Hasta La Gadget!

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.

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 ENVY 4 Ultrabook Review is written by Cory Gunther & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

This week the thinnest ultrabook on the block has been re-revealed with its full specifications, pricing, and release date ready to roll. This next-generation computer will be available from Lenovo’s online store starting on August 21st, and users will be able to configure their own model online starting at $1399 going all the way up to $1849 depending on what’s chosen for the notebook’s innards. This device comes with a 3rd generation Intel Core processor in three configurations: i5 at 1.7GHz, i5 at 1.8Ghz, or i7 at 2.0Ghz.

This notebook works with a lovely 14-inch HD+ display that’s Anti-glare at 1600×900 pixel resolution with brightness up to 300 nits. Memory on each different model is always 4 GB DDR 1333 MHz, you’ve got a battery inside that works with RapidCharge said to last 6.3 hours by Lenovo, and you’ve got a front-facing camera for video chat that works at 720p resolution. Each model will come with Windows 7 Professional right out of the box, and the whole beast weighs in at 2.998 pounds.

Several configurations exist, each of them costing you a few more dollar bills than the last. You’ll start with the $1399 model with Intel Core i5-3317U (1.7 GHz, 3MB L3, 1333MHz FSB) and 128GB SSD SATA 3. Next you’ll ramp up to the $1499 model with Intel Core i5-3427U (1.80 GHz, 3MB L3, 1333MHz FSB) VPRO and 128GB SSD SATA 3. There’s a model that’s quite similar to the second model with an 256GB SSD SATA 3 that’ll cost you $1649 as well. Finally there’s the king of the pack, a model with Intel Core i7-3667U (2.0 GHz, 4MB L3, 1333MHz FSB) VPRO and 256GB SSD SATA 3 for $1849 USD.

These models all come with a fabulous collection of slots and ports: (1) Mini DP, (1) Combo Audio, (1) USB 2.0, (1) USB 3.0, (1) 4-in-1 SD card reader, and Ethernet via USB dongle. They all measure in at the same height, width, and depth, at 13.03 x 8.9 x 0.74 inches. And they all come with a three year warrantee.

We’ll be checking this beast out here on SlashGear with a full review soon. For now, have a peek at the earlier posts about this device and get knowledgeable!

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon pricing and configurations revealed is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Ultrabooks now come in countless shapes and sizes, and we’ve seen display quality vary just as much. Though 1,366 x 768 may still be the norm, 1,600 x 900 panels aren’t unheard of in this ultraportable category. But what about a screen that bucks the 16:9 aspect ratio for an extra-wide 21:9? Toshiba is mixing things up with its new premium Satellite U845W Ultrabook ($1,000 and up), the first laptop to feature that odd aspect ratio.

Styled in the fashion of movie theater screens, the U845W’s 14.4-inch, 1,792 x 768 panel adds more horizontal pixels — ostensibly to enhance the movie-watching experience. In theory, too, that setup should allow for more room to multitask with windows side by side. So how good of an idea is a 21:9 screen in practice? Join us as we put it to the test.

Continue reading Toshiba Satellite U845W review: an Ultrabook with a screen size all its own

Filed under: Laptops

Toshiba Satellite U845W review: an Ultrabook with a screen size all its own originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 06 Aug 2012 16:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Unless you’re a hardcore computer geek, you may not have any idea what an SSD controller actually is. Theses processors are used for connecting and communicating with today’s modern solid-state drives. One of the biggest companies that makes controllers for solid-state storage devices is SandForce and the company has announced a new family of controllers called the SF-2200/2100 Client Flash Storage Processors.

SandForce says that by using one of the new processors inside an Ultrabook, the machine could run for an extra hour compared to existing controllers. The key feature is that these controllers consume significantly less power than older versions. At the same time, they also enable faster system boots and faster wake times (when connected to an SSD, of course.)

SandForce designed the new controllers specifically with the Ultrabook market in mind using a low Z-height that allows it to fit comfortably inside the thin laptops. Other features include support for fast SATA 6 Gb/s host connectivity, support for almost all MLC flash products, and the ability to address 24 GB to 512 GB of storage.

SandForce is a company that produces a number of different processors that control flash storage inside an SSD or computer. These controller chips can have a huge impact on how the computer performs overall including having a major impact on speed and battery life. The company has announced new controller chips promising significantly improved battery life called the SandForce SF-2200/2100 Client Flash Storage Processors.

Both of the new storage processor lines are aimed directly at the stringent power consumption requirements of ultrabooks. The most important new feature of the storage processors is that they consume significantly less power than predecessors promising as much as an extra hour of runtime per battery charge. An extra hour of runtime is a huge improvement in consumption.

SandForce is talking about three new specific products aimed at the ultrabook market, including the LSI SandForce SF-2141, SF-2241 and SF-2281 client FSPs. These processors have other benefits for the ultrabook market than extending battery life. The new processors will enable system boo and wake times to be reduced and are designed to meet the low C-height product requirement in the ultrabook market.

The controllers support SATA 6Gb/s host connectivity and are able to address between 24 GB and 512 GB of NAND flash memory. SandForce says that the processors support virtually all MLC flash product families. I’d wager these new flash controllers would find their way into other products as well since ultrabooks aren’t the only computing products that could benefit from an extra hour of battery life.

SandForce SF-2200/2100 storage processors promise an extra hour of runtime is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.