The near future of high-tech industry (your excursion to CES 2010)

Alexandra | 7:39 pm | January 26, 2010 | New Laptops

The last Consumer Electronics Show (CES) has become the main source of information about new technologies and products from the world’s largest product designer and manufacturers.  The show was held in Las Vegas, and this place wasn’t chosen by chance. The U.S. market is traditionally considered as one of the most important for many large companies that design and produce electronics.

Judging by the general show trends, 2010 will be the year of Android smartphones, Tablet PCs, and rapid development of three-dimensional television. And like a year ago, at CES 2009, manufacturers introduced a lot of notebooks and netbooks in a classic form factor. Developers still believe that this market is very promising. For example, MSI management expects 50% growth of notebook shipments in 2010.

Lenovo attracted visitors by the unusual Ideapad U1 laptop. This device, which is actually a hybrid of tablet and netbook, has a 11.6″ display that can be disconnected from the keyboard and work independently as a Tablet PC. Ideapad U1 is expected in shops this summer at a price of about $ 1000.

You could see new netbooks based on Intel Pine Trail hardware platform from all major manufacturers at CES 2010. Most of those devices had similar characteristics and were running Windows 7. The Samsung N127 netbook based on OS Moblin can be mentioned as an exception.

One more piece of news from Intel. The company launched AppUpCenter, a new online store of applications for compact portable computers. All users of netbooks with OS Windows can join this service.

Among the huge number of laptops that were presented at CES 2010 there are some unusual ones. Samsung demonstrated a prototype laptop with a 14″ transparent OLED-display. It’s difficult to imagine who may need such a computer, but this invention of South Korean engineers may find application in other industries. Also Dell showed a workable concept of Studio with a 16″ OLED-display, which response time is 0,004 ms. And Asus amazed visitors by its new NX90 Bang & Olufsen edition laptop.

So CES 2010 gave us a general idea of what devices we should expect this year. Evidently experts expect the increase in sales of portable computers (both netbooks and notebooks). Marketing specialists pin hopes on tablet PCs, but demand for them will depend not only on technical specifications, but also on pricing policies. http://smart-parts.net

Dell starts sales of the world slimmest laptop with 13 inch screen

Alexandra | 1:23 pm | February 25, 2010 | Laptop News
Dell starts sales of its ultra-slim business laptop — Dell Latitude 13. The company representatives state that it’s the thinnest laptop in the world with 13-inch-diagonal screen.

Dell Latitude 13 can be used as a good helper by those who travel a lot. This gizmo is based on Intel CULV Celeron or the Core 2 Duo processor and offers a DVD-drive, which may be replaced by Blu-Ray. Also users can choose between a hard drive or SSD-drive. In any case the user data will be protected by Computrace, a special program that sends information about stolen and lost laptops to the special website via the Internet.
The notebook’s dimensions are 330 × 230 × 19.7 mm, weight is about 1.5 kg.
P.S. Acer is also going to release its new ultra-slim laptop that will be a strong rival for similar laptops from Apple and HP. This gadget will be only 19 mm thick, which is less than Apple MacBook Air and, of course, it’s much less than the size of similar models from HP.

eTouch 626Pro, Qwerty Dual GSM Rp1 Juta

Selasa, 9 Februari 2010 - 10:56 wib

 

Stefanus Yugo Hindarto - Okezone

eTouch Mobile memperkenalkan produk andalan terbarunya masih tetap bertemakan ponsel QWERTY. Produk tersebut adalah eTouch 626Pro ponsel beraliran Dual On GSM-GSM ini pun menyasar segmen pasar bagi mereka yang suka akan hiburan. Pasalnya, ponsel ini telah dilengkapi dengan kamera 1,3 MP, video ringtone, TV built-in, Facebook dan Chatting. Plus fitur unik berupa aplikasi Al Qur’an, video ringtone serta motion sensor. Membuat eTouch 626Pro tampil beda dengan ponsel sejenis lainnya.

