One PC: Price Comparison

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CRN Exclusive: Whitman's Campaign To Bring HP Back

Meg Whitman has been doing some remodeling at Hewlett-Packard's Palo Alto, Calif., headquarters since taking over as president and CEO in September. First, she and her executive team moved out of their offices into cubicles. Then she ordered the barbed-wire fence that used to separate the executive parking lot from the HP employee parking lot to be torn down. And, thanks to Whitman, all 49 of HP's campus buildings are now blanketed in high-speed WLAN coverage for the first time.

"You can see the teamwork already," Whitman said of HP's new open-seating framework. "The conversations over the cubicle are the ones that really matter."

Whitman has brought some much-needed stability to HP, but now comes the hard part: implementing and executing on a long-term strategy. Call it "HP 5.0" -- Whitman is the company's fifth CEO since 1999, an astonishing number considering that HP previously had been led by just three CEOs since its founding in 1939. The executive turmoil was accompanied by plenty of drama, including questionable decisions by HP's board and two major scandals in the past six years. HP had $127 billion in sales last year, and yet there is a sense in the channel that the company has been drifting off course in recent years, said solution providers. Whitman believes that under her leadership, HP can get back to what it does best.

During a recent interview in a small, sparsely appointed conference room at HP's headquarters, Whitman is eager to talk about how she has been restoring order to the chaos created by ex-CEO Leo Apotheker, who was fired by HP's board of directors after three consecutive quarters of lackluster financial results. She describes how she moved quickly to repair the damage caused by HP's infamous Aug. 18 earnings announcement, in which it revealed plans to discontinue its TouchPad tablet, explore a sale or spin-off of its $40 billion Personal Systems Group (PSG), and acquire Autonomy, a U.K-based vendor of information management software, for $10.3 billion.

These three decisions raised questions in the channel about HP's future as a hardware company. While partners understood why HP would consider moving out of the low-margin PC business, many were baffled that the company would choose to reveal this publicly, as doing so would inevitably turn customers away from buying HP PCs. It's obvious that Whitman, too, remains befuddled by the hazy logic behind Apotheker's PSG strategy.

"Uncertainty was not our friend in the marketplace, particularly with our channel," she said with a wry smile. "We made a lot of people in our industry anxious over what we announced on Aug. 18." After five weeks of deliberation, Whitman decided to keep PSG in the fold. She also threw her support behind the Autonomy acquisition, despite loud grumbling from shareholders about the amount HP paid -- around 10 times revenues and 25 times earnings.

"Right out of the gate, the question I was getting because of Autonomy was: 'What is HP? Who is HP?' And in all of those meetings I reinforced, first and foremost, that HP is a hardware company," Whitman said. "The DNA of this company is product engineering -- printers, computers, servers, storage and networking are our bread and butter."

NEXT: Building On HP’s Traditional Strengths

Whitman's lieutenants are impressed with her unwavering stance on these controversial issues. Most of all, they are glad to have a leader who is not pursuing an agenda that runs counter to that traditional business.

"Meg is saying let's build on our strengths, rather than saying let's go transform," said Vyomesh Joshi, executive vice president of HP's Imaging and Printing Group. "She is basically saying that the hardware businesses and the channel are extremely important."

HP has relied heavily on M&A in recent years, but Whitman said the plan for this year is to "reset, rebuild and reinvest" in R&D. Future innovation will have to come from within HP, and Whitman intends to etch her name in the annals of HP history by making this happen. "I came to this company not for next week or next year," she declared. "I want to set HP up for the next 70 years."

HP saw an inordinate amount of executive turnover during Apotheker's tenure, but Whitman is confident that the team she has in place is the right one to tackle the challenges that lie ahead. "The executive team is absolutely essential to our future success," she said. "I feel great about our leadership team."

That team includes Todd Bradley, executive vice president of HP's $40 billion Personal Systems Group; Dave Donatelli, executive vice president and general manager of HP's $22 billion Enterprise Servers, Storage, Networking and Technology Services businesses; Joshi and HP's $26 billion Imaging and Printing Group; and Bill Veghte, who is doing double duty as HP's chief strategy officer and executive vice president of HP's $3.2 billion software business.

