HP Envy TouchSmart Ultrabook 4
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We have collected 4 reviews of the HP Envy TouchSmart Ultrabook 4. Experts rate HP Envy TouchSmart Ultrabook 4 6.7/10. Reviewsor.com helps you find reviews, best prices, user reviews of the HP Envy TouchSmart Ultrabook 4 and HP Ultrabook.
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HP Envy TouchSmart Ultrabook 4 Reviews
HP Envy TouchSmart Ultrabook 4t-1100
Now that Windows 8 is here to stay, hybrid designs and touch screens will inevitably become a common sight on laptops. The first of these are just trickling into the PC Labs, and we're still getting used to reaching out to touch the display on an otherwise standard laptop. One of the first laptops to get us out of our comfort zone is the HP Envy TouchSmart Ultrabook 4t-1100 . It may not have a flipping, folding display like the Dell XPS 12 , but it does bring touch functionality to the ultrabook category with a 14-inch touchscreen. We'll probably be getting used to this for some time, but it's hard to deny that the Envy 4 TouchSmart puts us a bit more at ease with the change than we expected to be - it offers all of the touch functionality needed for the full Windows 8 experience, but none of the awkwardness of the hybrid form-factor. The distinguishing feature of the Envy 4 TouchSmart is the 14-inch touch screen, which adds the touch functionality needed to really take advantage of Windows 8. You won't see any flipping screens or twisting hinges on the Envy 4 TouchSmart, however, because it's not a hybrid, just a laptop.
HP Envy TouchSmart Ultrabook 4 review
To prepare for the Windows 8 onslaught, laptop manufacturers are trying all sorts of inventive touchscreen notebook designs. Some screens flip, some spin, some twist, and some can actually be detached from their keyboards so you can have a tablet for the road. However, the craziest new laptop design may be the simplest of all: simply graft a touchscreen onto an existing clamshell. The $799.99 HP Envy TouchSmart Ultrabook 4 is one such touchscreen notebook, and it also just so happens to be the very first one in our labs. With a fairly standard set of ultrabook specs, a relatively thick, weighty chassis, and a 1366 x 768 screen, the 14-inch laptop doesn't really stand out in any other way, however. Does the touchscreen make it a better Windows 8 laptop than with keyboard and touchpad alone? Is the Envy 4 a good laptop, period? Read on. Hardware / design It's getting hard to tell HP's thin and light consumer laptops apart: from the upcoming $1,399.99 Envy Spectre XT TouchSmart to the lowly $579.99 Envy Sleekbook 6, they all share extremely similar chassis. Only the quality of the materials and components, the weight and the thickness really differ from device to device.
HP Envy TouchSmart Ultrabook 4 review: fast, capable but heavy Windows 8 Ultrabook
The HP Envy TouchSmart Ultrabook 4 is a cleanly designed, good performing Windows 8 laptop with a nice array of ports and good input ergonomics. The only issue is weight--the digitizer for the touchscreen, support for it and the overall build quality adds quite a bit of heft to the unit which travels at 5.3 pounds with AC adapter. That's heavy for a laptop with only a 14-inch display. If the weight doesn't bother you, there's a lot to like about the Envy TouchSmart Ultrabook 4. The keyboard is short-throw, but it types well. The touchpad is a one-piece rocking unit, and has a good overall feel, though the press to click function requires more than the usual amount of force. It's on the sensitive side when it comes to taps, but that's a matter of taste. Our test unit shipped with an Intel Core i5-3317U CPU, 4GB of system memory, and integrated Intel HD 4000 graphics. The hard drive is a 500GB Seagate Slim with a 32GB Liteonit SSD for caching. All told a $875 configuration. You can lower that price by $75 by opting for a slower Core i3-3217U CPU, or up the price by $100/$150 for 8GB of memory in the form of 2 or 1 SODIMMs.
HP Envy TouchSmart Ultrabook 4 Review
When introducing a new operating system, why not go with an established design? HP has done just that with the HP Envy TouchSmart Ultrabook 4, which combines the sleek looks of the Envy 4 with a touch-screen display and Windows 8. At $904, about $100 more than the non-touch-enabled Envy, HP hopes to hook early adopters with a Core i5 processor, Beats Audio and a head-turning chassis. Will they take the bait?Click to EnlargeA direct descendant of the Envy 4-1030US Ultrabook, the Envy TouchSmart Ultrabook 4's lid is sheathed in black brushed aluminum that's cool to the eye and to the touch. The slight vertical striations lends the notebook character and plays up the industrial chic look. A thin strip of hard black plastic runs along the top the lid, and a chrome HP logo sits in the bottom right corner. We were more than pleased to find that, unlike the Envy 4, the TouchSmart's lid did not catch on the back of the chassis when we opened the notebook.Click to EnlargeThe notebook's interior is comprised of more brushed aluminum, except this time in a luxe silver. A slightly raised speaker bar rests between a pair of plastic silver hinges.
Prices
| Retailer | Information | Prices | |
|---|---|---|---|
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HP ENVY Ultrabook 4-1038nr | $637.3 | See it |
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HP ENVY Ultrabook 4-1038nr | $637.3 | See it |
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HP Envy 4-1130us 14-Inch Ultrabook (Black) | $749.99 | See it |
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HP Envy 4-1130us 14-Inch Ultrabook (Black) | $749.99 | See it |
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HP Consumer B5K91UA number ABA 14 in. i5 3317U 500GB 4GB | $1135.35 | See it |
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HP Envy TouchSmart Ultrabook 4 : (6.7/10)
4 expert reviews
0 user reviews
