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 EliteBook Folio 9740m business ultrabook
It’s an EliteBook! It’s a Folio! Nope, it’s both! HP announced their new EliteBook Folio 9740m this week. The new EliteBook Folio 9470m appears to be the spiritual successor to the HP ProBook 5330m and now packs even more features that business users will appreciate than before. The EliteBook Folio 9740m (yes what a long name) caters to business users more perfectly than before, providing them with an alternative to the HP Folio 13 which has been reviewed and found to be rather consumer-oriented.
On the outside, the HP EliteBook Folio 9740m sports a body which has the same design philosophy that HP introduced with last year’s EliteBook models, including a solid aluminum construction. The EliteBook Folio 9740m will be available on yet-to-be-mentioned 2012 Intel Ivy Bridge processors, though it’s no biggie of Intel hasn’t announced some of their new mobile chips yet since the HP EliteBook Folio is expected to become available in October this year (no that is not a joke!) which gives prospective buyers give-or-take 5 months to twiddle thumbs. Since release of this model is so far away, we don’t have a lot of information so far but here’s what we do know about HP’s business Ultrabook:
- Upcoming 2012 Ivy Bridge Intel Core processors (not sure if low voltage or full voltage)
- Unknown slots for DDR3 1600 MHz RAM (though HP says it will support up to 16 GB)
- 2.5 storage drive bay for HDD or SSD (plus optional 32 GB mSATA SSD if you go with a hard disk as a main drive)
- 14 inch matte display (1366 x 768 resolution only); no word on higher-resolution 1600 x 900 option
- Intel Integrated Graphics 4000
- Trackpad with physical buttons; pointing stick with dedicated buttons
- Full-sized backlit keyboard with dedicated Home/End/Page Up/down keys
- Display Port and VGA ports
- Connectivity ports include: Smart Card reader, 3 USB ports (at least one of them is USB 3.0), SD card slot, combo headphone/microphone jack and Ethernet
- SRS HD Audio branding for speakers
- HD webcam
- 1.9 cm (0.75 inches) thin, 1.6 kg (3.6 lbs) weight
- Available in October; base price starts at $1149
The HP EliteBook Folio 9470m has features that cater to business uers such as a TPM security chip, HP Protect Tools security software with full encryption options, underside port compatible with HP docking stations (the standard one that has been available for years) and support for an optional secondary battery.
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 Fansite is back
Hey everyone! Just a quick update here… summarized version: HP Fansite is back in full swing, expect us.
Long director’s cut version: Apologies for the scarce updates to the site for the first half of this year/near the end of last year. I’ve been busy with school work (busy 2 semesters lately, today’s the last day of school, 1 more year till graduation… my future 2 semesters will be less busy, means more time for HP Fansite =), work work (got a side job as an event photographer), other web design work (due to new site features, work on the design of HP Fansite’s planned sister-site for video game reviews/gaming hardware has started over) and general drop in morale (due to HP’s lack of direct updates to us and not sending us anything for review; perhaps this is due to rocky management?).
…which reminds me before we continue: If anyone from HP is reading this, sending us some more products for review would be much appreciated!
Besides life’s busy-ness, I’ve got a few more personal updates:
- I’ve been trying to figure ways to pay bills (education is expensive, so is cost of living!)
- I got internet tethering on my phone so I can update HP Fansite more frequently (even during my friend’s wedding I will be attending next month!)
- I’m building a desktop PC, it will be my first ever non-HP machine in more than a decade (I can’t sustain always upgrading laptops so building my own machine is cheaper). I still use an old HP EliteBook when I’m not at home though – it’s still rock solid and very reliable!
- I’m moving, again – it’s only the second time I’m moving in my life but I’m already not enthusiastic about it.
- Thanks to the several loyal readers who have been keeping in touch with me via email/Twitter. Again I apologize for the inactivity earlier this year and I hope you all stick around because HP Fansite is going to be active from now on!
That’s it for now! Thanks for reading HP Fansite, look out for new posts and articles soon!
HP Folio 13 Ultrabook
Earlier this year, one of our loyal readers, Tomas Hlatky posted his in-depth review of the HP Folio 13 on computer hardware website PC.sk (I think the best description about PC.sk from me is that they’re the DPReview of computers in Slovakia). His review spans a whopping 13 pages long and extensively covers hardware and benchmarks, along with plenty of photos showing views of the HP Folio 13. Such an in-depth review should definitely be appreciated, so if you don’t know Slovak, Google has a handy and very nicely translated version of Tomas’ HP Folio 13 review.
I’m not a spoilers type of person so I’ll leave discovering the Folio 13 to you. However, it’s interesting that he concludes the review with a mention that the HP Folio 13 is more of a consumer ultrabook. It lacks a couple of things that business users will appreciate, notably a fingerprint reader, HP ProtectTools and a higher resolution display. We think that HP has addressed this with today’s launch of the new business-class HP EliteBook Folio 9470m but we’ll find out once the EliteBook Folio review rolls out.