There is a certain gravitas associated with running multibillion-dollar businesses, yet a playful camaraderie is evident as Whitman gathers her executive team for a CRN photo shoot at HP's headquarters. Team members chuckle as they try to find the right pose, and when one executive jokes that another executive rents his suit by the hour, the group erupts in laughter.

According to Donatelli, this relaxed familiarity is one of the best things about Whitman's leadership style. "She brings a sense of humor to all of this," he said. "This is very serious, and we do a lot of hard work, but we can also have a good laugh while we're doing it."

With a clarion call of "communication, communication, communication," Whitman has instituted a bi-weekly call with her senior leaders. She also hired Henry Gomez, a public relations veteran and close personal adviser who worked with her during her run for governor of California and at eBay, as chief communications officer.

"If we're going to succeed, we're going to have to be a team at the executive level, senior leaders, employees, partners and customers," she said. "When you're going through the kind of change that HP is going through, communication is everything."

Whitman claims that her communication strategy is not broadcast-only, and that she has also been in a learning mode. She has met with some of HP's partners and asked for their frank exams of the company and its direction. "It's been more conversation to me than the other way around," Whitman said, noting that before she came to the company she did not "understand the power of the channel to this company."

This willingness to listen is an early sign that Whitman "gets" the channel, said Bradley. "I think she'll be much more engaged than Leo, and I think she'll be as supportive as anybody [in helping] HP partners become bigger, better and stronger," he said.

NEXT: Joined At The Hip With Partners

In Whitman's view, what the channel wants most from HP is a "steady, reliable, predictable" vendor partner. In another thinly cloaked reference to the strategic confusion of her predecessor, Whitman acknowledged that HP's moves last August were an unacceptable departure from these ideals.

"[Partners] have bet their businesses and livelihoods on us, so it's not great when we make sudden and unanticipated changes," she said. "They need visibility into the product road map, they need visibility into HP's strategy, because in some ways we are completely joined at the hip when we go to market."

In HP's view, well-informed partners are going to be best equipped to go out and win business from rivals. And in keeping with HP's PartnerOne program messaging, Whitman suggests that partners that lead with HP will reap the most rewards. "The economics [of the channel] work for us, for the most part," she said. "Obviously we want to support the partners who support HP the most."

On Wednesday Whitman will give her first keynote address to partners at HP's Global Partner Conference, which takes place in Las Vegas from Feb. 13-15. She also has invited a select group of partners to attend an executive roundtable session at the event, in which all questions are fair game. Partners see this as a sign that Whitman is not going to shy away from issues of importance to the HP channel.

"It's a sign of great leadership that she's asking partners to assemble and creating an 'anything goes' atmosphere with no limits to the discussion," said John Convery, executive vice president of vendor relations and marketing at Denali Advanced Integration, Seattle. "She does not want a room full of 'yes' people."

Whitman's steady hand has been a welcome relief to partners that have made big investments in the company. Dasher Technologies COO John Vigliecca feels much better about his company's prospects for future growth after a meeting with Whitman at HP's headquarters in January. HP comprises the majority of the revenue that Dasher Technologies, Campbell, Calif., drives as a business and the company's sales were up 50 percent in 2011.

"Based on what we've seen from Meg so far, HP has been much more consistent over the past four to five months, and that gives us reason to believe that growth will continue," Vigliecca said.

Whitman also must tackle organizational and technology issues that threaten HP's status as the world's largest technology company. Some of these are longstanding issues that partners said could only be fixed through the type of forceful leadership that has been absent at HP in recent years.

For years, partners and customers have complained about the difficulty of doing business with HP and the silos that exist within its organizational structure. The situation grew worse under Apotheker, partners said, as business units, emboldened by his wobbly leadership, pursued their own market strategies and channel engagement paths.

John Gunn, president and CEO of ISG Technology, a Salina, Kan.-based HP partner that serves customers throughout the Midwest, said Whitman's first priority should be bringing a "fragmented company together."

"If the business units continue to work as independent businesses instead of as one company, there won’t be an HP in 70 years," said Gunn. "It will have been split into four or five companies. I am an operational type. I think they need to get their house in order now before thinking about what to do in the future."

Arlin Sorensen, CEO of Heartland Technology Solutions and HTG Peer Groups, an HP SMB specialist that has been in business for more than 25 years, said HP's silos are creating big problems for partners. "They create chaos in the channel with direct and business unit reps, many of which are unaware of each other, and either flood us with coverage or are absent for months," he said. "I'm hoping that she can do the hard work of bringing all the parties to the table, throwing out agendas and doing what is right for the marketplace and for partners."