Dari sisi penampilan, eTouch 606Pro akan membuat Anda bangga saat menenteng ponsel ini di muka umum. Seluruh permukaannya dibalut oleh warna hitam yang terlihat elegan dan mewah. Ponsel qwerty serba hitam ini juga telah menggunakan sistem navigasi Trackball. Yang menarik adalah desain di sekitar Trackball dibuat menonjol sehingga pengguna dapat lebih nyaman dalam menggunakannya. LCD-nya berukuran 2,2 inci TFT display sebagai visual utamanya mampu menyajikan gambar yang terang. eTouch 626Pro ini dilengkapi dengan 2 stereo speaker out sehingga menghasilkan suara yang keras. Dan tidak hanya itu, sebagai ponsel hiburan, eTouch 626 pro juga dilengkapi dengan port 3,5 mm sehingga anda dapat menikmati audio melalui headset kesayangan.

Facebook & Chatting (e-Buddy/ MSN) masih merupakan menu utama di ponsel ini, juga tidak ketinggalan browser Opera Mini. Namun yang menjadi daya tarik ponsel ini adalah hadirnya aplikasi Al-qur’an dengan ayat-ayat yang lengkap. Di aplikasi ini Anda dapat membaca serta mencari ayat yang diinginkan.

Ponsel ini juga memiliki fitur yang terbilang unik-unik mulai dari video ringtone yang dapat menjadikan video anda menjadi sebuah ringtone serta Motion sensor dimana anda dapat memilih sesuatu di ponsel ini hanya dengan menggoyangkan ponsel ini ke kiri atau ke kanan. Tidak hanya itu, fitur unik lainnya juga masih ada di ponsel ini dimana anda dapat merubah suara anda menjadi suara wanita, anak, kecil atau pria dewasa dengan fitur bernama inflection function.

Kelebihan lain dari ponsel ini ada pada kameranya yang hadir pada bagian belakang dengan resolusi 1,3 MP (1280 x 960) pixels. Bila hendak mengambil gambar namun kondisi cahayanya kurang memungkinkan, anda tidak perlu kuatir karena kamera ponsel ini telah didukung dengan flashlight.

Sebagai ponsel yang ditujukan untuk segmen entertainment, eTouch 606pro juga memiliki fitur multimedia yang komplit mulai dari TV tunner built in (yang support untuk siaran TV di beberapa negara lain), MP3/ MP4 player, foto viewer, voice recorder, hingga FM radio (Tanpa harus menggunakan headset). Untuk audio outputnya, ponsel ini memiliki kualitas speaker out yang mampu menghasilkan suara yang keras, serta untuk kenyamanan anda menggunakan Bluetooth headset juga tersedia koneksi Bluetooth yang support A2DP.

Network : Dual on GSM 850/900/1800/1900 Mhz Quad band
LCD        : 2.2 inch TFT
Ringtones : Polyphonic 64, MIDI, MP3
Camera : 1,3 MP
Connection : Bluetooth (A2DP), GPRS class12, USB Memory T-Flash (MicroSD), TV tunner, FM Radio, MP3/ MP4 player, JAVA, Facebook, eBuddy, G sensor, Al-qur’an Dimension : 109 x57 x 14 mm
Battery   : Li-ion 1400 mAh
Harga    : Rp999.000 (srn)

Gateway VR46, Notebook Juara Motor GP

PC asal Amerika Gateway meluncurkan laptop eksklusif terbarunya VR46. Notebook itu terinspirasi semangat kemenangan sembilan kali juara dunia Moto GP Valentino Rossi.
Dengan desainnya yang stylish dan unik, notebook itu ditargetkan bagi pengguna yang mencintai eksklusivitas dan memiliki mobilitas tinggi.
VR46 didesain oleh Aldo Drudi, desainer Valentino Rossi. Karyanya sukses menarik banyak mata dengan lambang yang menjadi ciri khas Valentino Rossi.
Matahari dan bulan menggambarkan energi, serta panas dan cahaya dibawa dalam semangat kemenangan. Sedangkan kelima lidah api yang terpancar dari lambang matahari mewakili masing-masing lima benua di mana MotoGP digelar.
Warna cerah dunia Valentino Rossi itu muncul di produk Gateway. Sedangkan nama laptop terinspirasi oleh angka favorit sang pembalap, yaitu 46.
“Valentino Rossi memiliki karakter sejati dengan kepribadian yang kokoh. Ketenangannya dan gayanya yang modis baik di dalam maupun di luar arena balap adalah yang kami tawarkan dengan laptop Gateway VR46,” kata Presiden Direktur Acer Indonesia Jason Lim.
Notebook edisi khusus mengabadikan prestasi Valentino Rossi itu, mengusung fitur Dolby Sound Room sehingga dapat menikmati suara multi saluran. Dipadukan HD display dan HDMI mampu memberikan hiburan kualitas tinggi.
Notebook dengan layar 11,6 inci ini dirancang tipis, ringan dengan ukuran keyboard full-size. Sementara Touchpad multi-gesturenya memudahkan pergerakan layaknya motor balap yang tangkas.
VR46 memiliki stamina baterai hingga 8 jam untuk satu kali pengisian. Perangaat ini didukung prosesor Ultra Low Voltage Intel Core 2 Duo SU9400 sehingga memiliki konsumsi energi yang lebih efisien dan hasilnya baterai yang lebih tahan lama.
“Gateway memiliki keahlian khusus dalam menciptakan perangkat yang sesuai untuk memenuhi kebutuhan pengguna modern,” tambah Lim.

