Sony dropped a couple of spots this year, going from fourth to sixth
place. That puts this brand right between Sasmung and Dell. On the plus
side, Sony’s designs continue to impress, with premium materials and
clean lines. Sony also won our Tech Support Showdown. However, the
brand’s first Windows 8 slider was a bust, and no Sony system earned an
Editors’ Choice Award.
Reviews (10/20)
Of the eight notebooks we tested from Sony, two — the VAIO E Series and the VAIO SE
— were awarded four stars, and four other notebooks received 3.5-star
ratings. However, the brand was one of two that failed to receive an
Editors’ Choice award this year. The company’s overall score was also
hurt by one of its notebooks, the VAIO Duo 11. This Windows 8 slider received a “not recommended” rating of 2.5 stars.
Design (13/15)
We’re perennial fans of Sony’s bold use of color, as seen in the VAIO S Series 13 notebook line (available in black, pink, red, silver and gold). Sony’s first Ultrabook, the VAIO T13,
turned heads with its flat design, defined by clean, graceful lines and
a svelte chassis packaged with ports. The VAIO Duo 11 embraced Windows 8
with a sleek but ultimately awkward sliding deign. Budget laptops such
as the VAIO E Series 15.5-inch received much-needed makeovers, with
brushed aluminum chassis that wrap gently around the notebook’s
undercarriage to the keyboard deck.
Keyboard and Touchpad (9/15)
Sony’s keyboards suffered from two distinct issues: We noted leakage
from the VAIO S Series 13 and VAIO SE’s keyboard backlighting, while
keyboard flex dampened our enthusiasm for the S Series 13 and VAIO E15.
Still, the Series 13 and 15 keyboards helped us either match or exceed
our usual typing speeds. Overall, Sony’s touchpads functioned well, but
reviewers noticed a few problems with responsiveness.
Tech Support (14/15)
Last year, Sony’s lack of a social media presence kept it from
earning top marks, but this year the company offered responsive Facebook
and Twitter support as well as live chats, and its website was
excellently designed. Sony plays up its Premium Services Expert, which
offers personalized tech support, ranging from on-site installation to
repairs to software tutorials 24/7. On the phone, we were quickly
connected with friendly and helpful reps. All of that added up to a
first-place finish in tech support.
Display and Audio (6/10)
Just like last year, Sony’s screens and speakers were a mixed bag.
Some notebooks, such as the Duo 11, included a beautiful 1080p display
with wide viewing angles. But others, such as the VAIO T Series 13,
suffered from narrow viewing angles. The VAIO T Series 15 Touch
offered strong audio, thanks to both xLOUD and Clear Phase Technology.
Other notebooks disappointed, however; despite having Dolby Home Theatre
v4, the S Series 13 delivered harsh sound at louder volumes.
Value and Selection (7/10)
Sony’s lineup is streamlined (in a good way) compared with other
brands, making it pretty easy for shoppers. The E Series (starting at
$449) focuses on value; the S Series ($799 and up) emphasizes endurance
with an available sheet battery, and the T Series ($669 and up)
comprises Sony’s Ultrabooks. The pricier Duo line combines a tablet and
notebook, costing more than a grand. You can buy Sony laptops anywhere
from Best Buy to TigerDirect, but Sony.com lets you customize, with
discrete graphics, color options and more. However, Sony’s touch
notebooks tend to be pricier than the competition.
Innovation (4/10)
Sony’s most innovative effort last year was the VAIO Duo 11, a
Windows 8 Ultrabook that transforms into a tablet. Unfortunately, while
we appreciated the full HD display and pen support, there’s no pen
holster. The somewhat confusing sliding action didn’t help either, nor
did the poor battery life. We expect improvements in the sequel. Sony
did a better job innovating in the all-in-one space with its Tap 20, a
20-incher with built-in battery that folds flat, making for a fun
touch-computing experience.
Software (4/5)
Sony’s notebooks come with a number of useful utilities. VAIO Gate is
a shortcut bar that lets you launch various programs swiftly, and VAIO
Care lets you troubleshoot issues, optimize performance and install
updates. We also appreciate PlayMemories Home, which makes it easy to
manage your photos and videos. This software syncs with PlayMemories
Online, which offers 5GB of free cloud storage for photos and videos.
The only sour note for Sony was VAIO Gesture Control, which you can use
to control programs such as Windows Media Player by performing gestures
recorded by your webcam. However, the software didn’t capture gestures
consistently.
LAS VEGAS--Go big, add touch. Sony's subdued CES formula in a nutshell.
Sony's
latest Vaio T Series 15 is a new, larger ultrabook with 1080p, sporting
a 10-finger multitouch display. It joins the fray of a seemingly
endless run of touch-enabled laptops at this year's CES that continue to
be announced with knee-jerk predictability. Sony's also adding a
touch-screen option to the Vaio T 14 that's already on sale.
Yes,
having touch on a Windows 8 laptop is better than not having touch, but
it's hard to get excited at all about its presence on any new CES
product. Further details on the new 15-inch Vaio T are forthcoming.
