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HP Envy 15 Review, No Word Yet on Ivy Bridge Version

The early 2012 (or late 2011, depending on how you look at it) HP Envy 15 continues to be a popular laptop at HP, given it is one of the few HP laptops available with the IPS Panel, BrightView Radiance display upgrade option. You can check out this quick video review produced by Dealzon on the new Envy 15:

While it wasn’t specifically made as a gaming laptop, the well-spec’ed Envy 15 comes with option of Quad Core i7 (Sandy Bridge version) along with the mid-range Radeon 7690M, giving it plenty of power to play latest gaming titles.

There’s no word yet from HP for updates to the newer Ivy Bridge chips on the Envy 15 & 17, but we expect HP to eventually update the line-up as they pair the proper GPU with the machine (likely option of nVidia GT 650M, similar to their dv6t Quad and dv7t Quad laptops).

On the audio side, HP managed to really surprise reviewers by pairing the laptop with very good speakers, with review from The Verge stating “Beats audio isn’t just branding on the Envy 15.” This isn’t too surprising considering the laptop comes with SIX front speakers along with a mini subwoofer, tucked neatly away in near the battery bay.

You’ll find that the volume control knob on the side of the laptop to be extremely useful, making it easy to adjust volume on the fly, versus the usual pressing of “Function + Up/Down arrow” combo found in many laptops.

All in all this is a pretty good laptop and gives some nice added boost to the preimum Envy line-up, considering HP did away with the BrightView Radiance option from the Envy 14, most people are happy that HP has decided to bring the Envy 15 back along with the higher resolution 1920 x 1080 display.

If HP decides to upgrade the Envy 15 (and its bigger brother Envy 17) to the new Ivy Bridge Core i7-3610M option, it’ll be very likely much more competitive to the newer laptops on the market, especially when you consider the fact that there still aren’t too many Ivy Bridge machines out there. Prices will probably be about $100 more than the current price, but the added performance should be a welcome addition for many users.

HP drops hints of Envy Spectre inspired Envy all-in-one printer

HP Envy 100 printer from 2010 is about to be refreshed for 2012/2013

We’re not too sure if the HP Envy 100 made a big splash when it was released in 2010 but apparently it did sufficiently well that HP is considering a second model to add to their HP Envy printer line. There are no pictures or official specifications yet but at the Global Influencer Summit Shanghai conference, HP is dropping hints of a new Envy printer with high build quality and a stylish design with clean lines. This new and upcoming Envy printer will feature metal hinges and scan bar, a low-profile hidden paper tray and glass control panel – sounds very Envy 14 Spectre inspired to us. The next-generation Envy printer is reportedly able to print from anywhere from many devices (is that a hint of wireless printing there?), sports a simple and intuitive user interface and have quiet operation (which is nice, since I can hear the sound of regular printers when it turns on/prints/scans from a mile away).

HP has also unveiled a design direction for their premium products, which apparently started with the Envy 14 Spectre: natural materials with glass and metal, harmonious design with simplicity and usability in mind and reliability.

No word on when this new Envy printer will be announced or what its price will be. And with the mentioning of the design direction for their premium products in general, one can pretty sure the Envy 14 Spectre isn’t going to be HP’s only glass product for long…

HP Envy Spectre XT is a branch from the Envy 14 Spectre

HP Envy Spectre XT

In addition to the two new Envy models this week, HP announced a slightly more affordable offshoot in their Envy Spectre line. The new HP Envy Spectre XT is a slightly slimmer, lighter and lower priced sibling to the Envy 14 Spectre announced earlier this year while retaining more of a premium upper-tier feel than said two cheaper Envy models.

• Upcoming 2012 Ivy Bridge low voltage Intel Core processors
• Unknown slots for DDR3 1600 MHz RAM (comes with 4 GB)
• 128 GB SSD comes standard (upgradeable to 256 GB SSD)
• 13.3 inch display (1366 x 768 resolution only)
• Intel Integrated Graphics 4000
• Buttonless multitouch trackpad
• Full-sized backlit keyboard
• Connectivity ports include: One USB 3.0 and one USB 2.0 ports, HDMI, SD card slot, combo headphone/microphone jack and Ethernet
• Beats Audio with 4 speakers
• HP True Vision HD webcam
• 8 hour battery life rating
• 1.45 cm (0.5 inches) thin, 1.4 kg (3.1 lbs) weight
• Available on June 8; starts at $999
• 1 year warranty

The Envy Spectre XT has a tapered-edge design, giving the impression of looking slimmer than it really is. But it lacks the glass lid of the Envy 14 Spectre.

HP launches Envy 4 and Envy 6 Sleekbook and Ultrabook series

2012 HP Envy 4 and Envy 6 Sleekbook and Ultrabook models

HP has just expanded their line of ‘premium’ laptops with two pairs of new thin and light Envy laptops. The new Envy 4 and Envy 6 models are each available in two flavors: Envy Sleekbook and Envy Ultrabook. If that sounds confusing, pay attention closely: the models are the Envy 4 with a 14 inch display and Envy 6 with a 15.6 inch display.