Gateway pertama kali masuk ke pasar PC Indonesia pada akhir Maret 2009.[ito]--inilah.com 25/2/2010

Future Apple Products Won't Differ Much By Robin Chung

Apple is a 50 billion dollar company. At some point, little over 10 years ago it was a failing technology maker at the verge of bankruptcy. What has happened in between? Well besides an updated design and ease of use department, a new business strategy has emerged.
Most people don't like change. It's unfamiliar territory and brings many mysteries and potential hazards. But many companies don't realize that and as a result try to reinvent the wheel with every new product release. Take for example the music player business. First they try to add a button for every action, then they remove every button that doesn't necessarily has to be there and now a touchscreen display seems to be the way to go. Of course the industry is changing everytime but it's awkward that a big company can release such a huge amount of products that all have a completely different feel to it. Users don't like that because of two reasons. First of all when they buy a product it's outdated almost instantly. And second of all the public has to adjust themselves to use the product almost every time.
Apple knows this and have adjusted their roadmap accordingly. How? Well by adding two or three clear product lines in a particular market. For Apple in the music business they have the: iPod Nano/Classic (clickwheel), iPod touch (touchscreen) and the shuffle (control by headset). And here's the thing, I just wrote this out of the top of my head! I know that if I buy a nano that I can expect a curtain way of user control. And it won't change because the next iPod Nano will still use the clickwheel, it's simply its trademark. Just like the iPod Touch will always keep the touchscreen. So what does that mean for future products from this company? It's simple don't expect huge product transitions. Here's a simple table:
iPod: Controls stay the same for appropriate models, small refinements.
iPhone: Visual appearance will stay similar, small hardware and software refinements.
Mac: Better hardware, same price.
Those are the three major revenue streams for Apple. The iPad launch is a different story. Here Steve Jobs clearly showed a new product line, which differs completely from everything before it. But guess what, the next iPad will look similar to this one. Users are used to it and don't have to adjust themselves each time Apple announces something new. As a result the following almost overtime applies: once an Apple, always an Apple. This is simply because the users are familiar with the products and are pleased with it.

Future Apple products.
I'm Robin Chung, author of the dutch book Tegenlicht. I have a website that brings interesting reading material from all kind of subjects like health and gaming. The website also includes a forum, so you can discuss the articles, and you can order my book from there. http://www.robinchung.com.

Be Careful About Relying on Technology By Bruce Hosea

I'm a techno geek and love gadgets. The latest fad item will usually find its way into my collection of toys. In an emergency this can be a blessing and a curse. If you rely on Global Positioning Systems to tell you where you are going and where you are, what do you do if the battery fails? When was the last time you looked at a map?
My flying students used to rely on navigation equipment to the exclusion of basic map reading. I would occasionally fail systems in the simulator and see if they could react. There was usually a period of bewilderment and anger.
We all get comfortable with technology. Do we still have the skills that these new systems were designed to replace? If we only know the "new" way, we may be in for a shock. This applies to emergency planning. Do you have a back up plan?
What communication system will you rely on during an emergency? What happens to your lighting plan when your fancy tactical flashlight runs out of battery power? Do you have a candle and some matches?
This all sounds so simple. Recently the eastern part of the U.S. was blanketed with snow and many homes were without power. What would you do? There were no lights, no recharging power for cell phones and radios. Many of us do not have a backup generator. Do we have a backup plan?
This all goes back to a Family Action Plan. Play the "What If" game to figure out the possible outcomes and possible solutions. Not every solution is feasible or cost effective so you must decide what level of risk you can accept.
Remember: Technology is a good tool, but don't forget the basic skills.