In case you forgot, Sony's Vaio T Series 13 ultrabook with touch
was one of the front-running laptops at Windows 8 launch. All the
T-series ultrabooks have a thin aluminum-and-magnesium construction and a
pretty standard look and feel. The new Vaio T Series 15 starts at $950
and the touch-enabled Vaio T Series 14 at $800 when they launch this
spring.
ASUS headphones and headsets bring you
breathtaking audio, comfort, and style through careful design. Each
augments your favorite tunes, movies, and games with true-to-life sound
thanks to meticulously-selected components and the latest personal audio
technologies.
Multimedia speakers pump up experiences with the
latest features, fabulous audio quality, and solid performance,
delivering high-powered and lively cinematic sound.
HP Compaq Notebooks and Tablets are thoughtfully designed
with security, ease of use and reliability in a convenient
business-essential mobile office. Together these key areas help
form the basis to provide users a better mobile experience by
allowing them to quickly and easily access and use information
where and when they need it.
Versatile highly-mobile office
The HP Compaq 4200 series PCs are a power-packed
ultraportable notebook or ultramobile tablet. Designed to
simplify the on-the-go professional experience, the HP Compaq
4200 series incorporates Intel® Centrino™ Mobile Technology
to provide wireless1 connectivity and improved battery
performance. The combination of Intel Pentium® M standard
voltage processors supporting Enhanced Intel Speedometer
Technology, HP patented power down NIC technology, Intel
Display Power Saving Technology and higher-capacity batteries
help provide extended battery life – up to 5 ½ hours. An
optional travel battery allows you to stay productive even longer
by providing up to an additional 5 ½ hours of run time without
adding significant weight and also offers the convenience of
charging while the notebook or tablet is docked. The 4200
series also has enhanced standby time (over 1 week), which
enables users to be productive for days on end. As a tablet PC,
the HP Compaq tc4200 is a full-function PC delivering
performance and compatibility in an innovative form factor,
while simplifying your computing needs with the added
convenience of handwriting. The HP Compaq tc4200 Tablet PC
offers a 12.1-inch display with wide-viewing angle on sparklefree
protective glass and has a digital eraser pen so you can
write more like an actual pen.
Security
Protect your notebook from unauthorized access with enhanced
security features: HP ProtectTools, integrated Smart Card Reader
(optional), Trusted Platform Module (TPM) Embedded Security
Chip (optional), and HP Drivelock technology help prevent data
from being compromised if your notebook or tablet is lost or
stolen.
Ease of use
Businesses have varying, diverse environments and the HP
Compaq 4200 series was built with versatility in mind, allowing
customers to choose the features and options that most
appropriately fit their business needs. In an effort to maximize
the mobile experience, HP has developed many ease of use
features including the touchpad scroll zone, which enables users
to seamlessly maneuver through documents or web pages, and
the ambient light sensor, an extremely convenient feature that
adjusts the brightness of the display based on the environment.
The optional External MultiBay II allows users to utilize a variety
of devices, and a simple soft-touch eject mechanism enables
easy, almost effortless one-handed removal of MultiBay II
devices. The optional HP Docking Station solutions have been
designed to easily attach with the notebook or tablet,
conveniently manage cables and provide clear indication to
users when they have a solid connection. The HP Compaq
4200 series has a wide range of wired and wireless1 options to
get connected and now offers HP Wireless Assistant enabling
users to easily identify, manage, and turn on or off their wireless
devices as necessary, which can help optimize battery life.
Reliability
The HP Compaq 4200 series is designed to meet tough business
standards by providing users with a variety of reliability features
and a durable (magnesium alloy) design that will give them
confidence in their computer. The HP Mobile Data Protection
System helps protect the hard drive from shock and vibration
and helps reduce the risk of data corruption. The scratchresistant
In-mold Lamination keeps the notebook and tablet PC
looking newer longer. The HP Panel Protection System helps
prevent the display from scuffing and scratching. The spillresistant
keyboard helps minimize the risk of damage to
sensitive, critical components underneath the keyboard.
Software Overview
Feature
Description
Operating system
nc4200 models - Microsoft Windows XP Professional Edition
nc4200 models - Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition (select countries only)
nc4200 models - FreeDOS
tc4200 models - Microsoft Windows XP Tablet Edition
Operating
system updates
Microsoft Windows Media Player 10
Microsoft .NET Framework 1.1
Microsoft DirectX 9
Sun Java™ VM
Applications
and utilities
HP Mobile Printing Driver for Windows
HP Wireless Assistant – select models
Adobe Acrobat Reader
HP Client Manager Software (available from the web)
Security and
recovery
HP Local Recovery Solution
Norton AntiVirus
Buy an HP Notebook and fall in love with music all over again
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powered by Intel® Core™ i5 Processor.
