Wow! I am an early adopter of technology and an engineer go figure. My wife accidentally damaged (beyond repair) my favorite super powerful laptop FX7811. Suddenly I am trying to evaluate new laptops. The Ultrabooks are the latest thing and the bleeding edge of technology is the 10 point touch screen combined with FHD full high def. Most laptops offer a limited slate of the right technology, at high prices, others are cheap and easily convince you of the same. I studied them all for two months solid and settled on the top of the line (but not yet released) ASUS ux500vz touch for an as yet (still) unnamed price probably upwards of $2500. After becoming weary of waiting on ASUS delays with manufacturing setbacks and their general lack of information regarding releases and availability schedules, sketchy or incomplete spec information, and no pricing, I was left uncertain as to whether or when and at what cost my dream ultrabook might be on the market.Feeling like it was time to make a move and interested in optimizing the price away from the top of the line ASUS (it was also too big for what I wanted my last was a great 1900x1200 dpi 17 inch screen with a dedicated graphics card. It weighed 10+ pounds and was worth it! BUT I was ready for a slice of new technology via a cool, thin, lightweight ulrabook. Enter the HP Spectre XT. Researched it and knew immediately it was the right combination of technology for me. Long story short, saw this version (not available for custom build on HP site or in any stores or on line at least as far as I was able to find), and knew instantly the price point was significant for what you got. I personally tried the ACER super ultrabook the S7 and found it very impressive but not very ergonomically friendly too thin to be comfortable, and with sharp edges (which are needed for structural ridgidity in an ULTRA thin laptop), but not friendly to the touch. Unfortunately, it also had some software problems and a warped case. The HP blew it away. 12 GB of RAM! What? The rest of the also rans have 4. The premiums have 6 and a couple have 8. None with 12, except HP. And try to get a FHD screen, not 1320x768 (crap avoid at all cost), not first level high definition 720p (1600x900), but a FULL HIGH DEF 1080p TOUCH SCREEN (1920x1080), which is very hard to find, at any price. Get it You will thank me later. I also purchased and used for a month an ACER M5, which is a great size and quality ultrabook, with a built in DVD drive built in! Uncommon in an ultrabook. (BUT it has a crap screen quality so it will have to go back otherwise much better ergonomically than the super slick S7 big brother which has a great screen too BTW (but suffered otherwise from ills above).
So at the end of the day, the stealthy and unsuspecting HEWLETT PACKARD EASILY WINS in this configuration with its sexy looks, silky operation, nice software bundle (photoshop and premier elements, etc.!), and upgrades by an authorized HP modifier and reseller. Way above what I would expect from HP but they did it. Keep your money on shore and be not afraid of this Ultra gorgeous Ultra powerful laptop! I ordered it sight unseen, based on its specs and price point BOY WAS I NOT DISAPPOINTED!! FIVE STARS!! THANKS!!!
I will ring in again later after I have had more time with this beauty for a follow up review. Meanwhile get yours on Amazon from these guys!
UPDATE 2-12-13 Well after a month of heavy use, I can affirm all my initial feelings were correct. This is the finest laptop I have ever owned or seen. I have no complaints. Still getting used to Windows 8, but then Microsoft's monopoly is not a democracy so might as well get used to it. Overall W8 is a very good product. Looking forward to growing with it. Touch screen is something we should have had long ago. Cant imagine a non touch laptop using windows 8. What a technology steal from Apple (who refuses to make a touch screen laptop or desktop because they don't think they are useful or ergonomic). I find myself switching from keyboard and mouse to touch screen in a fluid and almost natural way. Thanks to Microsoft for developing the Ultrabook concept. It is just what the laptop world needed. for that matter (still haven't seen an actual ASUS 500uv touch but this one is smaller and lighter so who cares?) And thanks to HP for this beauty! Still wowed over this thing. Finally thanks to the reseller ELUKTRONICS!! Not sure about the name, but when your product and service are this good, who cares?!! Spot on! The only thing that could have been better is to have dedicated graphics and twin SSD's something I talked to them about. Working on it, but internal size considerations make it impossible for now. Besides you would have to pay a battery life premium if they were to find a way to mount a dedicated graphics card. As well, the Intel HD 4000 really does a bang up job and very nicely fits with the ultrabook concept of maximum power per pound and watt!!
