hovers.org » HP laptops http://www.hovers.org Independent reviews Thu, 11 Feb 2010 09:12:45 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 HP Envy 15 http://www.hovers.org/hp-envy-15/ http://www.hovers.org/hp-envy-15/#comments Wed, 18 Nov 2009 10:26:54 +0000 admin http://www.hovers.org/?p=343 HP Envy 15 is a new high end 15” laptop with very good performance, but quite poor cooling system. This laptop is sometimes compared to a MacBook although I cannot see why. It is true is performs quite well and has an HD screen, but it also has many disadvantages.

HP Envy 15 pros:

+ 1.6-GHz Intel Core i7-720QM CPUHP Envy 15 thumb
+ ATI Radeon HD 4830
+ Brilliant design
+ Great build quality
+ Excellent performance
+ Vivid HD screen
+ Lightweight
+ Good speakers
+ Windows 7 on board

HP Envy 15 cons:

- Poor battery performance
- Gets too hot
- Uncomfortable keyboard
- No optical drive
- No VGA-out


The design:
HP Envy 15 measures 15.0 x 9.6 x 1.0 inches and weighs 5.2 pounds so it might seem a bit heavy. The laptop is made of aluminum and magnesium so it should be really durable. Its lid is covered with patterns which make it more beautiful and will surely attract glances. The keyboard in the HP Envy 15 has large and responsive buttons and what’s still rare in notebooks it has two additional rows of keys. On the left side of the regular buttons you have a columns of shortcut keys, and on the right column of keys such as Page up/down, Home and Delete. Because the touchpad is somewhat unevenly placed it in fact disturbs writing which becomes uncomfortable, or full of mistakes when you accidentally touch the touchpad. More importantly, the HP Envy 15 get a lot too warm for comfortable use especially in the ares where you rest your wrists while typing.

HP Envy 15
Performance:
The 15.6-inch in the HP Envy 15 does a really good job with its 1920 x 1080 resolution. The screen is very evenly lit, the colors are vibrant and the viewing angles are excellent. Moreover, the laptop has a built-in sensor which automatically adjusts the brightness of the screen. As the laptop has plenty of ports you will be able to connect practically anything to it, although the HP Envy 15 unfortunately lack a VGA-out connector.
The HP Envy 15 is a really strong performer. In its class the HP Envy 15 is not only better than the average laptop, but in PCMark Vantage it scores twice as many points as the class average, so it is a real beast. The laptop is capable of doing all the regular business activities, but also playing the latest games and it can even convert some videos.
However, the HP Envy 15 will run only about 2 hours on one charge which is too little to watch a good movie on a longer journey.



The HP Envy 15 is highly customizable so you can add more RAM, larger hard disc, or even a stronger battery if you have more cash. All in all, the HP Envy 15 is not that bad, but it’s not much of a portable computer with its heat issues and poor battery performance.
Selected HP Envy 15 features and specifications:

  • Operating System

Windows 7 Home Premium

  • Processor

Intel Core i7 processor

  • Memory/RAM

Up to 16GB

  • Display

15.6″ HP Brightview high-resolution LED backlit screen

  • Graphics

ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4830 graphics (1 GB Dedicated)

  • Optical Drive

None; External optical drives in standard and Blu-Ray variety may be purchased separately

  • Battery

Up to 7 hours with optional Slim-Fit

  • Wireless

802.11n

  • Audio/Video

Stereo speakers, microphone jack, headphone jack, integrated video camera

  • Ports

2x USB 2,0, HDMI, 1 eSata/USB combo

  • Price $1,799
  • Software

Corel Paint Shop Pro Photo X2 and Corel VideoStudio Pro X2

Other recently reviewed laptops:

Asus K50, Gateway LT2016u, HP Pavilion dm3, Sony VAIO X, Acer Aspire 1410

]]> http://www.hovers.org/hp-envy-15/feed/ 0 HP Pavilion dm3 http://www.hovers.org/hp-pavilion-dm3/ http://www.hovers.org/hp-pavilion-dm3/#comments Mon, 26 Oct 2009 18:13:05 +0000 admin http://www.hovers.org/?p=272 HP Pavilion dm3 is a brand new, stylish laptop for frequent commuters which can work for up to 9 hours. The laptop has aluminum finish which makes it looks like MacBook Pro and it runs the recently released Windows 7. So let’s have a closer look at it.

