Budget laptops, in general, used to be clunky hunks of plastic, more three-dimensional than thin, a collection of loosely grouped computer parts. Because of the recent Ultrabook (Intel’s thin-and-fast laptop) craze, even mid-to-low range computers sport a durable, solid build. In order to bill a computer as an ultrabook, manufacturers have to place a strong emphasis on maximizing the space and efficiency of laptop internals. The Envy 4 isn’t Macbook Air thin, but it’s close, and it’s a lot nicer than a chunky desktop replacement. It’s because of this that the HP Envy 4 is a great laptop. It’s not the best laptop out there, but it’s incredibly useable on a daily basis, and I can certainly recommend it over almost all laptops at its price point made last year. If a rising tide raises all boats, the HP Envy 4 is a ship you want to be on.
While the fit and finish is great on the HP Envy 4, you can’t help but feel as if there’s some corners that have been cut. HP has declared its high end laptops the Envy Spectre line, and left the Envy 4 as a mid-budget laptop. It’s billed as an ultrabook, but it’s two-part construction outs it as a laptop’s laptop: solid, heavy, but portable. And it’s running Windows 7, which is going to be superseded by the cutting-edge Windows 8 in October. It might not be the lightest, the fastest, or the newest, but could it be the right computer for you?
HP’s Envy 14 Spectre hit almost all the right notes when we reviewed it back in March, thanks to its high-res display, sleek metal-and-glass design and brisk performance, but a stiff trackpad and the steep $1,400 price were clear downsides. The new Envy Spectre XT, a 13.3-inch Ivy Bridge-powered Ultrabook, has a thinner, lighter profile than its big brother, and a lower $1,000 price tag to match. That’s still not chump change, though, so does the XT deserve a spot in the top tier of Intel-approved ultraportables? Join us past the break for the full breakdown.
This week we’re seeing another wave of wonderful computers presented by HP for the start of the Windows 8 era, working here with brand new HP ENVY 20 TouchSmart and 23 TouchSmart, both of them all-in-one PCs with full touchscreen capabilities. Inside you’ll find 3rd Generation Intel processors – that’s Ivy Bridge, mind you – along with Beats Audio and HP TrueVision webcam technology as well. These devices will bring you the power of the next generation of Windows-toting machines will keeping it all compact in HP’s newest all-in-one designs.
These units come in 20 or 23-inch flush-glass displays that bring 10-point touch touchscreen capability to you and yours. This set of computers are right in the middle of HP’s next-level all-in-one lineup, with the HP Pavilion 10 all-in-one PC sitting below them in price and the HP SpectreONE coming forward as the hero of this generation – top class! The ENVY 20 and ENVY 23 TouchSmart PCs act as a perfect in-between with price and power reflected in their made-for-everyone packages.
These computers come with HP Connected Remote, Photo, Music, and Backup and bring the full Windows 8 experience in late October. That’s right around the time that Windows 8 is currently expected to be unleashed upon the earth, with every manufacturer in the field shooting off every different concoction of hardware they can muster with only the best of the best ready to shine through. With the HP ENVY TouchSmart PCs you see here, HP is more than ready to take on the general public with smooth, simple designs and all-in-one greatness for everybody.
The HP ENVY 23 TouchSmart all-in-one PC will be appearing for what’s expected to be $1099 USD MSRP. The HP ENVY 20 TouchSmart all-in-one PC will be appearing for an expected $849 USD MSRP. Both computers are scheduled now for the end of October here in the United States at all of your favorite HP sales outlets.
Didn’t you hear? All of HP’s top-shelf product consumer products will henceforth have the word “Spectre” in the name. So, it makes sense that the company would expand beyond laptops and release a futuristic desktop bearing the same branding. Indeed, the company just announced the Spectre One, a 23.6-inch all-in-one with a skinny design and nice-to-have features like NFC.
Though that aluminum frame and tilting 1080p display are pleasing to look at, the real story isn’t what the Spectre One has, so much as what’s missing. You see, in order to get the system down to 11.5mm thick, the design team had to forgo certain features you might otherwise expect — features like a TV tuner, touchscreen and even an optical drive. It’s a gamble, to be sure, but HP is betting that fashion-forward, tech-savvy users won’t really mind. (The jury is out on whether a Windows 8 all-in-one without touch is a missed opportunity.) In any case, HP did include four USB ports (two of them 3.0), HDMI input, an Ethernet jack, Beats Audio and a memory card reader, with optional discrete graphics and SSDs. The components are also easily serviceable via a back door, if tinkering is your idea of fun. Lastly, the One ships with a keyboard, Magic Trackpad-style wireless touchpad and two NFC tags, which can be assigned to favorite websites.
