HP Envy 14 Spectre Ultrabook Review: Something More Than Envy
by Dustin Sklavos on August 24, 2012 10:09 PM ESTConclusion: You Already Know If You Want It
I've used the phrase "you already know if you want it" for another review, but with the HP Envy 14 Spectre it again seems appropriate. This isn't a bad notebook necessarily, but its distinctive design does come with a series of caveats and compromises. No one else you know will have a notebook that looks or feels quite like it, but there are reasons for that.
On the plus side, HP crams nearly every state of the art wireless technology they can get their hands on into the Spectre. That means Bluetooth, 2x2 wireless-n connectivity, and Near Field Communication technology. There's also gigabit ethernet included, both HDMI and Mini-DisplayPort, and singles of USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 ports. While you could probably ask for a little more USB, the Spectre really does have most of what you need covered. Thunderbolt seems like a notable omission, but I'd actually expect to see that show up in a revision at some point unless the technology as a whole fails to gain traction.
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Excellent system performance and low thermals are also accounted for, along with a replaceable battery (provided you have a torx screwdriver handy). Ivy Bridge has done wonders for driving up the performance of ultrabooks without sacrificing thermals or power consumption, and the cooling system HP uses for the Spectre is clearly an efficient one. The pair of SSDs are unusual, but appreciated nonetheless. Finally, a 900p screen in a 14" notebook is always going to be welcome.
So what's the problem? Well, the problem is that ASUS will sell you a comparably equipped Zenbook Prime for just $100 more than the base Spectre configuration (or $350 less than our review unit configuration). $1,499 gets you an ultrabook that's more than a pound lighter, has a higher resolution IPS display, and substantially better battery life. All you're really sacrificing for it is 100MHz off of the CPU, the ethernet port, and NFC. To me, that's tough to argue with.
Without a doubt, the Envy 14 Spectre is distinctive and has features that are undoubtedly going to be compelling to some users. Yet I'm at a loss to figure out exactly who this ultrabook is intended for when there are more portable options floating around. HP has a blend of style and substance here and should be applauded for creating something this unique, and the $1,399 starting price doesn't actually seem too high for what you're getting. I'm just not sure this kind of bling justifies itself in this market; whether or not I'm wrong remains to be seen.
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rarson - Sunday, August 26, 2012 - link
I lived through computing in the '90s, and I don't think it sounds ironic at all. Apple's operating systems suck, in my opinion.Old_Fogie_Late_Bloomer - Saturday, August 25, 2012 - link
To heck with Apple, why would you buy this instead of a Thinkpad T430? For a pound more and hundreds of dollars less you get a 1600x900 screen that ISN'T covered with a shiny sheet of glass, Windows 7 Pro, Optimus graphics (with halfway decent performance), more USB ports...I mean, I could go on, but I guess I just don't understand this lightweight, super-thin business. It's already a 14" laptop. They just aren't THAT heavy.I also don't get why you'd want a sheet of glass in front of your screen, but I'll let that go.
ImSpartacus - Saturday, August 25, 2012 - link
The T series is full of beautiful and functional machines, but they aren't for everyone. It's hard to argue that ultraportables don't have a place in the market.Also as a note, the T430's 5400M is kinda mediocre. Perhaps better than its integrated competitors, but not THAT great compared to more modern consumer dGPUs like the Kepler 640M.
Old_Fogie_Late_Bloomer - Saturday, August 25, 2012 - link
I'm not saying ultraportables don't have a place in the market, I'm just saying I don't understand why people would pay the premium to get them. Don't get me wrong, I love small computers. I went from 1366x768 at 13.3" to 1366x768 at 11.6" to 1600x900 at 14.0" and I think I've finally arrived at the perfect compromise of size and screen real estate. I just can't imagine that I'd ever be willing to pay 50% more to get a laptop that in most metrics is inferior, just to save a pound in weight.Oh, and don't get me wrong; I didn't mean that I thought the T430 had a great GPU...believe me, I didn't get it for gaming (I have a desktop for that). But it's a decided improvement over the Nvidia GPU in predecessor--about twice as good--which puts it in the category of being able to play most games at lower detail settings. It's also appreciably better than Intel's offering, and is one more argument of the T430 over an ultrabook like this.