Shoppers Guide to Buying Acer Laptops

Here's a brief buyer's guide about Acer laptops that can help consumers learn more about what to look for when purchasing these laptops.

The first thing to look out for is the quality of the display screens.

One of the things that sets Acer laptops apart from other laptops is the quality of the display screens offered. Acer offers display screens that range in length diagonally from 13.3 inches to 15.6 inches. These screens offer 16:9 resolution and crisp picture clarity that make them perfect for watching DVD's. In addition, the display screens are durable enough to withstand everyday use.

The next thing to look for is the amount of internal and external memory that each laptop offers.

Acer laptops have more than enough memory to handle everyday tasks. This is true because most Acer products have at least 3-4 GB of RAM and 320-500 GB of storage space. This is more than enough memory to surf the Internet or watch TV programmes online.

In addition, be sure to have a look at the operating system that comes with the laptops.

Some consumers prefer the Windows Vista operating system over the newer Windows 7 operating system. Furthermore, many consumers prefer a Windows work environment over the Mac Snow Leopard operating system that Apple laptops feature. As a result, be sure to have a look at the operating system that comes with the laptops. Doing this will allow you to find the operating system that best meets your needs.

Furthermore, be sure to look at the software that comes with the laptop.

By Phil Martins
Most Toshiba laptops have only basic software pre-installed. This is also true with most Acer laptops as well. Most Acer laptops have basic software pre-installed that makes it possible to test the machine out at home. As a result, be sure to look for a word processing software package and an Internet security software package to get the most out of these laptops.

Finally, be sure to also have a look at the processor that comes with the laptop.

Many laptops these days feature an Intel Core 2 Duo processor that works fairly well. Acer laptops feature this processor and they do a good job handling everyday computing tasks. Those who need more computing power should invest in products such as Sony laptops that feature an Intel Atom Z540 processor.
Find a range of electrical products including; Acer laptops, laptops and netbooks from leading brand names.

Mini Digital Camera? How to Select the Best Camera For Your Needs

By Mindy Debra Carlson
If you're interested in buying a mini digital camera, no doubt you must be wondering: what sorts of things are important to look for when buying ultra-compact cameras?

The thing to look out for is what features the camera offers. Technology is rapidly advancing and digital cameras now come with a wide variety of details that add function to the camera depending on what kind of photography you will be doing. Will you need a mini digital camera for long zoom? Will you frequently be working in different lighting conditions? Are you just looking for a camera to capture simple family moments?

These are the questions you need to be asking yourself to determine what features you'd like to come with your new camera. If you aren't working the field of photography, obviously you won't need a camera specifically geared for complicated shots.

The next, and perhaps the biggest thing most people look for, is picture quality. This is measured by megapixels, which are one million pixels: the standard unit of measurement when calculating picture quality. Back when cameras were first making their transition from film to digital, pixels were important because of the technological differences.

The more megapixels a camera has, the better the picture quality will be on the camera, although it's wise to keep an eye on the price when looking for picture quality, as a higher megapixel count will also mean a more expensive camera.

In addition to the aforementioned things, personal comfort and compatibility should be taken into account when buying a mini digital camera. As the "mini" in its name implies, these are miniature versions of digital cameras, specially designed to be small for quick and easy use. But how small is too small?

The ideal camera is large enough to be held accurately in hand and small enough to be kept in an easy to access area. The individual's experience is of course the best assessment of comfort, so be sure to get a feel for your camera before deciding if it's right for you!
More mini digital camera reviews at my website, MiniDigitalCameraGuide.com.

UPDATE NEWS 9 PEBRUARY 2010

hai all friends blogger on news elektronik happy new year for all and i hope information in this blog better day for day. specially laptop toshiba, panasonic, sony, hp, etc  and some ipod mp3 , electronic tool accesories,

LONG TIME I HOPE ALL VISITOR IN MY BLOG IS MY PARTNER IF WRONG OR REJECT THIS NEWS i hope always permittion


UPDATE NEWS 9 PEBRUARY 2010

Review Sony Vaio VPC-X11S1E/B Notebook

Review Sony Vaio VPC-X11S1E/B Notebook
by: Florian Wimmer 27.01.2010

So small and yet a notebook.