Each HP business unit has its own channel chief, and partners with large deals spanning multiple business units have said it is difficult to find support within HP when channel conflict arises.

NEXT: Partners On Doing Business With Cisco Vs. HP

According to some partners, go-to-market and channel engagement are more clearly defined at Cisco Systems, which is battling HP in the hardware sales trenches both on the networking and server fronts.

"The go-to-market model with HP and Cisco is like night and day," said a top executive for a solution provider that has deep relationships with both and who did not wish to be named. "We spend a lot of time fighting with HP management in reference to HP taking something direct. I can't remember the last time I had a conversation like that with the guys at Cisco. No matter what they say, HP sometimes just doesn't get it. And when I call one of the channel guys to get it addressed, nothing happens."

Several enterprise partners that carry both HP and Cisco product lines expressed similar sentiments in interviews with CRN. It's a case of what one top solution provider calls HP's "flip flop" attitude on the rules of engagement with regard to the channel vs. direct sales.

"I don't want to be that one-trick HP pony," said the solution provider executive. "I don’t trust the HP pony. Under [former HP CEO] Mark Hurd, I felt like I was an extension of HP's sales force. I am not an extension of HP's sales force right now. Sometimes I feel like I'm in their way."

Beyond fixing channel conflict and organizational issues, Whitman also faces enormous pressure from investors and Wall Street. The day before she was named CEO, HP’s shares traded at $23.98. On Feb. 8, 139 days after she took the helm, HP shares closed at $29.46.

Brian Alexander, senior vice president and director of technology research for technology/hardware/distribution/EMS at Raymond James & Associates, has an outperform rating on HP shares ahead of the company's first fiscal quarter 2012 earnings announcement scheduled for Feb. 22, which marks the first full quarter under Whitman.

Alexander said in a research note that he expects HP's first fiscal quarter earnings per share to be at the high end of guidance, but for revenue to fall below the "Street estimate of $30.8 billion (by perhaps a few hundred million) due to weaker PC server sales and currency headwinds." He also expects investors to see a heightened focus on leveraging software across HP's diverse systems portfolio.

Partners also said Whitman must get HP's innovation engine firing on all cylinders. HP has skimped on R&D in recent years -- it spent $3.2 billion on R&D in fiscal 2011, a 10 percent rise from the year before but a figure that represents just 2.5 percent of annual revenue.

Whitman said she is committed to making "substantial" investments in R&D this year, but has not revealed how much HP will spend and to which technology areas it will direct this investment.

Inside HP, however, Whitman's vision for the future is resonating with top leadership. "She's out to build what I would call a sustainable, long-term plan for HP's key strength: Developing unique IP that solves our customers' most challenging business problems," said Donatelli. "She's bringing to us a great sense of urgency, great intelligence and a great view for the long-term vs. short-term operating profit."

NEXT: We'll Be Back In Tablets, Says Whitman

If there is one area where urgency is needed most, it is tablets. HP acquired Palm in July 2010 for $1.2 billion but was unable to bring a single, viable webOS product to market. Meanwhile, as Whitman predicted last November, Apple has overtaken HP for the top spot in global PC sales -- if tablets are counted as PCs. She's still confident that HP and longtime partner Microsoft will be able to get back in the tablet race.

"We have to have a tablet offering. We will be back in that business," Whitman said. "We're coming back into the market with a Windows 8 tablet, first on an x86 chip and then maybe on an ARM chip. I'm pretty sure we'll be able to do that."

Apple sold 15.4 million iPads last quarter and a great many of them to Fortune 500 firms. Yet Whitman said the enterprise-grade security that will be built into HP's Windows 8 tablet -- and which the iPad lacks -- could help it pry customers away from Apple. "I think our sweet spot has to be around security. This whole security thing is a big worry, not just for big enterprises but also for medium enterprises and small and medium businesses," she said.

That may be true, but Apple is not ignoring the issue of iPad security in the enterprise. Through its Mobile Technical Competency, unveiled last year, Apple is leveraging the expertise of Microsoft partners, some of which also partner with HP. MTC sets rigorous technical and security requirements for partners that want to handle large-scale iPad deployments, and Apple has set a goal of recruiting 1,000 Microsoft partners into the program by year's end.

