Sony has introduced its first tabletop PC in the US market, the VAIO Tap 20, a massive 20-inch tablet computer, as well as the smaller VAIO Duo 11 “hybrid slider” PC, which we reviewed back in August. In addition to the Tap 20 and the Duo 11, Sony has also released touch-enabled ultrabooks, including a refresh of the T13 and the E series 14P models. This line of touch-enabled PCs runs Windows 8.
We got our hands on the Tap 20 back in August, and yes, it is as massive as you think it is. This 20-inch tablet is a full PC, and offers a 10-multitouch touchscreen at 1600×900 resolution, a front webcam, USB ports, audio in and out ports, an adjustable metal stand, and a battery. Watch us playing Fruit Ninja on Tap 20 in the video below. The VAIO Tap 20 is priced at $879.99, and will be available in white and black.
Meanwhile, the smaller “hybrid slider” VAIO Duo 11 PC is a smaller, portable tablet/laptop hybrid, with a built-in keyboard that slides under the display when you want to use it as a tablet, and slides out when you want to use it as a touch-enabled laptop. The Duo 11 has a full HD display, a pressure-sensitive stylus with swappable pen tips, a backlit keyboard, Active Clip, Sony original app for photo cropping, and the Note Anytime note taking application. It weighs in at 2.84lbs. The VAIO Duo 11 is priced at $1099.99, and will only be available in black.
As a bonus – especially for artists and graphic designers – Sony partnered with ArtRage, and will provide a copy of ArtRage Studio on all five of these new touch-enabled devices. In addition to ArtRage, the VAIO Tap 20 will include the FingerTapps Organizer, a calendar/organizer app designed to allow families to easily share notes and events with each other, perhaps an indication of who Sony’s primary intended market is. In line with the family-oriented apps, the VAIO Tap 20 will also include My Daily Clip, an app developed in partnership with Sony Pictures Home Entertainment that allows individuals to sit around the tablet and play a movie trivia game.
As for the other three models, the VAIO T13 ($669.99) is a refresh model, with an added touchscreen display running Windows 8. The E series 14P ($689.99) is also a refresh model, with an added touchscreen running Windows 8. The E Series is price as follows: models 11, 14, and 15 at $449.99, and model 17 at $729.99. Both T Series models are priced at $669.99. The S Series 13 has a starting price of $799.99, while the premium S series 13 starts at $1199.99. The S series 15 model starts at $849.99, and the L Series 15 starts at $1199.99.
All five of these devices will be available at the end of the month. Whether the Tap 20 and Duo 11 are the future of PCs as traditional PC sales slip and Microsoft pushes its touch-friendly Windows 8 is yet to be seen. For now, however, it looks like things are getting interesting.
In case you haven’t noticed, Sony just announced pricing for all sorts of touch-friendly Windows 8 products — namely, the VAIO Duo 11, Tap 20 and the E14P multimedia laptop. But not everything in the company’s lineup needs to have a touchscreen. The outfit just announced the VAIO T14, a reasonably priced 14-inch Ultrabook that you’ll have to use the old-fashioned way: with a keyboard and trackpad. So far as we can tell, it’s the same metal-and-plastic industrial design as the existing T13, except now the speakers sit above the keyboard, instead of on the front edge.
As you can imagine, the 14-inch version (pictured above) is a bit thicker and heavier than the 13-inch model (3.77 pounds, up from 3.54), which means the chassis is now wide enough to accommodate an optical drive. What’s slightly disappointing, though, is that while the T14 has a larger footprint, it doesn’t add any additional ports. As with the T13, you get two USB ports (one 3.0, one 2.0), HDMI output, an Ethernet jack, audio-out and a VGA socket. Another USB connection or two would’ve been nice, is all.