In addition to the Spectre One, HP also trotted out three other all-in-ones. At the mid-range, you’ll find the Envy 20 and 23, which have 20- and 23-inch screens, respectively, with 1,920 x 1,080 resolution. Rounding out the list, the company announced the low-end Pavilion 20, another 1080p system. Put simply, the two Envy systems have touchscreens, Beats Audio and will be offered with Ivy Bridge processors only; the Pavilion is non-touch, and will be offered with both Intel and AMD chips. Whichever you choose, HP’s old Magic Canvas UI for Windows is gone; in its place, the “Connected Suite,” which includes a mix of desktop and mobile apps for sharing photos, streaming music and remote access. Though the mobile applications work with iOS and Android devices, you’ll need a Windows 8 laptop on one end of the setup — specifically, an HP PC. That’s right: for now, at least, the software will only work on the company’s own computers.
The Envy 20, Envy 23 and Pavilion 20 will all be available on October 23rd, with the budget Pavilion going for $499 and the two Envys starting at $849 and $1,099, respectively. The Spectre One doesn’t arrive until November 14th, but when it does it will cost $1,299.
This week we’ve gotten the opportunity to have a peek at three of HP’s newest touchscreen notebooks, each of them having been announced just this week and each of them coming with no less than Windows 8 right out of the box. The first of these is the HP SpectreXT TouchSmart Ultrabook – a device working with a 15.6-inch IPS LCD screen and Radiance Full HD for brilliant visuals. Next is the HP ENVY TouchSmart Ultrabook 4 with a 14-inch multitouch HD display and Beats Audio under the hood. Then there’s the lovely HP ENVY x2, complete with its own detachable tablet PC portion making this a Windows 8 “hybrid PC” – a PC first, and a tablet second.
With the HP SpectreXT TouchSmart Ultrabook you’re getting a full touchscreen experience on a lovely 15.6-inch display and a high quality keyboard and giant touchpad besides. This unit also has a Thunderbolt port for ultra-fast data transfer, and the whole thing only weighs in at 4.77 pounds in the end. It’a also just 17.9mm thick and will be blasting your eyes out with brightness with that IPS technology behind the screen – outdoors time!
The HP ENVY TouchSmart Ultrabook 4 brings you a 14-inch HD display up top with full touchscreen capabilities. This device is actually quite similar to the SpectreXT TouchSmart Ultrabook, but here you’ve got a slightly different size and no Thunderbolt. Also it’s got a slightly different feel to it, but you can certainly tell that both the ENVY TouchSmart Ultrabook 4 and the SpectreXT TouchSmart Ultrabook are made by the same folks – best buds!
Finally there’s the hybrid PC known as the HP ENVY x2. This device runs Windows 8 as both a notebook and a tablet, with an 11.6-inch touchscreen to make it all bright and optimized for the next generation in HP computing. This device will be coming in at just 3.1 pounds for the whole unit or 1.5 pounds for the tablet on its own. The display on this unit is also rather bright at 400nit working with IPS LCD technology. The HP ENVY x2 also has NFC capabilities – so watch out for the wireless future!
With one of its very first devices to work with Windows 8 right out of the box, HP brings the ENVY x2 – a “hybrid PC” otherwise known as a tablet with a keyboard dock. This device works as its own 11.6-inch touchscreen tablet and is able to dock magnetically with a keyboard that then turns it into a notebook computer. HP is making sure consumers do not lump it in with the mobile transforming tablet universe by calling the HP ENVY x2 a hybrid PC first and foremost.
This device uses its seamless magnetic latch to work as a perfectly solid notebook or as a tablet, both in one device. The device weighs in at 3.1 pounds with the keyboard attached or just 1.5 pounds with just the top half. This device has a 11.6-inch diagonal HD touch display for you to work with whilst entering the Windows 8 world this Fall.