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HP COMPAQ tc4200 Tablet PC Laptop AC Adapter Tips & Maintenance
1. Keep your HP COMPAQ tc4200 Tablet PC laptop AC adapter away from
water, drinks or other liquid. If it is fallen into water, the adapter
may not work as usual because the inside part is damaged and the
electricity can’t be well connected to the laptop. 2. Make your
laptop AC adaptercool. Don’t put the laptop AC adapter on the cotton or
somewhere with bad heat elimination. Switch off the AC adapter when your
laptop is not in use to prevent overheating. Avoid exposing an AC
adapter to prolonged periods of extreme heat or cold. 3. Use
original adapters and know the part number. If you break your adopter by
accident, you can get a replacement adapter efficiently. When you need a
replacement consult an experienced and reputed online retail store.
4. Always wrap up the AC cord tightly when traveling and avoid any
contact with other metallic devices like coins, pens or paperclips to
avoid short-circuit the adapter.
How to rightly use and store your notebook adapter?
Keep your notebook adapter in a safe place where it will not fall on
floor or in water and difficult for kids to reach to avoid inside part
damage and poor electricity conductivity
Ventilate your laptop and adapter to avoid heat damage. Keep the
adapter cool but not near air conditioner to avoid the device getting
moistened
Don't pull the cord to detach the plug from the power outlet to avoid wire short life or loose
Never knock or stab your notebook adapter. Wrong handling can break its internal parts and circuit boards
Keep metal objects far away from your laptop adapter and battery in
case of short-circuiting. Your laptop could be damaged while using a
short-circuited charger
Microsoft created its Windows 8 OS with touchscreen in mind, with a
number of traditional PC users most likely groaning at the thought of
reaching out to their monitor in order to open up a program. Mobile
computers like laptops, ultrabooks and tablets seem to be making the
best use of the new OS since their screen is within an easily reachable
distance.
HP introduced its Envy X2 last August which is an 11.6” touch-screen
slate PC that easily brings the portability of a tablet with the
productivity of a light laptop when it’s connected to its keyboard dock.
When we originally put our hands all over it,
we walked away extremely impressed, but we knew we had to get this
thing into our review lab to put it through all of our tests to see just
how good it is.
Context
Using a laptop and a tablet offer different experiences for me. On
one hand, I find laptops to be better used when creating content is
important like writing news stories, editing and publishing video or
anything else that would require the power a laptop can offer. On the
other hand, tablets are better for taking in content such as reading
stories, social media updates or watching videos.
Having a product that can be considered to be both should be
something most people would want to have as you would expect to gain the
best of both worlds. That’s what I’m hoping for and will do my best to
review the Envy X2 as an entire package, rather than focusing squarely
on it being a tablet or a laptop.
Technical Highlights
11.6” HD LED-Backlit IPS Display 1366 x 768 (400 nit brightness)
Dual-core Intel Atom (Z2760 1.80GHz) + Intel Graphics
2GB 533MHz LPDDR2 SDRAM
Windows 8 (32-bit)
64GB SSD
WLAN Multi-band Wi-Fi a/b/g/n + Bluetooth + NFC
HDMI, Audio Out / Microphone
2x USB 2.0, SD Card Slot
302.2mm x 206.2mm x 16.7 ~ 19.3mm with laptop dock (11.93” x 8.12” x 0.66 ~ 0.76” with laptop dock)
1.41kg (3.11lbs) when connected with keyboard dock; 0.6kg (1.5lbs) for the tablet alone
25Wh in the Envy X2, 21Wh in the keyboard dock = 46Wh when combined Official specifications on HP.com
Industrial Design
When you first look at the HP Envy X2, you’ll first notice it’s
completely covered in a premium-looking brushed-aluminum finish.
Portions of the backside of the HP Envy X2 are highlighted with a silver
plastic material to call your eye’s attention to its volume control,
power button and the area where the rear-facing camera are located. On
the center of the HP Envy X2’s back is the HP logo, which is a mix of
brushed-aluminum and a reflective metal.
The front of the HP Envy X2 has a 1 ½-inch thick black bezel
surrounding its LED. In the middle of the bottom part of the screen is a
Windows 8 logo, which when the Envy X2 is in being used as a tablet,
initiates the “Windows” command when pressed. The top portion of the
screen is where the front-facing HD camera is located.
The HP Envy X2’s included keyboard dock is equipped with a set of
magnets to help guide the tablet into it smoothly, and a lock fully
secures the Envy X2 into it. The lock is extremely secure as we shook
the Envy X2 by its screen to hopefully get it to release, but no matter
how hard we tried, the lock never let the tablet portion loose. Keyboard: Considering the majority of my day is
spent writing, the keyboard portion of any device is extremely important
to me as I’ll be spending a lot of time with it on a regular basis (you
may have different priorities). The palm rests continue the look of
aluminum found throughout the HP Envy X2 and offers a cool touch when
you first lay your wrists on them. The aluminum also allows for your
wrists to slip and slide wherever they need to go without feeling
fatigued during long-term typing.