In addition to announcing the T14, Sony also revealed that it will start offering the T13 with an optional touchscreen — a $100 upgrade you can add during the configuration process. (Sony’s Japanese and UK divisions already announced a touch-enabled version of the T13, but until now it was unclear whether it would ever go on sale in the US.) As you might have guessed, that touchscreen adds a few ounces to the weight. The upside, though (aside from having a touchscreen, if that’s what you’re into) is that it has a prettier, edge-to-edge glass display — a definite improvement over that standard wide bezel. (Check out the shot after the break to see what we mean.) The T13 will continue to sell for $670 and up, with the touch option becoming available this month. The T14 will also go on sale in the coming weeks starting at at $670.
At least in the beginning, most of the made-for-Windows-8 devices you’re going to see will have a very similar form factor — namely, a tablet that slots into a detachable keyboard dock. Sony, though, is taking a different tack: the outfit is ignoring the hybrid trend altogether and will instead sell the VAIO Duo 11, one of a select few slider PCs to hit the market. Though we already got hands-on, we’re just now learning about pricing and availability: the company just announced that the Duo is coming out October 26th (the same day as Windows 8) and will start at $1,100.
That’s a lofty price, to be sure, but with a spec sheet that includes Ultrabook guts, a backlit keyboard, NFC, GPS and a 1080p, IPS, Gorilla Glass display, we don’t see how it could’ve cost much less. Take a gander at the design, and you’ll see it’s mostly made of magnesium alloy and, having handled it ourselves, we can attest to the sturdiness of the hinge mechanism. Compared to other sliders, which often make do with cramped keyboards, this offers a reasonably spacious layout, though it comes at the expense of a trackpad. Indeed, there’s no touchpad here; just an optical pointing stick. (Thankfully, it seems pretty precise.) Additionally, the Duo 11 supports pen input, and comes with a dual digitizer pen that can recognize 256 levels of pressure sensitivity. As a tablet-like device, it has not one, but two cameras, both capturing at 2.4-megapixel resolution.
Continuing our tour of the device, the 2.84-pound system is home to a surprisingly robust collection of ports, including HDMI-out, two USB 3.0 sockets, an Ethernet jack (!), memory card slot, headphone jack and VGA. Yes, VGA. This might be a good time to clarify that Sony envisions this as a machine for road warriors, though it comes not with Windows 8 Professional, but Home Premium. That would also explain the battery situation: in addition to the built-in 4,960mAh cell, it will be offered with an optional slice battery that promises to double the runtime. Bonus: the spare has its own AC port, so you can plug it directly into the outlet. Again, the Duo 11 starts at $1,100 with a Core i3 processor, 4GB of RAM and a 128GB SSD (you can upgrade to a 256 drive and a Core i5 or 7 CPU if you wish). That’s all she wrote for now, but check out our hands-on for more photos and a quick video.
Today is a hot day for your Acer Windows 8-bound notebook family with not just the V5 series popping up for touchscreen laptop justice, but with the Aspire M5 Series Ultrabook as well. What we’ve got here with the M5 Ultrabook is a unit that will be sold exclusively by Best Buy stores in the United States – so don’t expect them anywhere else, basically. Here you’ll have an 8-hour battery life supporting a 14-inch Aspire M5-481PT and a 15.6-inch Aspire M5-581T. They come in different colors, too!
The smaller of the two units here comes in a lovely silver cover made of aluminum alloy while the larger model in a non-touch configuration comes in a dark gray magnesium alloy cover. The smaller rings in at 4.5 pounds while the larger is just about 5 pounds while they both work with Acer Green Instant On as well as Acer Always Connect.
The Instant On feature allows your device to wake up from sleep in less than 2 seconds and from a deep sleep in 6 seconds. Always Connect then connects to the web in 2.5 second by remembering wi-fi spots galore. AcerCloud technology is ready and willing here on the M5 series and both units work with 3rd generation Intel Core i5 processors with Turbo Boost Technology 2.0.
Both units work with two USB 3.0 ports, backlit keyboards, Dolby Home Theater v4, Acer AntiTheft, and a lovely HDMI port for HD connection to gigantic monitors. The 14-inch version of this series of computers features a 10-point multi-touch display for full Windows 8 touchscreen interaction. You’ve got a vivid HD display with “edge-to-edge” design as well as Windows 8′s full collection of touch-friendly abilities.