You’ll be getting ultrawide viewing angles galore with this device’s 400nit IPS LCD panel that’ll have you working well both indoors and outdoors alike. You’ve also got an HD webcam on the front of the device above the display and an 8-megapixel camera on the back. Inside you’ll also find Beats Audio integration for high-quality sound delivery, and HP has shown off an optional stylus accessory you can purchase specifically for this unit as well.
The HP ENVY x2 has solid-state memory integrated within for both fast startup times and improved reliability, and you’ve got an NFC chip integrated in the tablet portion as well! With Near Field Communication technology you’ll be able to share content with devices around you with a single physical tap.
Inside you’ll be working with a collection of software that makes this HP device unique. With the HP Connected Photo application you’ll be able to connect your photos across multiple devices and sync them for editing from any device you’re working with. This app also works with instant-sharing abilities for several social networks as well. This HP machine also has HP Connected Music inside powered by Meridian – you’ll be able to download music, stream media, and work with internet radio as well.
The HP ENVY x2 will be appearing in the USA near the end of the year right in time for the holiday season. At the moment no pricing is available – check back soon!
If you thought laptop / tablet mashups were trendy, we can think of at least one other theme you’re going to see repeated ad nauseam over the coming months: PC makers putting touchscreens on things that didn’t used to have them. That’s right, in addition to all those funky-looking hybrids, you’re going to see lots of familiar-looking laptops get upgraded with touch in time for the Windows 8 launch. Exhibit A: HP, which just announced two conventional notebooks with touch. This includes a finger-friendly version of the 14-inch Envy 4 Ultrabook, as well as the Spectre XT TouchSmart Ultrabook, a 15-inch version of the Spectre XT announced earlier this year. Both will be available during the holiday season. That’s the short version, but if you follow past the break, we’ve got a lot to talk about in the way of specs. Join us, will you?
Welcome to Engadget’s back to school guide! The end of summer vacation isn’t nearly as much fun as the weeks that come before, but a chance to update your tech tools likely helps to ease the pain.Today we’re getting down to the very important business of helping you sift through laptops, and you can always head to the back to school hub to see the rest of the product guides as they’re added throughout the month. Be sure to keep checking back — at the end of the month we’ll be giving away a ton of the gear featured in our guides — and hit up the hub page right here!
Freshman year of college may no longer be the gateway to the magical world of laptop ownership, but even if you already have a notebook, who can resist a new machine in the spirit of starting fresh when September rolls around? Whether you’re looking for a Core i5 companion to get you through semesters of paper-writing, Facebooking and WoWing, or a super-sleek centerpiece to your bare-bones dorm, there’s a vast playing field of machines to choose from. While sifting through the countless options would surely get you back in the academic research frame of mind, it’s a daunting task. We’re here to take some of the work off your plate with nine solid mainstream laptops that should satisfy every budget.
What we have here today is the shiny new HP ENVY 4 Ultrabook sporting a 3rd gen Intel Core-i5 dual-core processor and of course those Beats Audio speakers. It packs a lot of power under the hood and all folded up will only be about 0.78″ thick, but is this enough to earn your dollars? Head down past the break and we’ll find out.
This may not be HP’s ultra high end, but the ENVY series has always been one of their better offerings. Back in May we got our first glace at this Ultrabook, and then late last month we were able to unbox it and dig in a bit deeper. To get you started off with full specs, details, and the unboxing you’ll want to start here.
Chassis
This aluminum wrapped machine hit the shelves last month for about $800 and today we’re going to give you a better look, as well as our review and impressions on the laptop. It certainly isn’t HP’s nicest wrapped device but the aluminum has a great feel. For some reason the tip on top has been replaced with plastic, and the aluminum doesn’t extend to the entire edge of the casing. This gives opening and closing it a rather cheap feel, because the plastic is indeed very cheap. Otherwise the entire body is well built, and feels like it too.
The top has that midnight black brushed aluminum look and the only change is the neat and small HP logo on the bottom corner. As you curve around the sides to the ports however, you’ll quickly notice the aluminum design ends for a soft-touch red matte texture instead. This makes it easy to hold, but causes an area that may separate in the future if it takes too much abuse. The entire sides and bottom are bright “Beats Audio red” and is soft to the touch. This makes it easy to hold, and comfortable to carry.
