First thing I want to write is that it was amazing to see that it took 13 seconds to get to the home screen or whatever screen they call it in windows 8. That was just impressive. I have own an ASUS laptop before and the touchpad was fairly good but something was missing, I was making too many errors while typing. Hp has done a brilliant job in keyboard placing at least that's what I think. similarly the touchpad feels great, it is not a plain surface, you feel some resistance while moving the hand around it and it feels good, feels I have more control over the touchpad. May not feel much of an important thing but with Windows 8 trust me, you are going to love that.
On the bad side, you can easily see fingerprints on it which is kind of distracting in my case, thinking to buy a cool laptop skin to solve that problem. F5 button is constantly on, which i thought was not necessary before but in the dark you know exactly where to press to turn on the backlit and dont have to try to guess where is Fn button and F5. So i don't have problem with F5 lighting up anymore, trying to getting used to that.
Bottom-line for less than $800 this machine is just perfect for someone like me who wants to get latest in the technology, both flash memory to boot up way faster (Ultrabook thing)and Windows 8,btw i want to comment on windows8, if you have had a windows phone before it should not be much of a problem to get used to it and for the rest, people are buying apple computers for the first time and trying to learn how to use it, trust me it wont be half of that trouble to get used to windows 8, its time to evolve to next generation anyway:)
HP's Sleekbooks are very handsome devices. They feature top-shelf materials, and the fit and finish is impeccable. Should any of this matter to a laptop buyer? Perhaps not, but when so many machines look alike, it's nice to walk into a meeting (or the corner coffee shop) and draw admiring looks from people when you take your Sleekbook out of your bag. Yes, it's that good looking.
In terms of performance, it's really hard to assess how fast a machine is from raw product specifications. The HP Envy 4-1100us features the newest Intel processor, 4Gb of RAM, a 500Gb hard drive, and a 14-inch screen driven by an onboard Intel graphics processor. It also comes with Windows 8 built-in, which is a very attractive feature for those of us who hate the gotchas and glitches that invariably occur during OS upgrades.
These are not knockout specs, but they're quite good at this price level. In my real-world performance tests (Microsoft Office suite, Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator, various business tools, ITunes, etc.), I found the HP Envy to be plenty fast, and exceptionally quiet. (The RAM and hard drives can be upgraded, so if you seek lightning-fast performance, it can be attained if you desire.)
The battery life is exceptional I can work all day at the office or in a coffee shop without plugging in. That's pretty amazing battery performance considering the light weight of this machine.
So for those looking for a very sleek, um, Sleekbook at a very affordable price, I'm not sure you can do better than this machine.
Buy HP Envy 4-1110us 14-Inch Ultrabook (Black) Now
First, let me say WOW to the backlit keyboard. I LOVE LOVE LOVE it and frankly, think all keyboards should be standard backlit. I do a lot of late-nite web surfing and it was always so troublesome. The keys are 'chicklet' in style and respond easily and quickly to your touch. You can, if you don't want to use the backlit feature, simply hit F5 and it turns it off.
The laptop itself for only 4 gb of ram is pretty responsive it boots FAST and even after its asleep up and going in less than 20 seconds. It feels well made and even though only 14", does not feel cramped or uncomfortable.
Now for the bad: I had read quite a few reviews on Windows 8 some good, some bad, some so/so. Seeing all those ads on TV, I thought, what could be so bad? First, its much too confusing and I'm pretty computer literate. Too much crap that just isn't needed. If I want an ebay "app" or icon on my computer, I'll download and put it there myself. Same with all the other "junk" that comes on it. Second, its much too sensitive. I will be in an email typing away and next thing I know POOF its disappeared and I have a million tiny icons on my screen sure you just put your cursor to the left corner and you can get back to where you want to go but it should not be that touchy feely sensitive. Or you hit a key and you're in somewhere you have no clue why you're there, how you got there, why its even there. Windows 8 takes up a LOT of space. It does have a few nice keyboard shortcuts (once you figure them out) but frankly, if I could put Windows 7 on this it would be PERFECT.
Windows 8 is also not 100% compatible with all your other programs and hardware. For example, my Apple shuffle Windows 8 doesn't even recognize, can't find it and iTunes doesn't see it either on Windows 8. I have now found numerous other websites reporting this same issue so if you are an iPhone or iPod or iPad user BEWARE of Windows 8.
I would have given this 5 stars but for Windows 8. For me it just isn't what its all (excuse me a moment as I find my way back to this review after hitting some random key by mistake).....where was I? Oh yes, Windows 8 just isn't all that much too sensitive and easy to get "lost" and just not compatible with all software/hardware.