Best Buy will be carrying both units starting on October 26th, with prices being ever so slightly different for the two different models. The Aspire M5-481PT with full touch support begin at $799.99, while the 15.6-inch Aspire M5-581T configurations begin at $699.99. This may very well be the first time in history that a pair of notebooks were released that the larger display has the lower price – how about that!
If you’re after a no-nonsense Windows 8 experience and need a notebook to make it all happen, you’ll want to have a peek at the new Acer Aspire V5 Series revealed by the company today. This series of notebooks comes in three sizes, 11.6, 14, and 15.6-inch display sizes with retailers all across the USA and Canada so you’ll be able to check them out firsthand in stores – several of the models also have touchscreen displays for full Windows 8 multitouch experiences.
This update to the Acer universe brings on an edge-to-edge display, this meaning in this case that there’s NEARLY no plastic or metal holding the display glass in place on the edges, but there is just a bit. The display also needs a little bit of a bezel, but inside that you’ve got a lovely display at 14 inches on the Aspire V5-471P and 15.6 inches on the Aspire V5-571P. You’ve got a “larger trackpad” than the average computer too, so says Acer, so you’ll be gesturing all over the place regardless of how you choose to navigate your computer.
The V5 series comes with 3rd Generation Intel Core i3, i5, or i7 processors of course and both of the larger models work with a built-in slim DVD drive and a 500GB or 750GB hard-drive inside. The brightness you’re seeing blasting your eyes out is a series of HD CineCrystal widescreen LED-backlit displays, and you’ve got a 1.3 megapixel web camera built-in regardless of the model right up front as well. These units work with DLNA for wireless media sharing as well as Acer clear.fi and Dolby Advanced Audio v2 for all the sharing and fabulous media playback you can handle.
The Acer Aspire V5 series notebooks will be up for sale on the 26th of October along with just about a billion other Windows 8 solutions from a variety of retailers. That said, you’ll have a hard time finding a better value at $749.99 for the Aspire V5-471P with touch support and starts $499.99 for the Aspire V5-571 without touch.
Vizio has updated its PC range with a pair of touch-capable all-in-ones, adding 10-finger multitouch to ready them for Windows 8, while also tweaking its notebooks with new trackpads. The new 24- and 27-inch All-in-One Touch PC models offer Intel Core processors, like their non-touch brethren we reviewed recently, as well as 1080p Full HD displays and 2.1 audio systems.
NVIDIA GeForce graphics using Kepler GPUs will be optional for some of the AIOs, while all will have SRS Premium Sound HD. The new models will be priced from $998, and they’ll be bloatware-free as Vizio has inked a deal with Microsoft to make them part of the Signature program.
As for the newly-updated notebooks and ultraportables, they’ll gain a new multitouch trackpad which supports all of Windows 8′s gestures and taps. Intel’s third-gen Core processors are inside, just as with the desktops, and there are options for 14-, 15.6-inch Think + Light Ultrabook and 15.6-inch Notebook depending on your bag capacity and bank balance.
The Vizio Thin + Light range kicks off at $849, while the 15.6-inch Full HD Notebook starts from $1,129. Like the AIO PC they’re part of the Signature program and so bloatware-free.
As is all the rage right now, Vizio is upgrading its lineup to support Windows 8’s more touch-centric UI. The company’s 24-inch and 27-inch all-in-one PCs will receive touch panels, resulting in a price bump to $998 for the base 24-incher with Ivy Bridge and Kepler internals, 1920 x 1080 display and 500GB hard drive. Meanwhile, Vizio’s Ultrabooks — both the 14-inch and 15.6-inch models — and its heftier 15.6-inch Full HD notebook will all get “enhanced multi-gesture touchpads” that will allow exactly the same swipes, taps and pinches as a touchscreen. These laptops will start at $849 for the smaller Ultrabook and $1,129 for the notebook. Expect the whole lot to arrive as part of the late October crush.