The touch screen wasn't a primary part of the decision process, but it works very well. The visual quality from the display is incredible.
Speakers aren't bad, but I still prefer headphones or an external speaker system. There's only so much you can do with the size requirements.
All of the performance attributes met my expectations. I didn't intend to play any modern games on it, so the lower graphics scores haven't been a factor. I've played some older standby games and they seem to run without any issues.
WEI:
Processor 7.1
Memory: 7.7
Graphics: 5.6
Gaming graphics: 6.4
Primary hard disk: 7.8this HP spectre is super fast with Intel I-7, and SSD drive plus a 500Gig harddrive. Starts up in like 15 sec.
I've tried several laptops with windows 8. Did not like them some did not have a touch screen, one was a major brand with touch screen but touch screen was slow and only had two point touch. Just not happening for me.
Then I tried this HP Spectre xt touchsmart ultrabook with intel I-7, 256gig SSD plus 500gig harddrive 2 3.0 USB ports, a 2.0 port with charging while shut down. also thunderbolt port,for larger external storage. Bluetooth 4.0 so pair it with your smart phone. This touchscreen is fantastic and windows 8 makes sense with this computer. I added the BD external drive and on USB 3.0 is fast.
Windows 8 can be setup just the way you want with this laptop and I now enjoy using windows 8 and this laptop.
Would recommend any one looking for a touch screen windows 8 laptop, look at this before you buy another. The only people who might want to look at something different is extreme gamers. This doesn't have a fast graphics card, graphics is on the motherboard.
Can't beat this ultrabookI'm very impressed with this ultrabook. It has an unbelievable amount of power in such a small and attractive form factor. The 1080p IPS touchscreen is simply gorgeous. I usually prefer matte displays and was a little worried about the glossy finish, but this screen doesn't reflect too much light. With Windows 8, UEFI, and the upgraded 256 GB SSD, this machine boots in seconds and applications load instantly. I'm glad that I maxed out the RAM to 12 GB – I use about 3 GB under casual use, more under heavy load, so 12 GB should help prevent any necessary upgrades in the near term.
The multi-gesture trackpad is large and performs very well – I always find myself using the two finger scroll gesture. The keyboard is large and spacious, although I wish the up and down arrow keys weren't so small and close together. Battery life is somewhat poor, but I knew that before purchasing. I haven't run any rigorous battery tests yet, but it seems to only get about 4 hours with my current power settings.
I'm still undecided as to how useful touchscreens are on a laptop, but I do find myself using it more and more. However, I didn't want to buy a Windows 8 laptop without one. Since Microsoft is pushing touch-centric applications, I didn't want to force myself into obsolescence in the event that it takes off.
Overall, I'm extremely happy with this laptop and seller!I have been using this laptop for a couple weeks now, and it continues to impress me. Windows 8 takes a bit of getting used to (and my jury is still out on how much better it is than Windows 7, which I really like). I find that I use the standard Windows desktop a lot more than the Apps. However, my overall experience has been very positive.
First of all, this computer is lightning fast with the SSD hard drive, 12 GB of Ram, and i7 processor. It boots up in less than 10 seconds, which is absolutely amazing! It is also an awesome looking machine. A lot of people think it's a Macbook Air at first glance, but I quickly show them it's better. For the money, a Mac would not even come close to the specs of this machine. Also, I find the touch screen to be very useful, as well as something that impresses people.
My old desktop was over 5 years old and very slow. When I first started looking for an upgrade, I knew I wanted something that would perform much faster (as I was tired of waiting for things to load, programs freezing, etc), but initially I was not looking for something in this price range. However, after research I decided that I would go with Windows 8 because it is advertised as more secure and faster than Windows 7. Since Windows 8 is more or less designed with a touch screen in mind, I figured I would get a touch screen laptop. Finally, after looking on Amazon, I found that this laptop was the most bang for the buck. I do recommend getting the 256 GB SSD vs the 128 GB SDD because if you are storing Apps on the SSD, the Apps tend to take up a lot of space. They can be up to 100 MB each.
Anyways, I have NO Regrets on this machine! The more I use it, the more I love it!
As a side note: I've had good customer service from the seller Eluktronics Inc. Very pleased with the purchase!
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