Dug - Saturday, August 25, 2012 - link
Because it's lighter, has a better screen, thunderbolt, better keyboard, better trackpad, better case, SSD, better power adapter, etc.The screen is not a sheet of glass. You are thinking of a Macbook pro.
We deliver both of these models at work, and no one has complained about the Macbook Air. The Lenovo on the other hand has a bad keyboard, bad camera, bad screen, bad design.
Not saying its a bad computer, but as a business user, it doesn't compare.
The screen on the Lenovo's is so bad people have returned them to get a Macbook Air. The color gamut and off screen viewing is horrible.
Old_Fogie_Late_Bloomer - Saturday, August 25, 2012 - link
I was comparing the ThinkPad to this HP laptop, but okay, we can play. :-P Yes, the Air is lighter. But it's screen is glossy, which (in my opinion) completely obviates any other advantages it might have with regards to contrast ratio and color gamut. Yes, it has Thunderbolt, which will matter in a couple of years, but honestly, isn't that important at the moment. I don't know what the heck you're talking about with regards to the keyboard and trackpad, because both are top-notch on the T430.Your "better case" comment is similarly fatuous. Are you seriously going to tell me that the Air is more durable than a ThinkPad? As for the SSD issue, you can buy a T430 and an 256GB SSD, install it yourself, and still have a system that's basically superior in every way (except arguably weight) to the 256GB 13" Air, for less money.
"The screen is not a sheet of glass. You are thinking of a Macbook pro." No, actually, I was thinking of the HP Envy 14 Spectre, which clearly has a sheet of glass in front of the display. That's the comparison that I was (obviously) making.
"The Lenovo on the other hand has a bad keyboard, bad camera, bad screen, bad design." You have seriously got to be kidding me. The keyboard and overall design are great. The screen may not have the highest contrast or color gamut, but it's still matte, which (again, in my opinion) makes it superior to the Air screen. The only thing I can't really speak to is the camera, because I did get one, but I don't really care THAT much about it, as long as it's there.
"The screen on the Lenovo's is so bad people have returned them to get a Macbook Air. The color gamut and off screen viewing is horrible." Yeah, no, I'm sorry. You're not gonna convince me that one or two people trading a ThinkPad for a Mac is some kind of sweeping condemnation of the LCD panel in the former. I get that people's tastes in computers vary. I get that some people like Macs, and that's okay. But a lot of what you wrote is--let's be frank--misleading nonsense.
Jeff Bellin - Tuesday, September 4, 2012 - link
I'm continually confused by the automatic disqualification of a screen that is glossy when there are so many choices of very high quality "screen protectors" that very effectively turn a glossy screen into various levels and types of matter properties. I've used several and they all work very well, though it takes some doing to find the right version of protector to gain the matte finish you seek. Advice: go for a bit less matte than you might prefer: the semi-matte finishes on, say the Sony Z series have excellent contrast and color fidelity and there is less loss of brightness, and two heavy a matte "filter" may bring a "screen door" effect that is highly undesirable. The semi-matte/semi gloss filters will do the job of eliminating that mirror effect of high gloss screens and otherwise do little to impede the qualities of the base screen.Can we get over the disqualification of all glossy screens? (which I would be with 100% if these "workarounds" were not so easy and cheap to obtain.)
beisat - Saturday, August 25, 2012 - link
Personally, i'm quite glad that these producers are understanding the elegance of thin, high quality products - but I really can't blame Apple for sueing about designs like this. Looking at the picture on the first page, this thing looking soooo much like a macbook pro it's scary.kmmatney - Saturday, August 25, 2012 - link
I thought that's what the whole "ultrabook" thing is all about - making Macbook Air machines for Windows. The trouble is is that they are also trying to sell these at Mac prices...xype - Saturday, August 25, 2012 - link
The trouble is that Apple’s prices are competitive. If you have only 5 laptop models in total you get your margins increased by sheer volume already; no PC hardware manufacturer will sell anywhere close to Apple’s numbers of a specific model.And the Ultrabook was about the specs, not about the look of the devices. Have a look at the Lenovo X1 (ArsTechnica has a review)—that at least is something that I can consider an alternative when people ask me what to buy. The rest? Why not buy a Mac directly, if you want an aluminium "Ultrabook"?