Here’s the thing with Windows 8: staring at those live tiles feels kinda weird if you can’t reach out and touch them. That’s why Sony has upgraded its Vaio T13 Ultrabook with a touch panel (making it technically the T13-2), allowing you to reach out across the keyboard and swipe away to your heart’s content. We’ve just left some fingerprints on a high-spec model with a Core i7 processor, 1366 x 768 resolution, 256GB SSD and 8GB RAM, which will sell in the UK from October 26th priced somewhere north of £1,000 (or $1,600, though Sony doesn’t set exact prices). A more modestly equipped i7, with 4GB and a 500GB hybrid drive should be somewhere around £900 ($1,400), while an entry-level i3 will start at £700 ($1,100), give or take. Bear mind that the dollar prices will be much lower than these currency conversions suggest — for reference, the original T13 starts at just $770.
Our first impression was that enabling touch on this traditional form factor was slightly awkward, especially if the purpose of touching the screen was to achieve something that would have been more readily accomplished with a tap on the keyboard — such as adjusting brightness, scrolling or returning to the home screen. On the other hand, the UI was incredibly responsive on the Core i7 processor and over time the touchscreen may well come to feel more natural than the touchpad within Microsoft’s new OS. Just bear in mind that enabling touch comes with a couple of sacrifices, aside from any price premium: it adds 100 grams and 1mm in thickness to an Ultrabook that was already on the chunky side, due to the addition of tougher hinges as well as the extra layer in the display. Check out our hands-on video after the break and make up your own mind.
The folks at Samsung have sent out invites to a press event in which they’ll be revealing a set of new Windows 8-toting devices, not least of all notebooks with ultra-thin bodies and touchscreen displays. This event is set to take place at a museum, of all places, with “Framing the Future” as their key catchphrase. Here we’ll be seeing Samsung go all-in for Microsoft’s next-generation operating system, you can bet!
This event will certainly be home to a selection of never-before-seen devices that work with Windows 8 and perhaps give new glimpses of how they’ll be working with Windows Phone 8 as well. With the couple of images included in the invite you see above, we’re thinking thinness is on the table without a doubt – this is more than likely the location and time of the final Samsung Series 9 notebook reveal. The gray and blue colorscape presented here makes us feel as though we’re also already in a museum before we arrive.
What we’re also expecting is an even more refined presentation than Samsung has been presenting as of late. As the brand grows stronger, so too do they continue to present in a simpler way – here in a location we’re sure will play up their devices as fine art. Or fine design, as it were, with unibody casing, all-metal bodies, sharp lines, all that good stuff.
This is also just one of many Windows 8 – aimed events that will be popping up here on SlashGear over the next few weeks and months. Stay tuned to our Windows 8 tag hub to see all the operating system has to offer! Also be sure to keep your note tuned to the Samsung tag for all the new notebooks and PCs they’ve got up for grabs, too!
Ultrabooks, whether you like them or not, are here in full force. Manufacturers left and right are releasing ultrabook after ultrabook, so now the question isn’t “who can make the fastest ultrabook?” but rather “who can make the best looking ultrabook?” Ultrabooks invite style – the entire idea behind them is to give consumers an incredibly portable and speedy laptop, after all. You don’t want your super fast ultrabook to looking boring and plain, right? Of course you don’t. You want your ultrabook to be sleek and well-designed. HP knows this, introducing us to ENVY Spectre XT, and it’s certainly easy on the eyes. But does the Spectre XT have what’s required on the inside, or will it be doomed to using its good looks to get by? Read on to find out.
Design
It has to be said right off the bat: the HP ENVY Spectre XT is a sexy machine, and a far cry from HP laptops of the past. Whereas old HP laptops had a tendency to look cheaply made, the Spectre XP looks like a higher-end piece of equipment. The brushed metal chassis looks great, as do the ports on the side and the speaker grill that has taken up residence above the keyboard. This ultrabook will definitely turn some heads, so if you’re in the market for a machine that will get some attention, you need look no further than the Spectre XT.
