New HP EliteBook laptops sport military-standard casing, 32-hour battery life

For the first time in a few years, Hewlett-Packard has gone back to the drawing board and redesigned its professional-class laptops inside and out. Let's take a closer look at the new EliteBook PCs.

The EliteBook 8460p and 8560p are each housed inside HP's own DuraCase, which has met MIL-STD 8710G military-standard testing specifications to combat against wear and tear. Other design notes include aluminum-alloy hinges, cast titanium-alloy display latches and the 360-degree rubber frame that stretches all along the outside of the display panel for added protection.

When it comes to business work, some of the extra handy redesigns include the spill-resistant keyboard with drains, the fingerprint reader has been shifted farther to the right side and there are fewer buttons at the top of the keyboard with more of an emphasis on function and hot keys. Users also have three options for a more secure login: face recognition via webcam, using the fingerprint reader and a good old-fashioned password.

The major differences between the 8460p and 8560p are the 14- and 15.6-inch diagonal lengths for the HD LED-backlit displays, 4.56- and 6.10-pound weights and the 8460p boasts a staggering battery life of up to 32 hours.

[Image Gallery: HP revamps EliteBook, ProBook laptop collections]