The trackpad was one of my least favorite portions
of the HP Envy X2 as it has a slight texture to it, which is actually a
circular texture. If you’ve ever seen a 3D poster or trading card,
that’s pretty much the same material the trackpad feels like when it’s
touched. I’ve always been a fan of smooth trackpads, so when I come
across a trackpad that has any kind of material, I usually freak out.
Again, this is very personal, and you may not mind as much, but I
thought that I would point this out.
The right-mouse click is performed on the trackpad by clicking below a
line that cuts through around the lower ⅛ portion of the trackpad. If
you’re used to trackpads that have designated mouse clicks located to
the left or right-lower portion of the trackpad, then being able to make
your right mouse clicks anywhere on the lower-portion of the trackpad
may feel weird to you. Left-clicks, on the other hand, are performed
with a simple tap of the trackpad or a full click.
The keys also have a slight texture to them that feels extremely dry
when you touch them. We’re not entirely sure what material they’re made
out of, but we found them to slow down how well our fingers can roll off
each key to get to the next one. When pressed, the keys give off a
mixed feeling of being clicky and squishy. If you’re the kind of person
to make a lot of noise typing on a regular keyboard, that sound may be
cut down if you use the HP Envy X2’s keyboard, although you’ll get a
nice feedback from each press.
Display (excellent!)
The LED display on the HP Envy X2 is 11.6” and provides a resolution
of 1366 x 768, which is about the typical resolution for device this
size. It’s capable of delivering a 400 nit brightness, which means
you’ll most likely be comfortable in a dim-lit room at around 30% – 40%
of its full brightness. At its most powerful brightness setting, the HP
Envy X2 is capable of performing well on a sunny day, as long as you’re
not sitting in direct sunlight.
The HP Envy X2’s view angle was also very good as I didn’t notice any
degradation of image quality no matter what angle I was viewing the
device from. The image got slightly dimmer when viewing it from
extremely extended angles, but if you’re looking at the Envy X2 at that
angle, we’re pretty sure you’re probably peaking in on somebody else
using it.
Performance (relatively low)
The HP Envy X2 is more tablet than it is an actual laptop, which means you shouldn’t expect it to be at all powerful. It does
contain a dual-core processor, but it’s an Intel Atom processor, which
isn’t exactly known for its ability to knock anyone’s socks off. On the
other hand, the Intel Atom processor’s main selling point is its lower
power consumption when compared to the standard i3 / i5 Intel processor.
The PCMark 7 benchmark is used in order to simulate
real-world tasks such as opening applications, booting up your computer
and doing some mild graphical tasks.
In our benchmark test using PCMark 7, the HP Envy X2 performed as low as we expected it to with a score of 1435.
This has everything to do with its Intel Atom CPU as well as its 2GB of
RAM. A similar device to the HP Envy X2 is the Microsoft Surface Pro,
which you can see from our tests is nearly 3x more powerful.
We started using 3DMark11 recently in our performance portion of our
reviews to test how devices we test would do as gaming machines if the
user would decides to run games on their computers that require some
serious processing power. The HP Envy X2 has its Intel Atom processor
handling its graphics, which resulted in our tests not even being able
to run (that graphics chip does not support the new DirectX features).
We did notice our PCMark 7’s graphics portion of its tests resulted in a performance of 1fps, which means you shouldn’t even consider running a good majority of games on the Envy X2.
This takes us to our last benchmark, Geekbench. We
use Geekbench due to its ability to gauge the CPU’s performance as it
can do this by throwing mathematical computations at it that would
probably give 100% of human beings a very bad headache if they attempted
to solve any of its equations. We always like to preface this test as
being a benchmark purely of the PCs CPU and in no way reflects on its
ability to run real-world applications.
Once again, the HP Envy X2 shows what it’s made out of, or isn’t in this case as it scored a rather low 1400 in Geekbench’s tests.
This goes to show just how powerful the Intel Atom processor is inside
of the HP Envy X2, even going as far as being below the power of the
fourth-generation iPad and Galaxy Note 10.1.
Value for the weight, price
We know when purchasing any PC, people tend to look at its internal
specs and purchase a computer based on what they currently need. One
factor many overlook is its weight as more powerful portable computers
will most likely be heavier than PCs that aren’t as powerful. That’s why
we also like to look at a PCs performance relative to its weight so we
can see if all of that power is worth you breaking your back over or if a
PC’s weight isn’t worth its sub-par performance.
Performance/lbs WITH keyboard attached
Since the HP Envy X2 is a hybrid of a laptop and a tablet, we decided
to run two different equations for its value based on its weight. When
it’s connected to it’s keyboard dock, the Envy X2 weighs in at 3.11lbs,
which when you factor in its relatively-low performance, drops its value
substantially.
Performance/lbs WITHOUT keyboard attached
As a tablet, the HP Envy X2 can offer the performance per lbs as
dedicated laptops like the Samsung Series 9 and MacBook Pro /w Retina
(2012), although the Microsoft Surface Pro seems to be the tablet /
laptop hybrid king when factoring its value based on its weight.
Battery (excellent!)