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***I got my new laptop from Amazon and have had a few weeks to play with it. I definitely had a dud before! This one connects great to my internet, doesn't lag or hang up on sites like the other one did. I officially love this little laptop! The battery life is unbelievable, it's so light and portable, the picture is great, love the backlit keyboard,how cool it stays even after a few hours of running, there isn't anything I wouldn't rave about to my friends about this computer. I still haven't messed with windows 8. I just click on desktop and it is just like using Windows 7 in my opinion. I still get excited that I own something I love when I pick it up to use it, especially after having one that was so bulky and had to be plugged in or it would die quickly. And you push the power button and can be online surfing the internet in under a minute! Even my husband watched me looking up recipes, arranging the shopping list, etc for a few hours online, not plugged in, and still had over half the battery left and said he wants one for himself now lol. Changing my rating from 2 to 5 stars because as a person who just uses a computer to surf the internet, play some online games, listen to music and charge my ipod, load and edit pictures from my camera, etc (basic every day stuff, no hard core gaming or any serious business), this computer is absolutely perfect and I couldn't ask for anything else from it. Hope it keeps working for years to come so I don't have to research and find something this good again!***
First I have to say, I love this ultrabook. I don't even mind Windows 8. Took a little getting used to, a few google searches to find out how to find things I was looking for, but things change, you adapt and move on. I don't use any of the apps, personally. I just click on desktop and do everything just as if I was using my windows 7 laptop. Maybe someday I will play around with it and see if I find them useful. I heard horror stories about Windows 8 and was terrified, but it's not bad in my opinion. The laptop itself is EXTREMELY lightweight. I love it! I have a HP DV-7 and it's a beast to carry around, this I can easily hold in one hand. I love the back lit keyboard, I shut it off when I am in the light, push one button to turn it on when I am in the dark, I don't even know how I lived without this feature before! The screen is nice and bright, colors look good, picture is very clear, and 14" was definitely the size I wanted (I wavered between 14 and 15.6). I, personally don't get the whole "beats" audio thing. They sound like generic computer speakers to me. Zero bass, even when adjusted. It was nothing special. Only difference I noticed was I could turn it up all the way without distortion, where my DV-7 would get kind of gurgled at the top volume. I love the volume buttons right up top, along with a mute button, makes it easy to do the things I want to do, with or without sound and change between the two quickly. I have no problems with the track pad, though I admit to using a corded mouse because I am not big on track pads to begin with. I like that a simple double click in the upper left corner shuts it off and has a little red light to indicate it's off. I read some reviews about having to pound on the keys, and this is definitely not true for the one I have. I can type easily and swiftly without any problems. The matte cover is a little annoying because of finger prints, but that would be a silly deciding factor or reason to lower the rating. And I would have probably rated it a full 5 stars for pretty much being everything I wanted EXCEPT, I'm returning mine today after less than a month. The internet barely works. I try to open a site and about 80% of the time or more, it just freezes and is "thinking" and never opens the page. We have other devices that use our home network with no problems, including another HP laptop, so it's not my internet. I tried to see if it was something I could live with, or maybe even improved with updates and I can't and it didn't. I did some searching and didn't really see everyone complaining of this problem, so I am hoping that I just got a slightly defective computer. A computer is pretty pointless if you can't surf the internet. Amazon is sending me a new one, and I will update my rating and this review when I get it and play with it a bit!
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After having the laptop for a few days, I downgraded it to 4/5 stars. It is still a great computer, but the market is saturated with midrange laptops at this price point, a fact that I wish I had researched a little more before settling for this range. I wish I had saved up and waited to buy something truly great, like a Thinkpad or maybe even Macbook.
Okay, before you read this review, please know that this is the first new computer I have purchased in twelve years. The last one was a desktop model I bought in college. However, I also work in CADD/GIS so i have an extremely fast workstation at my office that I am lucky enough to get to use. Since I use Windows 7 at work, I think I have a pretty good frame of reference.
This laptop is FAST. I really enjoy it. There is a little bit of a learning curve with Windows 8, but hang in there and it gets easier. The laptop is incredibly thin and the design is beautiful. Another reviewer commented that people look at it when he takes it out of his bag at the coffee shop. It is beautiful.
The display is really nice, too. It has a glossy screen. I like the webcam, too. Windows 8 contains a lot of apps. I did not want to sign up for a Windows Live account, so I guess I can't use their "Mail" app. that's no big deal as I use Gmail anyway. Since I hate Internet Explorer, I downloaded Google's Chrome browser as quickly as I could, so I'm getting used to the interface. I enjoy the backlit keyboard, as well as how quiet the laptop's fan is. It looks like it has a pretty good battery life.
The main reason why I took off one star is that the keyboard is not as durable as I would have hoped, you have to really mash on the keys to get them to register, which slows down my 90wpm considerably. When you spend as many hours per day on a laptop as I do, you need a decent keyboard. Hopefully the keys will loosen up as I use them. As others have remarked, if you rest the heels of your hands on the laptop too heavily while you type, it is so sensitive that it will think you are trying to use the touchpad, so it can be a little disorienting to be typing along and have other apps pop up.
Overall, I am pleased with my purchase. This laptop was a good value for the money. If you only use it a couple of hours per day, or if you mainly use it for web browsing, this is a good buy. If you type a lot, please upgrade to something better.
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This little white computer rocks. Don't know where they got them from, and how they are able to sell them for so cheap. I hope they didn't fall off the back of a truck. (Just Kidding.) I'm very impressed, though. I've been a Mac user for 8 years. This is just another example of Macs great craftsmanship. I would suggest this Mac to anyone who wants to have everything and be up-to-date in the Mac world without paying $1,2000 and up. There's only a few minor suggestions I have: download the newest software after installing Mac OS X Tiger (It costs about a $100 bucks.), google search Firefox and install it, and go to apple.com and search in the support section for this Mac, iBook G4, so you can get the user's manual. That's about it, and it will be running like you paid $1,400 for it.
