List Price: $699.99
Sale Price: $578.00
Today's Bonus: 17% Off
My review is going to be in sections about each feature or aspect of the laptop and then an overall thought about it.
Size: This is a nice portable, not too small not too big laptop. I carry it in my backpack to and from school and I can not feel a difference between this and a small text book. It's nice not having to lug my 6 year old hp around anymore.
Screen: On the highest brightness setting the screen is very bright and well lit. Lowest brightness setting will save some battery life and it's not too low where you cant see anything but just perfect. The led screen is much brighter, more energy efficient and gives a better picture when watching movies or playing games compared to the older fluorescent style screens. The hd resolution is typical for any standard computer and on a 14 inch screen it looks better than on a 15 inch or 17 inch. You just loose some screen space but improve the clarity. The screen itself is pretty thin too. Stack two nickels together and that about how thin it is. Although it is pretty solid
Build: The computer is all plastic. Its your typical plastic that most laptops use today but everything on the computer feels pretty solid and not chincy. There is no metal screen back or anything like that.
Ports: The hdmi port works great. Hooked it up to my led tv the other day and worked right away and looks nice. Usb 2.0 port works like every other usb 2.0 port I have used and seems very standard and is located on the left hand side. I currently use it for a wireless mouse dongle. The 2 usb 3.0 ports are located on the right hand side, side by side, next to the hdmi port. I transferred some file in about 15 seconds that would have taken probably a minute with usb 2.0. If you do not know usb 3.0 is alot fast than 2.0 but if you are just transferring small word documents or small pictures you wont really notice it. I find it pretty convenient this laptop includes both and not just one or the other. It also has your typical cat 5 which includes a clasp type of mechanism where the plug in goes I'm assuming for extra security which is nice too. There is a mic/headphone port (not seperate). I read somewhere that this was a bad thing as it a combined port an not seperate for a mic and a seperate pair of headphones but the way I see it is there is already a built in microphone by the webcam so you don't need a seperate mic anyways. So if you have earbuds or headphones with a built in mic it works that way as well.
Trackpad: Has raised bumps which I prefer over a smooth one because you can get the feel of it more. Also you can turn the trackpad off by double tapping the circle indentation in the upper left hand corner. All finger control for windows 8 feel fine and I don't have a problem with them. Just takes time to get used to if you aren't already. You also have your typical left and right buttons that have a nice solid click.
Keyboard. Chiclet style. I prefer this setup as the keys are more on their own "island". Just like mac keyboards. They are more spaced out than a standard keyboard but I was able to get used to it after a couple minutes of typing. Keys are very easy to press and I don't feel a slight bit of finger strain at all. The up and down arrows are smaller than white I am used to but not a problem at all. Features on the keyboard also include screen brightness adjustment, mute, sound up/down, wifi on/off and is a standard size keyboard. It also has play and stop etc.
Sound: I didn't notice this in the advertisement but this laptop has altec lansing speakers with dolby advanced audio. They sound great for such a small laptop and wathcing a movie would be enjoyable or listening to music or playing games.
Performance: This has 6gb of ram and the 3rd gen i5 17 watt processor. The 6gb of ram should be enough for almost anyone which i nice that you don't have to upgrade it right away. The processor is the 3rd gen i5 with Ivy Bridge. I look at this processor as an efficient but powerful processor. I was able to download some files off the internet, watch 3 movies in 1080p and play music on pandora all at once. So this should be fine for almost anything you want to do. I am not a gamer so I can't comment on that. The 17 watts i5 processor had me concerned when I first got it thinking it might be too slow since the regular ones run at 35 watts but that all gone and I am very pleased to do anything I really want without having to wait for anything to catch up. I also read a review on the 17 watt i5 vs the 35 watt and the tests came back almost identical. So you get the performance while using less power. Also my older style hp would heat up lie an oven. I've been running this one pretty hard that last hour and it has yet to get hot. Stays cool to the touch. The vent is also located on the side which is great for people who actually use laptops on their lap.
Battery: Every laptop that you can get a good deal on always has a cruch. The battery life on this is about 4 hours. Thats surfing the web, watching some online videos and listening to music. It is pretty good for a 4 cell battery and just how small it is but there is better out there. I find that I am able to go to school and work on anything I have to before I leave so it works for me. So if you use this for travel or dont have a power outlet near you, you might want to consider buying another battery or a portable power supply.
Webcam: Webcam is front and center and works. It's not 1080p hd or anything but it works and has the same resolution you will find standard anywhere else.
Overall I love the laptop. It's lightweight, powerful, slim and has all the features you need. The only reason I took away the one star is because of the battery life. Its great to have this much power in a smaller laptop but it needs a bigger battery some days. Also any upgrading of the hard drive, memory etc...requires you go through the keyboard which can be a pain but it's not that difficult to do. If you are looking for a lightweight laptop that has great performance, resolution and you dont plan on using it for more than 4 hours at a time without a charge then this would be it.
****After a couple months now I have really enjoyed this laptop. I still have to reach for my charger every now and then but most of the time the battery life is long enough where I can get done what I need to. It last about 4 hours on a dim screen. Overall performance is still excellent. Loads and plays a 1080p movie on youtube without hesitation. The issue with my last hp laptop is it would get really hot. This one gets warm if I leave it on the bed, but not hot or even really warm. The paint by the keyboard and mousepad haven't dulled at all. I paid $400 for this on black friday. I would pay the asking price for this laptop if I needed a lightweight, fast and efficient laptop.
Update 4-13-13
Still running strong. No issues yet and I still like everything about it.
I wanted to inform some people who have not experienced Windows 8 yet. All of the advertisements shown for Windows 8 has the "tile" layout, similiar to smartphones and tablets. It's great for those devices but Windows 8 also has a "retro" user interface which is the traditional layout most people are used to and is found on Windows 7, Vista, XP etc. So you can have icons just like the Windows 7 but there is no start menu. You can add a start menu through a free download, google it, that works fairly well. That way you can access everything traditionally like you normally would in Windows 7 and XP by clicking on Start. Also Windows 8 is incredibly fast when starting up. Windows XP and 7 take an average of 45 seconds plus. Windows 8 Takes about 15 seconds for me to get signed on with this laptop. So it if fast which is nice if you have to log on quickly. Any questions please leave a comment.
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