On the outside, we have a pretty minimalistic look. On the right side of the device, the power jack, a USB 3.0 port, an SD card slot, and a headphone jack have taken up residence, while the Ethernet port, full-sized HDMI port, and another USB 3.0 port are found on the left side. The Ethernet port features a hinge that keeps the port flush with the rest of the machine when there isn’t a cable attached, which is a really nice touch – too often, we have the look of these sleek ultrabooks ruined by an ugly square Ethernet port that doesn’t really fit with the overall design. There isn’t anything really noteworthy on the bottom of the machine aside from a pair of speakers (more on those later) and grills for air intake and cooling.
For as good as it looks, there is one aspect of its design that leaves me feeling a little bit nervous. The screen is attached to the rest of the unit through two hinges, which gives me the feeling that it wouldn’t take much to snap the Spectre XT in half. I’m not willing to test that feeling, of course, but its lightweight and thin design adds to the idea that this is a delicate machine. If you pick one up, be prepared to treat it gently – this definitely is not an ultrabook that you can be rough with. Then again, most ultrabooks these days have a tendency to be a little on the delicate side, so I’m not sure that the Spectre XT’s fragile design should be a hit against it.
In short, the Spectre XT probably isn’t the best machine for those who are clumsy or don’t think much about the abuse they put their devices through. Though it’s one awesome looking machine, you’ll have to take care to treat it well, because after all, sexy looks won’t mean much if you destroy your Spectre XT, whether that’s an accident or a case of negligence.
Hardware
The Spectre XT looks excellent – there’s no question about that, but depending on how much you crave power, its internals may disappoint some. That isn’t much of surprise, considering that most ultrabooks try to strike a balance between speedy internals and reasonable prices, and the Spectre XT is no different. Let’s start things off with the processor. The Spectre XT has an Intel Core i5 processor with Ivy Bridge microarchitecture, which is about as middle-of-the-road as you can get when it comes to Intel hardware. That’s not to say that the processor is terrible, as its 1.7GHz clock speed should keep things moving pretty quickly.
The Spectre XT also comes equipped with Intel’s rapid start technology, which means that both boot and resume-from-sleep times will be pretty short. The fact that the Spectre XT uses a 128GB SSD for storage helps with that too, as does the 4GB of DDR3 RAM. 128GB is a little on the light side, especially when around 30GB will be used for system recovery. That leaves you with just under 100GB of available storage space to use, but to take full advantage of that, you’re going to need to delete the software that comes pre-installed on the Spectre XT.
Luckily, you can choose to upgrade to a 256GB SSD when you purchase the Spectre XT, but at the end of the day, that still isn’t much. Everything is moving toward digital these days, and even though you’ll probably want to play your movies and games on another machine, it might not be long before you find yourself making room on your SSD, especially if you go with the 128GB XT variant. The speedier SSD is definitely nice, but the lack of significant internal storage space makes someone like me, who embraces the digital age with open arms, cringe.
The screen is nice, but it isn’t anything we haven’t seen before on other ultrabooks. You’ve got 13.3-inches of real estate to work with, running at a maximum of 1366×768 resolution. That means no 1080p HD, but we can’t really expect that from an ultrabook that is supposed to be lightweight and easy to transport. Still, even though there isn’t any 1080p HD, it would have been nice to see the Spectre XT running at a resolution other than 1366×768, especially since the look of this ultrabook screams “high-end.” The screen has a glossy finish, which means that glare will inevitably be a problem at least once in a while. Viewing angles are also quite touchy – for the most vibrant visuals, you’ll likely have to do some adjusting, otherwise you might be dealing with washed out images on-screen. Despite this, the screen does manage to look really good when you get the perfect viewing angle down, and I’m pleased to report that the screen is plenty bright to boot.
The Spectre XT makes use of Intel 4000 integrated graphics, which is disappointing by not unexpected. Integrated graphics will be enough for the mainstream consumer, but don’t expect to do much gaming on this guy. Indie games and other programs that aren’t too graphics-intensive will run just fine, but if you have need of a computer that provides solid graphics power, you’ll probably want to look elsewhere.