One of the main selling factors for the HP Envy X2 is its excellent
battery life, which is being promoted as lasting up to 10.75 hours for
the tablet alone, and 19.25 hours when the Envy X2 is connected to its
keyboard dock. Our real-world test of leaving the Envy X2 on with
nothing running on in the background while connected to Wi-Fi resulted
in about 9 hours of battery lifefor the tablet itself, while if you have it connected to its keyboard dock, you can expect a maximum of 17 hours of battery life, which is huge for a system that can run a “real” Windows OS.
Since we know you’re going to want to actually use the HP Envy X2, we
also conducted some tests while watching some videos. Running a 1080p
video locally with 50% brightness and the sound off will result in a 15%
drop in battery after one hour of play, which translates to 6.6 hours of playback time. Streaming a 1080p video under the same conditions resulted in an 18% drop in battery, which translates to 5 hours of playback time. Battery Charge Speed
We all have busy lives and often need instant gratification no matter
what we’re doing. That’s why we feel it’s important to rate the charge
speed of our devices going from completely and utterly dead to around
93%. Why not 100%? Simple. It’s because the majority of batteries have
difficulty when it comes to charging from 90% to 100% (it takes a very
long time for the final few %).
The HP Envy X2 takes roughly 2 hours and 20 minutes to charge from 0% to 93%.
That is only for the tablet portion of the device. If you want to
recharge both the Envy X2 and its keyboard dock, expect to have it
sucking up electrical juice for 3 hours and 30 minutes with the majority of the juice going directly to the Envy X2.
Conclusion (premium feel, but make sure it is fast enough for you)
I personally use a keyboard connected to my iPad at all times as I
enjoy the tablet, but also enjoy the feel of a real keyboard at the same
time. The HP Envy X2 is geared to someone like me who likes to go back
and forth between a laptop setting to a tablet setting at any time. I
found if you think of the HP Envy X2 as the best of both worlds, that
it’s done very well and certainly stands out in my opinion due to its
great battery life and display.
The HP Envy X2 also gives a premium feeling to it with its
brushed-aluminum exterior and when it’s paired with its keyboard dock,
no one would think twice if that was a tablet docked into a keyboard.
They would just think it’s a laptop, which means the look HP was
probably going for the HP Envy X2 was a success.
If you find its keyboard and trackpad are comfortable by possibly
having a feel down at the local Best Buy or any other major retailer
showcasing the HP Envy X2, and its low performance is something you can
live with, then we certainly recommend you give the HP Envy X2 a try if
you’ve been wanting a true Windows 8 tablet that offers the familiarity
of a laptop.
HP Envy x2 quick take: Good laptop and great tablet.
(Image: James Kendrick)
The HP Envy x2 became an object of my gadget fixation when it was
introduced, but its high price tag quickly cooled me down. Then
promotions started appearing at retailers, and due to a very good one,
I now am the owner of an Envy x2. It's a very good tablet and a decent
laptop, bundled with Windows 8 to take advantage of it all.
Hardware
The Envy x2 is a hybrid computer, one of those gadgets that are both
tablets and laptops. Many hybrids fall short in either the tablet
experience or as a laptop, but the x2 does both jobs well. All the
computer parts are in the tablet, yet it is as light as the iPad and
even thinner. The laptop dock, which is included with the tablet, turns
the tablet into a good laptop, with a solid keyboard and trackpad to
take full advantage of the Windows 8 experience.
(Image: James Kendrick)
This tablet/laptop won't win any awards for computing performance due
to the Intel Atom processor, but for those wanting a computer for
typical tasks, it's probably powerful enough. The Atom processor allows
the x2 to shine in the area of battery life, and the second battery in
the laptop dock takes it as far as most people will need.
Weight: 1.5 lbs tablet, 3.1 lbs with keyboard dock
Use as a laptop
With the tablet docked, the Envy x2 is a true laptop that looks a lot
like the MacBook Air. It is very thin, and tapers down toward the
front, just like the Air. The whole package is just a tad over 3 pounds,
so it's as portable as Apple's offering.
(Image: James Kendrick)
The chiclet keys on the keyboard offer a solid touch-typing
experience, something very important to this writer. The multi-touch
trackpad in front of the keyboard is a decent size, and handles the
Windows 8 touch gestures just fine. It was a little sensitive to
accidental touches out of the box, so I turned that down in the settings
and it's worked fine since.
The 11.6-inch display (1,366x768) is nice and bright, and it's easy
to forget it's really a detachable tablet while in laptop mode. The
viewing angles are good, and it's not obvious to observers that this
isn't a typical laptop.
When the tablet is docked in the keyboard, the battery life is an
impressive 14+ hours. This is due to the second battery in the dock that
augments the tablet battery. HP has included intelligent battery
management for these two batteries. The dock battery is depleted first,
and then the tablet battery kicks in. This is to ensure that the tablet
has the maximum possible charge at all times. When the laptop is plugged
in to charge, my testing shows that the tablet battery alone is charged
first up to 80 percent, after which the system charges both tablet and
dock batteries simultaneously.