All in all the ENVY 4-1030us (that we have here) comes in under 4 lbs (3.86 to be exact) and only 0.78″ thick. We’ve seen thicker, but for $800 the package is quite sleek and decent. We’ll talk about ports more below so for now the star of the show is the TrueVision HD front camera for Skype and video chat, and of course Beats Audio.
HP’s integrated dual-stereo surround sound Beats Audio speakers, and they are actually quite decent. Obviously you won’t be getting the bass you’d like, but for music, videos, and even gaming I found them sufficient. Even near full volume the distortion levels are minimal, and I’d give them a solid thumbs up for the price, even if they still have that tin-can sound. Ultrabooks and laptops the speakers can always improve, but these didn’t leave me wanting too much more.
Specs
As far as the hardware specs of the device, if you didn’t catch the full breakdown in my video above here they are again. You’ll get a clear and vivid 14-inch Brightview LED 1366 x 768 display, 1.7 GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 processor (3317U), 4GB of DDR3 RAM, a 500GB HD (no SSD here) 3 USB ports, Ethernet, HDMI, SD slot for storage, then integrated Intel HD Graphics 4000. There’s no dedicated GPU here, but Intel’s HD graphics were enough for the casual game here. You won’t be playing Battlefield 3, but then you shouldn’t expect to.
The 14-inch 1366 x 768 resolution display is rather decent, but obviously we’d always like a higher resolution. Like the Retina Display Macbook Pro for example — but then again this is only $800. The screen is still HD and playing YouTube videos was a breeze. I even used the HDMI-out on the side to stream some Olympics to my HDTV since NBC failed us on their coverage, and it worked wonderfully.
Keyboard and Trackpad
Now here’s one area that I wasn’t to pleased with the ENVY 4. The keys, while backlit, and chicklet style had a rather cheap feel to them. Being a 14 inch device I wasn’t expecting it to feel very compact and low on space, but I found myself struggling to get comfortable — but that will come in due time. The keys while still feeling cheap have a good firm click during use, but certain areas on the keyboard felt weaker than others. The back-light option has a simple on/off setting, but that was all. Being able to manually control this would be nice but for $800 we’ll gladly just accept the fact we have it.
My biggest concern however was the trackpad. I know HP’s been doing this circular diamond-cut like design for ages, but I find it extremely frustrating. You can see the lines all aim for the center from the image above, but I find this type of feedback to be rather difficult. It makes operation feel rather choppy and the “smooth” feel I wanted was certainly missing. The sensitivity was another minor issue. Nothing you can’t get used to, but even after changing it in settings I still found myself having to repeat my taps. Overall I’d take a few points off here, but nothing major as this is all subjective and depends on user preference.
Ports
As mentioned above, the ENVY 4 Ultrabook has 3 USB ports (two left, one right), Ethernet, HDMI, and full size SD slot for storage. Then off to the right side is your power port, 3rd USB, headphone and microphone ports. They all felt great and weren’t too tight, as I’ve had that issue with newer laptops in the past. Here’s a look at the ports:
Performance
This device runs an Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit, which we should all know plenty about by now so I’ll stick to the results. Performance was rather decent, although I quickly replaced IE but that’s just me. Working with a 3rd Gen Ivy Bridge Core i5 dual-core processor and 4GB of DDR3 RAM performance was great, but I’d love to see 6GB for the price point. We have no SSD so hard drive results weren’t impressive, but that was expected.
All this equals a rather powerful mid-range Ultrabook all for a great price. It has a few compromises here and there, but this could still be the device for you. As usual here at SlashGear we’ve ran some Geekbench benchmark tests. You can see those results below and compare with previous Laptop Reviews.