If there’s one thing I have the overwhelming urge to rave about, it’s the keyboard. You’ve got the same chiclet style keys that are found on most notebooks these days, but they offer a satisfying sound when you’re typing up a storm. If I had an HP representative next to me right now, I’d kiss them for not skimping on the size of the keys either. One thing that drives me nuts with a lot of ultrabook keyboards is that the enter, shift, and backspace keys are usually reduced in size. Not this time around – you’ve got a full-sized enter key, so you don’t have to look at the keyboard every time you want to hit it. It may seem like a small feature, but to those who use a computer all day, it will be a big plus.
The keyboard also looks great in the dark. The backlighting is vibrant, due to the fact that each key is individually lit. This means that you won’t have to worry about areas that are more illuminated than others, and every key is very easy to see in the dark. Workaholics, take note – you’ll be able to use this ultrabook anywhere, at any time of day, thanks to the perfectly backlit keyboard.
The trackpad is quite good too, offering the perfect amount of resistance in my opinion. Two-finger scrolling is spot on, and double tapping the icon in the upper left hand corner will turn off the trackpad’s functionality, meaning that a quick double tap is all you need to make sure that you don’t actually brush the keypad and screw up everything in the blink of an eye (trust me, it happens all the time, especially with overly sensitive trackpads).
Press anywhere on the trackpad and it will respond with a very satisfying click, leaving no question as to whether or not your click actually registered. The trackpad is nearly perfect, but there is one problem I have with it: the whole thing is one unit. The lack of actual, separate left and right mouse buttons means that sometimes you’ll left click when you mean to right click and vice versa. The trackpad is a little on the tiny side too, which compounds this problem. It isn’t the biggest issue, but I’m sucker for real buttons, or at least some indication of where I’m pressing.
System – Hewlett-Packard HP ENVY Spectre XT Ultrabook PC
Manufacturer
Hewlett Packard
Product Type
Notebook
Operating System
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit)
Motherboard
Hewlett-Packard 1888
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
3.94 GB DDR3 SDRAM 799MHz
FSB
99.9 MHz
BIOS
Insyde F.06
Positioned above the keyboard is a grill for the speakers. There are four internal speakers in all, complete with Beats Audio branding. Sadly, the speakers were a little on the disappointing side. They’re certainly better than the speakers on most laptops and ultrabooks, but even Beats Audio couldn’t stop these from sounding tinny when the volume is cranked up. Bass also isn’t what it should be, so if you value bumping lows when you listen to songs, you should probably consider something different. Keep in mind that they’re not terrible; they’re just not excellent. They can definitely get loud though, but I’m not sure that should be big plus. After all, what good are loud speakers if the sound quality is off?
The speakers will serve their purpose though, and they manage to do their job decently. However, if you take your music quality seriously, you probably already have a pair of really good headphones that you can use instead, so it’s best to go with those.
Software
The model we were given to review came running Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit, but users can upgrade that to either Professional 64-bit or Ultimate 64-bit. For most, Home Premium will be sufficient, but it is nice to have the option to upgrade if you choose.
Some of what’s installed on the Spectre XT is stuff you might actually use, including a free two-year subscription to Norton AntiVirus. The only downside to having Norton along for the ride is that it will annoy you with pop-ups every time you turn the computer on or wake it up from sleep, so activate it as soon as you get your Spectre XT out of the box to save yourself some headaches.
The Spectre XT also comes equipped with full versions of Adobe Photoshop Elements 10 and Adobe Premiere Elements 10, which are very nice to see. HP gets big kudos for including those. The free subscription to Norton and Adobe Elements are the most notable pre-installed programs, but other than those, there’s still a fair amount of unnecessary software you’ll have to wade through. CyberLink YouCam is there if you want to use it with the HP TrueVision HD webcam, but it certainly isn’t needed, making it a good candidate for deletion. You’ve also got Internet Explorer on board, which is expected but still as lame as ever – ditch it and go for a different browser like Chrome, Firefox, or Opera instead.
