Laptop-Review.eu

Overview


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HP has been given a unique opportunity here to correct some of Apple’s missteps, namely the available I/Os. You connect the power on the left, where you can also see the accompanying diode, and it is also possible to insert the SD card included in the package, which is rather nice. So, like Apple, they have put all their ports on one side. That makes it easy to keep track of them, at least.

There is a combined sound and microphone jack, 2 USB ports and one HDMI output. If you need an Ethernet LAN port, you will have use the USB-to-LAN adapter included. Sadly this means you will be left with only 1 USB port, which is much too little.
One of the advantages compared to Apple is the HDMI port rather than the impractical mini display port that does not transfer audio. However, Apple did include a LAN port and 2 USB ports as well. In other words, HP have not really improved anything, and since Apple even put in an optical drive, they actually fall behind.
Alright, enough about that, it is just a shame they have not learned anything from Apple’s small mistakes and even made some of their own. Maybe I am just being too sensitive, and maybe it is a matter of opinion.

Diodes


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Click to enlarge


Click to enlarge

The diodes are tiny round and elegant circles, lighting white and orange. They work well and are very clear. There is one by the DC-input, the power button, Capslock, sound and WiFi.
Since they have made such a high class model, it would have been truly great with a backlit keyboard, which is worth gold in my opinion. Sadly, they left that out.
Keyboard and touchpad


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The keys are adequately sized and have a great feel when pressed. There is sufficient space between them so you do not accidentally press the wrong one. Overall, I would say they did great with the keyboard. However, it would have been nice if the keys were a bit harder. They are just a bit too soft, softer than the MacBook’s for comparison. Once again though, it falls down to taste. Great keyboard in any case.

The touchpad is made as one large surface and you can now click everywhere on it. Again it brings MacBooks to mind, but enough about that. The surface is incredibly comfortable to navigate around and it is in my opinion one of the best touchpads made to date along with Apple’s. Your fingers glide easily over it, and it large enough to leave plenty of space for navigation.

The touchpad has a springy, metallic sort of sound when you click it. This is unfortunate in my opinion. They might have made the sound deeper and more button-y.

Like Apple they have added multitouch functions, allowing you to for example zoom in on websites and rotate pictures. It works alright, even if Apple really owns the market. It does come across as an attempt to copy something popular, but at least it is a good attempt.

What they lack compared to Apple is fine-tuning, and there is definitely a problem if you for example navigate with one finger and suddenly use your thumb to click the touchpad. So, they are getting there but the perfect touchpad is still far off.

Display


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Click to enlarge

As noted already, the display has a glossy surface that makes it susceptible to glare. It is a shame you cannot pick a matte display instead. Luckily the colours and contrast are amazing, and they can be proud of the LED-backlit display. Like its bigger brother, it sports a resolution of 1366x768 pixels, a cinema style format which is good for movies. It is a fine resolution for a 13 incher but not so much for the 15 incher.
All in all a display you will like, whether it is for movies or work. Just keep in mind glare is a factor you cannot get rid of.

We have started testing displays for pixel errors and faults in the backlighting. To do that we use a program called MonitorTest. It works by, for example, blackening the entire display, which will expose dead pixels (fields that do not change colour). It also allows you to see if the backlighting is uneven.

Luckily there are no dead pixels here and the display is of the expected quality. Great with a well-made product; luckily HP seem to be making a lot of those.

Sound and speakers

The sound is great compared to the size. It has slightly more of a bass than Apple, so you can actually listen to your favourite songs on it. It falls on the good side of average when it comes to audio on laptops, so that is something to be proud of. Of course it is not a substitute for a proper sound system at a party or whatnot, but the sound is good and it can play at a decent enough level. Not bad.

Noise, heat and power consumption
This model may use passive cooling, at least to a certain extent. There is a very weak fan running continuously, so it never reaches very high temperatures. It does not get annoyingly hot, although in the high end of lukewarm. The fan ensures you will constantly hear a weak buzzing from the computer, but it is not loud enough to get annoying.

Promises of battery life are grand, especially on this 13 incher, so I expect a lot from the battery test.