Benchmark Score – Hewlett-Packard HP ENVY 4 Notebook PC
Section
Description
Score
Total Score
Windows x86 (64-bit) – Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit)
Integer
Processor integer performance
5321
6935
Floating Point
Processor floating point performance
9500
Memory
Memory performance
6143
Stream
Memory bandwidth performance
5192
System – Hewlett-Packard HP ENVY 4 Notebook PC
Manufacturer
Hewlett Packard
Product Type
Notebook
Operating System
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit)
Motherboard
Hewlett-Packard 1894
Processor
Intel Core i5-3317U
Processor ID
GenuineIntel Family 6 Model 58 Stepping 9
Processor Frequency
1.70 GHz
Processors
1
Threads
4
Cores
2
L1 Instruction Cache
32.0 KB
L1 Data Cache
32.0 KB
L2 Cache
256 KB
L3 Cache
3.00 MB
Memory
4.00 GB DDR3 SDRAM 799MHz
FSB
99.9 MHz
BIOS
Insyde F.0A
Wrap-Up
All in all this is a rather great machine. It’s lightweight, portable, thin, powerful, sounds great, and has a bright and vivid screen. Oh and did we mention affordable. For everything you get this is certainly an affordable Ultrabook, I just wish it had USB 3.0 and possible slightly better build quality. If you’ve ever used a Macbook for an extended period of time you’ll surely notice the build quality differences. Compared to most others in the price range however, this ENVY 4 Ultrabook is impressive, and will leave many in the dust. Using the ENVY 4 for browsing and a few videos on NFL.com I barely managed 5 hours of battery life, so that is one other thing worth mentioning.
This isn’t quite as impressive as the Acer Aspire S5 we recently reviewed, but then it’s also much cheaper too. For the mid-range price and great “Ultrabook” specs this will surely make anyone happy for under $800. Overall the The Envy 4 is fairly named, and some others in this range will “envy” it. Featuring a premium design and attractive use of the color red certainly makes it an Ultrabook worth checking out. Enjoy the pictures and some of our other HP reviews below.
HP’s new ENVY 4 Ultrabook has landed on the SlashGear test bench this week. Complete with a sleek and impressive design, dual-stereo Beats Audio speakers, and Intel’s 3rd Gen Ivy Bridge dual-core i5 processor. Back in May we received our first glance at the new ENVY Ultrabook, but today we’ve given it another look in a quick hands-on video. More details, pictures, and specs are available after the break.
HP’s new ENVY 4 and 6 Ultrabooks have recently hit the shelves and to start things off we’ve unboxed the ENVY 4, and got our paws all over this new aluminum wrapped laptop. HP’s equipped these new Ultrabooks with a sleek design, impressive power under the hood, and kept them well in range of Intel’s “Ultrabook” standard. Coming in under 4 lbs (3.86 to be exact) and only 0.78″ thick the ENVY 4 is what we’re looking at today so here’s our quick unboxing video:
HP ENVY 4 Ultrabook hands-on & unboxing
As you saw from the video above, the specs are rather decent for an $800 machine. You’ll get a clear and vivid 14-inch Brightview LED 1366 x 768 display, 1.7 GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 processor (3317U), 4GB of DDR3 RAM, a 500GB HD (no SSD here) 3 USB ports, Ethernet, HDMI, SD slot for storage, integrated Intel HD Graphics 4000, and more.
The build quality for our initial impressions are nice, but certainly no MacBook Air. It’s topped in a midnight black brushed aluminum, and finished with a soft-touch matte coating on the sides and bottom — which nicely fits the Beats Audio red color scheme. All of this comes in under an inch being only 0.78″ thick and weighing less than 4 lbs.
Of course you’ll be running on Windows 7 x64, and you’ll probably want to upgrade to Windows 8 — or will you? The HP ENVY 4 Ultrabook has a nice sleek design, a slim bezel around the 14-inch LED display, a mildly powerful processor under the hood, and we’ll surely be taking it all for a spin in our full review early next week. The lack of an SSD for storage is my only concern compared to the competition, but this does come in at a decent price. Stay tuned and let us know if you have any questions for our full review.
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
Budget laptops, in general, used to be clunky hunks of plastic, more three-dimensional than thin, a collection of loosely grouped computer parts. Because of the recent Ultrabook (Intel’s thin-and-fast laptop) craze, even mid-to-low range computers sport a durable, solid build. In order to bill a computer as an ultrabook, manufacturers have to place a strong emphasis on maximizing the space and efficiency of laptop internals. The Envy 4 isn’t Macbook Air thin, but it’s close, and it’s a lot nicer than a chunky desktop replacement. It’s because of this that the HP Envy 4 is a great laptop. It’s not the best laptop out there, but it’s incredibly useable on a daily basis, and I can certainly recommend it over almost all laptops at its price point made last year. If a rising tide raises all boats, the HP Envy 4 is a ship you want to be on.