The HP Envy 4 and Envy 6 are more affordable models in the HP Envy range which sport ‘signature’ features of the Envy line such as a buttonless trackpad, streamlined design and Beats audio. However, these affordable models also omit the high resolution displays, premium construction and 2 year warranty (these only come with a standard 1 year) found on more upscale models such as the Envy Spectre, Envy 15 and Envy 17. Another difference: backlit keyboards also don’t come standard with the Envy 4 and Envy 6, though they will be available as options (read: costs extra) for both models.

Sleekbook and Ultrabook are just ways that each model is configured – they share almost every feature except the Sleekbook variant (HP’s speak for not-quite an Intel Ultrabook) comes with only a hard disk and may come with AMD processors while the Ultrabook variant adds 32 GB of solid state cache for storage and faster boot times/program launch times while retaining the hard disk on the side. The solid state cache and hard disk on the HP Envy Ultrabook series appear to be two separate physical drives instead of a fancy single hybrid hard disk.

2012 HP Envy 4t Sleekbook and Ultrabook

The HP Envy 4 and Envy 6 (plus their respective Sleekbook and Ultrabook variants) actually share a lot in common, right down to the thinness and weight. Of course, the 14 inch Envy 4 has a smaller footprint while the 15.6 inch Envy 6 and its larger surface area allows it to pack more battery life. Otherwise, check out the features these new Envy models have in common:

• Choice of 2011 Sandy Bridge low voltage Intel Core processors or upcoming 2012 Ivy Bridge low voltage Intel Core processors (if you prefer to wait for the new stuff to roll out in a few months)
  AMD Trinity low voltage APU processor choices available beginning June 20
• 2 slots for DDR3 1600 MHz RAM (currently configurable up to 8 GB on HP’s website)
• 500 GB 5400 RPM hard disk drive
• 14 inch display (1366 x 768 resolution only) for Envy 4
  15.6 inch display (same 1366 x 768 resolution for Envy 6
• Choice of Intel Integrated Graphics 3000 or 2 GB AMD Radeon 7670M dedicated graphics card
• Buttonless large trackpad
• Ports include: 2 USB 3.0, one USB 2.0, HDMI, SD card slot and Ethernet
• Beats Audio with 2 speakers and dedicated subwoofer
• Battery life rating up to 8 hours (Envy 4) and 9 hours (Envy 6)
• 19.8 mm (0.78 inch) thin and 1.8 kg (4 lbs) weight for both models
• HP True Vision HD webcam
• Choose between two color schemes: silver with black accents or black with red accents

The key difference lies in the fact the HP Envy 4t and Envy 6t Ultrabook variants add a 32 GB mSATA cache into the mix along with Intel Rapid Start, Identity Protection, Smart Response and Smart Connect; this tacks on an extra $50 to the price over their respective Sleekbook variants.

2012 HP Envy 6t Sleekbook and Ultrabook

Both the Envy 4t and Envy 6t are currently available for purchase now, with the exception of the Envy 6 Sleekbook variant which will be available on June 20. Here are their respective base prices:

• Envy 4 Sleekbook starts at $699
• Envy 4 Ultrabook starts at $749
• Envy 6 Sleekbook starts at $599 (only AMD processors; no Intel options available)
• Envy 6 Ultrabook starts at $799

HP announces 2012 Pavilion, EliteBook, Probook, Envy, desktop models

And we’re back with HP announcing a boatload of new notebooks and computers yesterday, plus a printer and monitor or two. There’s so much news right now (and as usual we didn’t get any info ahead of time from HP) so expect some writeups and opinions soon once I manage the massive amount of specs and stories of the new products.

On the consumer side of things, HP has refreshed their Pavilion models with the new dv4, dv6 and dv7 full-size laptop models with 14 to 17 inch screens along with a new entry-level affordable ultrabook model called the Pavilion m6. HP has also updated their super-budget G-series laptops with the new HP g6 and g7.

If you’re a fan of HP’s prestigious Envy line, they have a whopping 5 new Envy models announced today. There’s the HP Envy Spectre XT which is a scaled down version of their premium Envy Spectre 14 announced earlier this year. There’s also the Envy Sleekbook and Envy Ultrabook models, each come in two flavors: 14 and 15.6 inch display sizes.

For their business-class products, HP has launched a whole line of new EliteBook models, including a brand new 11 inch EliteBook 2170p ‘baby EliteBook’ model along with more ProBook models, Compaq desktop models and new entry-level Compaq monitors (one is a touchscreen model).

Other things launched include a new 23 inch IPS LED monitor, Officejet 150 all-in-one printer and Photosmart 5520 printer.

We’ll be writing up more on these shiny new HP products to give each of them well-deserved attention and coverage so wait till we post those articles!