Of course, Microsoft programs are there in full force, including Microsoft Office Starter 2010, which you’ll probably want to keep around. Others, like Windows Live Movie Maker and and Windows Live Messenger will likely be left untouched by the majority of consumers, so don’t feel too bad if you want to lose those when you get your Spectre XT booted up and ready to go – remember, storage space is at a premium, so if you see programs that you aren’t going to use, it’s a better idea to delete them instead of letting them hang around.
Benchmarks
It’s time to turn to our old friend Geekbench, which tells us what we already knew: with the Spectre XT, you’re not getting a powerhouse. The computer’s specs are merely average, but it’s important to keep in mind that this is aimed at the mainstream crowd, which isn’t exactly power hungry. People who take tech very seriously will want to skip the Spectre XT, but rest assured, this is one speedy computer.
Benchmark Score – Hewlett-Packard HP ENVY Spectre XT Ultrabook PC
Section
Description
Score
Total Score
Windows x86 (64-bit) – Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit)
Integer
Processor integer performance
5352
7292
Floating Point
Processor floating point performance
9698
Memory
Memory performance
6679
Stream
Memory bandwidth performance
6890
In that respect, the Geekbench results can be a little deceiving. For things like browsing, the Spectre XT will be plenty fast. As stated above, integrated graphics and a middle-of-the-line processor mean that there isn’t much in the way of sheer power to work with, but the RAM, SSD, and CPU ensure that you’ll be able to do basic tasks quickly. If that’s what you’re looking for in an ultrabook (as you should be) then the Spectre XT is worthy of your attention.
Battery
Sadly, the 4-cell lithium-ion battery on the Spectre XT isn’t all it should be. HP says that we can expect 8 hours of power, but in my own tests, I didn’t get nearly that much life out of the XT.
To test the Spectre XT, I started at 100% (obviously), turned the screen brightness down to 50%, kept WiFi on, and proceeded to play games (Plants vs. Zombies and Wizorb, if you’re wondering), browse the web, and watch some videos. The computer powered down to prevent any data loss right around the 4 hour and 30 minute mark, so that was the end of the test.
Of course, battery life is going to vary depending on what you’re doing, but for those who travel and need to work on battery frequently, there are other ultrabook choices that come with a longer lasting battery. For everyone else, the battery will probably still be sufficient provided you don’t spend too terribly long away from the charger, but there are still better choices out there when it comes to battery life.
Wrap-Up
I know that some of things in this review sound pretty negative, but the HP ENVY Spectre XT is actually a pretty solid ultrabook. The battery is disappointing and the speakers, despite sporting Beats Audio branding, aren’t anything to write home about, but other than that, the Spectre XT is capable of running with the best of them (ultrabooks, that is).
Of course, when it comes to ultrabooks, all of them strive for the same thing: portability and speed. The Spectre XT is lightweight and small enough that I can’t imagine portability ever being an issue. Likewise, it’s a fast little machine, and if that’s your primary concern when it comes to picking out a new computer, then you won’t be disappointed with the Spectre XT.
It’s one sexy ultrabook too. There are others that look similar to the Spectre XT, but the brushed metal gets me every time. The keyboard is really something great, and the trackpad is just a couple missing features away from perfection. Since you’ll get to know the keyboard and trackpad quite well over the course of your time with the Spectre XT, that is only a good thing.
However, all of that sexiness comes with a price, both figuratively and literally. The Spectre XT definitely feels a bit fragile, and I still can’t get over the idea that it would be ridiculously easy to accidentally snap this thing in half. The literal price for this good looking machine is $1,000, and that certainly isn’t cheap. I feel like that’s going to prove to be a pretty big barrier for the Spectre XT’s target audience, especially when the mainstream cares less about good specs and more about getting a reliable computer that’s at least relatively inexpensive.
Don’t get me wrong here – I wasn’t expecting the Spectre XT to be a $400 piece of equipment, but I feel that $800 or $850 would have been a better asking price for this ultrabook. Still, if you need a good ultrabook and don’t care much about the $1,000 price tag, go for it. The Spectre XT really is a good computer, and I think if you can get past the price (and have a good pair of headphones lying around), you’ll have no problem loving the Spectre XT.
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.