Tip: When installed on the desktop, BatteryBar Pro ($8) will give information about both batteries in the taskbar when enabled to do so in the settings.
(Image: James Kendrick)
The Envy x2 has a nice design of brushed aluminum, and is solidly
constructed. When closed, the x2 looks like a pure laptop. The hinge on
the back sticks out a little, but it swivels down when the lid is opened
to elevate the laptop into an ergonomic typing position. Some folks may
be put off by the location of the power switch on the back of the
tablet, but I quickly found it to be a good location for it.
The power connector is proprietary, and has an LED on it to indicate
the charge level, even when the system is off. This attention to detail
is found throughout the system. The mechanism for latching the tablet to
the keyboard dock is another detail to be appreciated. The tablet
connects firmly by popping it into the slot by the hinge. This includes a
magnetic seal, which keeps the tablet firmly seated in the dock. It is
possible to turn the whole thing upside down without the tablet coming
out of the dock.
I am pleased with the laptop user experience of the Envy x2, and the
only thing I'd like to see changed is to have backlighting for the
keyboard. I suspect this omission is to keep battery consumption down,
so I can live with that. The Envy x2 does everything I need on a regular
basis, and I'm willing to trade higher performance and a backlit
keyboard for the outstanding battery life.
Tablet user experience
(Image: James Kendrick)
Where the Envy x2 shines is as a tablet. While the 11.6-inch screen
would make one think that it's too big for a tablet, the light weight
and thin profile counter that quickly. This tablet is actually thinner
than the iPad (0.3 inches) and the 1.5-pound weight is roughly the same.
This tablet feels good in the hand and can be used for all the normal
functions a tablet is used for. HP put a wide bezel around the screen,
and that's a good thing in tablet mode to keep the hands off the screen.
The Windows key, located below the screen in laptop mode, is not a
real button, and that's sometimes a problem when used as a tablet. It is
a capacitive touch button, and can be triggered by the hand when held
as a tablet. You quickly learn to hold it in portrait mode, with this
button away from the hand that holds it.
Verdict
The HP Envy x2 originally debuted for $749, and it is not worth this
high price. HP's current price of $699 is still higher than I would be
willing to pay.
Third-party retailers are now offering the Envy x2 for $599, a price I
would be willing to pay now that I have used it. The special promotion
price of $525 I paid is a bargain for the quality hardware HP has
produced.
Design
Click to EnlargeMade
from attractive brushed aluminum, the Envy x2 has a simple metallic
aesthetic that makes it look like an expensive appliance. The tablet has
a sleek silver-colored back that's tastefully emblazoned with a silver
HP logo with the same matte aluminum on its sides as well as on the
keyboard dock's deck, sides and bottom. In a questionable decision, HP
has placed both the volume rocker and the power button in the upper left
and upper right corners of the back panel rather than placing them on
the sides as with most other tablets.
In our testing, connecting
and disconnecting the tablet from the dock was a breeze as we positioned
it directly above the hinge and snapped it into place with minimal
force. Though the hinge seemed extremely firm, we were able to pull the
tablet out just as easily, after we slid the release latch from left to
right. When the tablet is attached, the clamshell opens and closes as
firmly as any notebook we've tested. Even when we poked at the screen
with our finger it did not rock backward.
Click to EnlargeAt 1.5 pounds, the Envy x2's tablet isn't much heavier than the 1.44-pound iPad,
despite having a screen that is nearly 2 inches larger. Perhaps because
the weight is spread out across the tablet's 11.9 x 7.5 x .3-inch
frame, it felt lighter in our hands than the iPad or
identically-weighted Microsoft Surface with Windows RT.
With the keyboard dock attached, that weight jumps up to 3.1 pounds and
the thickness to .6 inches while the hinge adds about .5 inches to the
length. By contrast, the identically-priced Toshiba Portege Z935 Ultrabook, which does not double as a tablet, weighs just 2.4 pounds despite its larger 13.3 inch screen.
Display and Audio
Click to EnlargeDespite
The Envy x2's modest 1366 x 768 resolution, its 11.6-inch screen
provided sharp images and rich colors. Whether we were staring at the
lively yellow and white flowers in Windows 8's default daisy wallpaper
or gawking at the lush red and blue costumes in a 1080p Quicktime
trailer for "The Avengers," colors appeared particularly vibrant.
At
306 lux on our light meter, the Envy x2's screen falls way short of the
393 tablet category average, the 373 offered by the Microsoft Surface
and the Acer Iconia W700's mark of 369. However, the Acer Iconia W510 provided
a lower mark of 262 lux. The Envy x2 seemed more than bright enough
when viewed head on or from angles up to 45 degrees to the left or
right. However, at wider angles, we found it difficult to see images
through the finger prints on the display's glossy surface.
The
touch experience was completely fluid and responsive. In our tests, we
quickly swiped between apps, pinched to zoom, swiped down for an app
bar, swiped in and back from left to show the task menu and swiped in
from the right for the Charms menu. Using Windows Paint, we could draw
with 5 fingers at once.
