HP Envy 4-1115dx 14-inch Touch Ultrabook

After poking around a store and peeking in the returns cage, I found my HP Envy 4 at a heavily discounted price due to a missing battery? Really? The battery is built in. I had been shopping for literally months for an affordable Ultrabook with a touchscreen, backlit keys, small footprint, an I5 CPU, and for under a grand. The closest one I could find was an Acer M5, but that one has all the USB connections in the back (yes, under the monitor hinge), and the power button is on the front edge?!? Silly design.

The HP Envy Touch 4 is nearly perfect for me, especially after the minor tweaks I have made, and plan on making. It would be perfect if it had an IPS screen. Like most TFT screens, you have to angle it right to get the most contrast. However, the screen looks better out of the box than the Acer M5. 4GB of ram is a little light for my Photoshop needs, but I can add more ram with the removal of the bottom casing. The first and easiest tweak involved a little angelic program called Classic Shell, which not only boots straight to the Windows 8 Desktop, but also adds a Windows 7 style Start Button! I have NO use for the Start Screen or Screen Formerly Known as Metro. I didn't when I beta-tested it, and I still don't. Metro is a shameless marketing ploy to get on the app bandwagon. Silly Microsoft! Apps are for kids!! With Classic Shell, you get all the familiarity of Windows 7, with all the speed of Windows 8.

The backlit keyboard is hard to find among the plethora of laptops out there, and this keyboard is perfect for me. I had considered an Asus Q500 laptop once, but the grey backlit keys were a turn-off. My last laptop was a 17-inch with a 10-key number pad, and I never used it as much as I thought I would. This keyboard is just the write size for the writing I do.

The sound is nice through the headphones, and okay without. How much sound can you expect from a 14-inch laptop anyway, Beats Audio non-withstanding?

The battery life is adequate. I haven't timed it, but I've easily used it for over 3 hours with still plenty left. It is a 4-cell Lithium Ion Polymer battery, much better than Lithium-ion alone.

I really don't use the touchscreen that much since I installed Classic Shell.

Boot-up is under 15 seconds!!

Pros: I5 CPU, super fast PC3-12800 ram, touchscreen, 2 USB 3.0 on the left, 1 USB 2.0 on the right, and SD card reader. Small, thin form factor.

Cons: Nearly 5 lbs, Windows 8, no access doors, no IPS or hi-def screen. Hey, it costs under $800 everywhere, less for an Open-Box deal!