HP Pavilion dm3

HP Pavilion dm3

HP Pavilion dm3 pros:


+ Battery lasts for up to 9 hours
+ Stylish design
+ Bright and crisp image
+ Built-in webcam works well in low light
+ Quite loud speakers
+ Windows 7
+ Comfy and responsive keyboard
+ Up to 4GB RAM

HP Pavilion dm3 cons:
- Touchpad could be better
- Gets warm on the left side
- Rather poor vertical viewing angles
- No CD/DVD ROM
- Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 4500MHD

The design:

HP Pavilion dm3 measures 32.6 cm (L) x 23.0 cm (W) x 2.48 cm (min H) / 3.18 cm (max H) and weighs 1.91 kg. The laptop comes in only one color – brushed aluminum and it is not prone to get too many fingerprints. The HP Pavilion dm3 has no dedicated multimedia controls, yet, the uppermost row of buttons on the keyboard serves this purpose quite well.   The keyboard on the HP laptop is very good. It provides a nice bounce and as the keys are well placed and just the right size it is easy to write fast and without making mistakes. Unfortunately, the touchpad is not that good. It can quickly pick up smudges and fingerprints which makes using it uncomfortable. What is more, the touchpad is not responsive enough and so the cursor lags. On the bright side, the two trackpad buttons in the HP Pavilion dm3 are large and responsive.
The left side of the HP laptop features the Ethernet, VGA ports, as well as the power jack and HDMI, tho USB 2.0 and a card reader. Also, mic and headphone jack can be found there. The right side houses two more USB ports, Wi-Fi on/off button and the power switch.

HP Pavilion dm3

Performance:

The HP Pavilion dm3 comes with a 13.3” screen displaying 1366 x 768 image. The horizontal viewing angles are great, but the vertical ones are a bit worse so you might sometimes need to tilt the display.
The stereo speakers on the HP Pavilion dm3 are loud and the sound quality is generally very good, although it gets a bit distorted then you turn it up too much.
The built-in webcam is sufficient to allow running conferences, not to mention making casual Skype calls.
The HP Pavilion dm3 is equipped with brand new Windows 7 yet in performance tests it scores in the average, or below average range. It is clearly not a machine for gaming, however, business performance is quite smooth.
The laptop works quietly, but it may get too warm on the bottom left side if you make it do some serious work.


Selected HP Pavilion dm3 features and specifications:

  • Operating System

Windows 7 Home Premium

  • Processor

Intel Core 2 Duo or AMD Neo Dual Core processor

  • Memory/RAM

Up to 4GB

  • Display

13.3″  HD BrightView LED Screen (1366 x 768 resolution)

  • Graphics

Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 4500MHD

  • Hard Drive

Up to 500 GB

  • Optical Drive

None; External optical drives in standard and Blu-Ray variety may be purchased separately

  • Battery

Standard 6 Cell Battery (Up to 10 hours of battery life)

  • Wireless

Atheros Wireless LAN (802.11b/g)

  • Bluetooth

Optional

  • Audio

Stereo speakers, microphone jack, headphone jack

  • Expansion Slots

Express Card Slot

  • Ports

4x USB 2,0, 5-in-1 Card reader, HDMI

  • Price

Starts at $599

  • Software

MS Office 60-day trial, Ulead DVD MovieFactory 5, MS Works 9.0

  • Weight

4.2 pounds

  • Warranty

Standard 1-Yr Parts and Labor, 1-Year Battery

Other recently reviewed laptops:
Toshiba A200-SAT 1YW T5450, Asus K50, Gateway LT2016u

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