Like many HP products, the Envy x2 has
Beats audio, but the sound coming out of the bottom mounted speakers was
hardly high fidelity. When we listened to the bass-heavy "Forget Me
Nots," the output was loud enough to fill a room, but a little tinny.
However, when we streamed the hard-rock "Rainbow in the Dark," the drums
sounded like sticks hitting tin foil.
Keyboard and Touchpad
Click to EnlargeThe
physical keyboard on the Envy x2's dock provided one of the most
inaccurate, uncomfortable typing experiences we've had on any keyboard.
The keyboard was so cramped, stiff and unresponsive that instead of our
typical 86 words per minute with a 1-percent error rate we scored a
horrible rate or 63 words per minute with a terrible 9 percent error
rate on the Ten Thumbs Typing Tutor test. As we took the test, we found
that we often did not hit the keys with enough force for them to
register, accidentally hit adjacent keys or got two spaces with the
space bar instead of one. Our wrists were also uncomfortable as they
hung over the edge of the narrow palmrest. However, if you're a hunt and
peck typist, you may not experience these problems.
When
disconnected from its dock, the Envy x2 uses the standard Windows 8
virtual keyboard, which stretches across the bottom of the screen in
Windows 8 mode, but can be dragged around in desktop mode. When holding
the device two-handed in landscape mode, we found it difficult to
stretch our thumbs to the middle of the keyboard to hit the G and H
keys. The operating system also provides a split keyboard, but with much
smaller keys that we found harder to target. Though the Envy x2 does
not support an active stylus, Windows 8 does have a handwriting
recognition box you can use in lieu of a keyboard.
The 3.5 x
2.5-inch clickpad had a nearly-invisible ring-shaped texture on its
surface that wasn't quite rough enough to keep our finger from slipping
frequently. However, it allowed us to perform a wide variety of
multi-touch gestures, including pinch to zoom, rotation, four-finger
flick to minimize windows or pull up the task menu, and three-finger
press to launch the browser. We were also able to swipe in from the left
to launch the Charms menu, in from the right to switch tasks and down
from the top to bring up the app bar. However, we had difficulty
performing a three finger swipe to cycle through gallery images on the
tiny surface.
Heat
The HP Envy x2 stayed pleasantly cool
throughout our tests. After streaming video for 15 minutes, the middle
of the keyboard measured just 80 degrees, the touchpad a mere 75 degrees
and the bottom of the dock a pleasant 76 degrees Fahrenheit. We
consider temperatures below 95 degrees comfortable and those below 90
degrees imperceptible.
Ports
Click to EnlargeThe
tablet itself has a handful of ports on its bottom surface, including a
microSD card slot, a 3.5mm headphone jack and a proprietary docking
port that either connects to the dock or directly to the charging cable.
The keyboard dock provides two USB 2.0 ports and one full-size HDMI
connector and a standard SD card slot. However, there's no Ethernte
connection and neither of the USB ports supports USB 3. The Toshiba
Portege Z935 has both USB 3.0 and Ethernet ports.
Performance
Click to EnlargeWith
a 1.8-GHz Intel Atom Z2760 CPU, 2GB of RAM and 64GB of slow-writing
Flash memory, the $849 HP Envy x2 performs like a netbook. In our
testing, the tablet had no problem browsing the web, playing full HD
videos or even playing Windows 8-style games like the third-person
shooter Judge Dredd versus Zombies. However, the system struggled with
processor intensive tasks such as transcoding video or crunching
spreadsheets, and it suffered noticeable lag in the Fresh Paint drawing
program.
On PCMark07, a synthetic benchmark that measures overall
performance, the Envy x2 scored a modest 1,428, far below the 2,872
tablet average but a little bit higher than the 1,305 provided by the
Acer Iconia W510, which has the same CPU. The Envy x2 scored 1,336 on
Geekbench, another performance test, about on par with the Iconia W510's
score of 1,324 but behind the 1,698 tablet average and less than half
the 3,214 ultraportable notebook average. The $699 Core i5-powered Acer
Aspire V5, which has a 15.6-inch touch screen, scored 2,377, while the
Core i5-enabled Toshiba Portege Z935 scored a much-higher 5,486.
The
64MB SSD booted the system in 14 seconds, excluding the time we spent
typing in our password. That time is faster than the 20 seconds it took
the Acer Iconia W510 and the 30 seconds it took the Microsoft Surface,
but slower than Acer Iconia W700's time of just 10 seconds.
The
drive took a mediocre 3 minutes and 51 seconds to complete the LAPTOP
File Transfer test, which involves copying 4.97GB of mixed media files.
That's a rate of just 22 MBps, way below the 77 MBps ultraportable
notebook average, the 47 MBps tablet category average, and the 137.5
MBps provided by the Acer Iconia W700. However, the Iconia W 510 (10.8)
and Microsoft Surface (14) did far worse.The Portege Z935, which has a
128GB SSD, managed a speedy rate of 164 MBps.
