Tag Archives: laptop
The HP Envy 14 Spectre
The HP Envy 14 Spectre is one of the most exciting laptop models that have been released this year so far thanks to its bold departure from the cookie cutter mold in terms of design. It had received lots of buzz since even before its release, and we must say that it did very much live up to its hype.
The HP Envy 14 Spectre is a 14-inch ultrabook model that is not too common in the market thus far. Weighing in at just 4 pounds and measuring 12.9 x 8.7 x 0.79 inches in dimensions, this laptop is much lighter than the standard 14-inch laptop affair. Before we proceed to the essentials of the laptops, we just must state in advance the features that make this laptop model stand out from the crowd.
For starters, this is a glass-clad laptop model. Yes your heard right; glass! Instead of the meta-finish found on many high-end laptops, which is a little of a yawn by now, the screen, upper external lid and the palm rests on the Spectre has a glass finish to them. Whether when it is in use or closed up, the laptop has a very unique to it, resembling nothing in the market so far! When folded, it looks like your laptop is made of polished marble of some sort of stone, which is really cool!
While the word glass is synonymous to the word ‘fragile’, the glass finishing on the laptop are made from corning Gorilla Glass, which is extremely tough and durable. With that said, the element of vulnerability does, strangely enough, adds to the laptop appeal.
Audio fans will also be glad to know that the HP Envy 14 Spectre comes with Beats Audio, complete with a very handy physical volume control button, Beats Audio software, a built-in subwoofer and 2 high-end speakers.
As if there isn’t enough, the laptop also has another cool feature in the form of a built-in NFC (near field communications) antenna. This feature is meant to be used with a compatible smartphone. With the right app installed, all you have to do is to place the smart phone on the palm rest of the laptop for syncing or data transfer. This is uber- cool!
The HP Envy 14 Spectre comes with an Intel Core i5-2467M, a 128 solid-state drive, 4GB of DDR3 RAM and a 1600 x 900 display screen. It currently retails at around $1400 per unit, which is a little steep, but absolutely worth every penny for those who have some extra cash to spare.
Samsung Series 5 Ultrabook Reviewed
Before we proceed to the usual tests and analysis of the Samsung Series 5 laptop model, it is best that we set expectations straight. The Series 5 is marketed as a ultrabook model, but we must state in advance that it is not as slim nor as light as we expected for a 14-inch ultrabook model. Although there are no hard and fast definitions as to what ultrabooks really are, there is a general consensus, that it should be very thin and very light compared to a regular laptop.
It is best that we view the Samsung Series 5 as an ultrabook with an optical drive (something that is not found on most ultrabook models). In light of a 14-inch laptop model with an optical drive, the size of the Series 5 laptop would then seem more reasonable. It measures at 13.1 x 9 x 0.82 inches in dimensions and weighs 3.9 pounds, which is lighter than your regular 14-inch laptop with an optical drive.
With that out of the way, we should note that the Samsung Series 5 is a pretty good mainstream laptop in its class. Its specs include an Intel Core i5-2467M processor, a 500GB SATA hard drive and 4GB of DDR3 RAM. There is also a small, built-in 16GB solid-state hard drive that helps with a quick system startup.
Design wise, the Series 5 sports the usual high-end finish with its matte aluminum lid. It generally has a very professional and sleek vibe to it to looks set to win over some style-conscious consumers. The keyboard uses matte, island style keys that were relatively quiet and comfortable to use.
Overall, the Samsung Series 5 is a pretty decent mainstream, desktop replacement laptop model. We really liked the quick start-up time on the laptop and also its nice external design. At the time of writing, the Series 5 is selling for around $900 per unit.
The Asus Eee PC 1015PX Netbook Reviewed
Wait, are you hearing right? Did you just hear the word ‘netbook’ in 2012? While many critics have declared that the netbook genre is officially dead thanks to the rise of tablets and ultrabooks, we personally feel that netbooks are here to stay for many reasons. While laptop models today have become lighter than ever before, it is worthy to note that ultrabooks sometimes cost almost 3 times the price of a regular netbook.
Tablets are very practical, ultra-light and extremely fun to use, but no one would recommend it for getting any serious work done. Because of that, there are netbooks to fill the void between ultrabooks and tablets. It many not be as powerful as the average ultrabook model, but netbooks are powerful, large and comfortable enough to get some light work done while you are one the go. While it is true that all the netbooks do come with virtual keyboards, but really, it is a far cry from the experience of using a physical keyboard and mouse/track pad.
Specs Summary:
- Processor: 1.66Ghz Intel Atom N570 dual-core
- Memory: 2GB DDR3 RAM
- Storage: 320GB SATA hard drive
- OS: 32-bit Windows 7 Home Premium
- Graphics: Intel UMA
- Screen: 10.1-inch 1024 x 600 screen
- Connectivity: 802.11n wifi, Bluetooth 3.0, 3 USB ports, memory card reader
At the time of writing, the Asus Eee PC 1015PX is one of the hottest netbook models in the market. This netbook comes with a dual core Intel Atom N570 processor, 2GB of DDR3 RAM and a 320GB hard drive. This set of specs is good enough to perform light computing needs such as surfing the web, watching movies, checking emails. It is also good enough to carry out any Microsoft Office software tasks.
We will be the first to admit that netbooks are not meant to replace full-featured laptops and desktops, to be fair, they were never meant to do that. They are designed to give users a very affordable and portable computing platform while you are on the go. If you have some extra cash to spare, ultrabooks would make excellent buys as they are much more powerful but just as possible.
One of our favorite features on the Asus Eee PC 1015PX is its impressive battery life. While Asus claims that it can last up to 11 hours on one charge, in reality, you are more likely to get 4 or 5 hours out of it with regular use and settings, which is still pretty decent by any laptop standards. This netbook measures around 10.31 x 7.01 x 1.2 inches in dimensions and weighs just 2.76 pounds. The Asus Eee PC 1015PX currently retails at around $430 each.