Microsoft, Cisco and Research In Motion all have cast similar doubts on the security of iPads, but any perceived security shortcomings haven't seemed to affect iPad sales. HP will have to come up with other points of differentiation for its Windows 8 tablets and for the possible webOS-based tablet that Whitman has suggested HP may bring to market in 2013. Having Veghte in place as chief strategy officer, Whitman said, will help HP react more quickly to the technology trends facing all its business units, including tablets.

Meanwhile, many partners feel that HP was far too focused on cost cutting and transactional rather than strategic solutions sales under Hurd. At the same time, partners want the change Whitman brings to be gradual so that it will not disrupt their current business.

It is a delicate balancing act, but the long-term strategic approach that Whitman is putting in place is a shrewd one, according to Kristin Rogers, executive vice president of sales and marketing at PC Mall, a Torrance, Calif.-based HP partner.

"Sometimes it feels that the short-term quarterly pressure on earnings works against transformational type changes that are sometimes needed in our industry," Rogers said.

NEXT: Setting A Software, Services Strategy

Still, HP is in the same bull’s-eye of technology change as other hardware-centric vendors, and Whitman faces the Herculean task of shifting a company that still makes 70 percent of its revenue from hardware sales onto a software and services path. HP's software business currently accounts for about 3 percent of its revenue, and some strategic bets will be needed to boost that figure.

"Companies in the future are going to have to be innovative and nimble. No one is going to survive on operational strength alone," said the CEO of a large national solution provider that already has moved aggressively to new cloud computing business models and did not wish to be named. "The best thing Meg can do is create a culture of transformation that leads and manages change well."

How HP works the assets from the Autonomy acquisition into its portfolio will be closely watched as a sign that Whitman's strategy is working. Autonomy's technology allows computers to understand unstructured data -- i.e., e-mails, Twitter posts, video and audio. Autonomy is resource-intensive technology and, as such, will drive sales of HP servers, storage and other hardware, said Mike Lynch, Autonomy co-founder and CEO, and vice president of HP's Information Management division.

"The reason why Autonomy was so valuable is that it's a unique asset," said Lynch. "There's nothing out there that has the ability and scale to understand the meaning of human-friendly information." Given the amount HP paid for Autonomy, it would be understandable for Whitman to push for a quick return on the investment by channel partners up to speed on selling it.

Brandon Harris, vice president of HP Solutions at $1.1 billion solution provider Logicalis, already has engaged in preliminary conversations to bring Autonomy into the Logicalis HP product portfolio and is interested in its archiving product as a potential cloud opportunity.

"Customers that buy Autonomy look for the hardware and storage, and that’s coming from HP,” Lynch said. “They look for services and that can come from HP and its partners."

Autonomy's technology also is being baked into HP’s PSG products -- most PC owners “almost certainly” have Autonomy technology on the products that ship with their PCs, through OEM agreements with companies such as Adobe and Symantec, Lynch said. And HP's Imaging and Printing Group can use it to make printing interactive using visual recognition technology he said.

HP is opening its distribution system to Autonomy and the channel will certainly play a key role, but Whitman said she's handling Autonomy carefully. She is aware that the 3,200-employee firm could easily get swallowed up in the 326,000-employee behemoth of HP.

"We have some work to do here because our sales force is just figuring out how to sell it too," said Whitman. "What I don't want to do is flood them with leads that they can't fulfill in a very high-quality way. It takes 100 good installations to have a great reputation in technology, and takes one bad one to wreck it."

Could Whitman's kid gloves approach to Autonomy be interpreted as a sign of a new strategic direction for HP, one that's focused on long-term impacts as opposed to the next quarter? That remains to be seen, but the things that Whitman has said and done so far suggest that this is so. Some partners most likely are still withholding judgment, but if Whitman is able to keep open lines of communication, both within HP and with the channel, she stands a good chance of building a level of consensus that HP has not seen in a long time.

Dasher Technologies' Vigliecca, for his part, said HP competitors are not going to like an HP that stays on message. "Any company that's competing with HP should realize that solid leadership makes HP a formidable foe," he said.

Steven Burke and Scott Campbell contributed to this story.