Click to EnlargeIf
you're planning to work with large spreadsheets, you might want to look
for a different hybrid. The HP Envy x2 took a glacial 29 minutes and 45
seconds to complete the LAPTOP OpenOffice Spreadsheet test, which
matches 20,000 names against their addresses. That's nearly double the
tablet category average of 16 minutes and 10 seconds and more than
quadruple the 7-minute and 14-second ultraportable notebook average.
However, the Atom-powered Iconia W510 did just as poorly, taking 29
minutes and 56 seconds. The Toshiba Portege Z935 completed this test in
just 5 hours and 56 minutes.
The HP Envy x2 took a slow 5 minutes
and 56 seconds to transcode a 5-minute HD video to iPod touch format,
using Cyberlink Mediashow Espresso, far slower than the average
Ultraportable notebook, which takes just 1 minute and 8 seconds.
With
its Intel GMA graphics, the Envy x2 could not even run 3DMark11, our
standard graphics benchmark, because it doesn't support DirectX 11. It's
also incapable of playing even mid-level games like World of Warcraft.
By contrast, the Portege Z935, which has integrated Intel HD Graphics
4000, achieved a playable rate of 30 frames per second on World of
Warcraft at autodetect settings.
Battery Life
Click to EnlargeAs
a tablet, the HP Envy x2 provided lasted 6 hours and 52 minutes, about
30 minutes shy of the 7 hour and 20 minute tablet category average,
nearly an hour shy of the Microsoft Surface's time (7:43) and way behind
the Acer Iconia W510's time of 8 hours and 49 minutes. With the
keyboard dock attached, the x2 lasted a strong 11 hours and 52 minutes,
which is shy of the Iconia W510's 15:09 endurance but still excellent.
The average ultraportable notebook lasts 6 hours and 18 minutes while
the Toshiba Portege Z935 endures for 6 hours and 35 minutes.
Software and Warranty
Click to EnlargeIn
addition to the standard Windows 8 apps like Bing News, Mail, Bing
Weather and the People app, HP has included a handful of preloaded
programs. HP PageLift takes photos or scans of printed pages and
extracts and centers the images from them. sMedio 360 allows you to
share music, photos or videos with other devices like your phone or
connected TV. HP MyRoom is the company's own video conferencing client.
Cyberlink
YouCam helps you take photos with the camera, but provides few benefits
over Windows 8's built-in camera app. Fresh Paint is an attractive
freeware drawing app while iHeartRadio gives you access to over 1,500
free online stations.
Click to EnlargePerhaps
the most unique app HP includes with the Envy x2 is its own Getting
Started with Windows 8 tutorial program. The very detailed program steps
you through the new OS with your choice of text or video lessons on the
Start Screen, the Charms menu, how to navigate around the UI and the
People app.
If you want to install additional programs, you may
find them in the Windows Store, which is growing but still missing a
number of key apps. When we searched the store, we found over 22,000
apps listed but many of these were desktop apps and others were written
in foreign languages. Raw numbers aside, there's still no Facebook,
Twitter, Gmail, Google+, or Pinterest for Windows 8. When you search for
serious graphics applications, you'll find all the Adobe products
listed, but they are all desktop apps, as is Microsoft Office. You'll
find a few graphically taxing games such as Riptide GP or Judge Dredd
versus Zombies, but most of the Windows 8 titles are extremely casual
fare like Cockroach Hunter or Solitaire.
Fortunately, unlike the
Microsoft Surface with Windows RT, the Envy x2 is capable of running any
of the millions of desktop apps that work on Windows 8 and previous
versions of Microsoft's OS. So you can run Photoshop, Office or any
application that the Envy's processor can handle. However, if you're in
slate mode, it may be difficult to navigate around the desktop and
target small objects like menu items and window widgets.
HP backs
the Envy x2 with a standard one-year warranty on parts and labor. See
how HP performed in our most recent Tech Support Showdown and Best and
Worst Brands Report.
Verdict
Click to EnlargeThe
HP Envy x2 provides a solid Windows 8 tablet experience with its
premium design and colorful screen. Although you get below-average
endurance from the slate by itself, we appreciate the nearly 12 hours of
battery life supplied by the dock and tablet together. However, when
used as a notebook, the system's mediocre performance, uncomfortable
keyboard and slippery touchpad make it feel more like an inexpensive
netbook than an $849 product.
If you're looking for a
less-expensive Windows tablet with keyboard and you can live with a
smaller screen, the 10-inch Acer Iconia W510 offers similar performance
and longer battery life for $140 less while the Windows RT-based Microsoft Surface with its Touch Cover starts at $599. If you need just a lightweight notebook, the Toshiba Portege Z935
weighs .7 pounds less and packs a lot more performance for the same
price. If you just need a tablet, you can spend $500 or less on an iPad
or Android slate. However, if you want a lightweight, good-looking
Windows 8 tablet and don't need notebook-level performance, the Envy x2
is a versatile choice.
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