Be careful when you lift the Vaio X. It is so unexpectedly light that it might just fly out of your hand. That would be shame as the 11.1 Inch-subnotebook with Intel's Atom CPU is well designed. Find out in our detailed test if there are more reasons to take good care of Sony's subnotebook.

Sony Vaio VPC-X11S1E/B Notebook
Sony Vaio VPC-X11S1E/B Notebook

The letter X has established in the portfolio of many manufacturers as a symbol for thin and lightweight subnotebooks. Also Sony's Vaio VPC-X11S1E fits in that category: Just 1.4 centimeters in height and 760 grams of weight make the tiny notebook an ultraportable device and let it fit in almost any pocket. To still be able to offer some performance, Sony incorporates an Atom-CPU and an SSD-harddrive.

Our test sample came with an Atom Z540 at 1,86 GHz, an Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 500 and a 128 GByte-SSD manufactured by Samsung. The price for this configuration was quite expensive: 1499 euros.
Case
The design is classic and timeless

To allow the light and thin design of the Vaio X Sony uses a combination of different materials: The bottom part and the display lid are made of carbon fibre. The wrist-rest is made of aluminium and is unfortunately rather quickly covered in fingerprints.

In our sample the lid didn't protect the screen very well from pressure: Its effect was soon and very largely visible on the screen. The just 4 millimeters thin screen can also be easily bent, which results in color distortions.

The rest of the case feels quite solid, it cannot be bent and also stays in form when the user lifts up his notebook on one corner.

The monitor's hinges look quite broad when compared to the overall size of the notebook and keep the monitor stable after just a short tettering. Although the monitor opens smoothly, the hinges are nevertheless so firmly adjusted that the display doesn't need any further closing-mechanism.

Our test sample is colored completely in black. If you want something a little more extravagant you might select a golden finish in Sony's own Sonystyle shop. In all other aspects, Sony's design is quite classic: Rounded corners, a silver Vaio logo and a milled stripe across the display lid are the only details that Sony grants the otherwise simple case.
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Connectivity

Being very slim case, the case cannot house too many ports, but, provides everything that's necessary:

On the bottom there are the battery and, beneath it, a SIM-card-slot for mobile internet.

On the front two card-readers can be found below the status-LEDs, one for SD-cards, the other for the Memory-Stick-family.

Sony put a headphone jack, two USB 2.0-ports, a Kensington-Lock and, behind it, the DC-in on the left side.

On the right only two ports are located: A LAN-port and the VGA-port. Because of the LAN-plug being to high for the thin chassis, Sony uses a foldable LAN-port: The lower part of the plug has to be opened before the connector fits into the plug.

Front: Two card readers
Front: Two card readers

Left: Headphone-out, 2xUSB, Kensington Lock, DC-in.
Left: headphone-out, 2xUSB, Kensington Lock, DC-in.

Right: LAN-Port, VGA
Right: LAN-Port, VGA

Although this port is cleverly constructed most users will, anyway, prefer WLAN. Sony uses Intel's WiFiLink 4965AGN card, which supports the standards 802.11 a,g, and draft-n. The card allows data rates up to 300 MBit per second – also users with high speed DSL-access should be satisfied.

Furthermore Sony includes Bluetooth standard 2.1 including Enhanced Data Rate as well as a WWAN card for mobile internet and support for HSDPA, HSUPA, UMTS, GPRS, and EDGE.

Accessories

Besides a micro fibre cloth for the wrist-rest and the monitor Sony includes a recovery-DVD, so users can recover the installed operating system Windows 7 Professional even if there are problems like a defective SSD.

At Sony's homepage users can buy a lithium ion battery with 8200 milliampere hours, which doubles the battery runtime. Of course this battery needs more space and a part of it protrudes the back of the Vaio X. Sony charges 229 euros for it while the standard battery only costs 129 euros.

A special leather sleeve for the Vaio X is 99 euros, a bluetooth mouse with matching design costs 69 euros.

Software

There was a test version of the McAfee Security Center preinstalled as well as Microsoft's Office 60 days trial and Norton Online Backup, which is also limited. Besides that Sony includes only few full versions: Vaio Photo- and Videosuite, MusicStation and EverywAir, which helps you in setting up your wireless internet are the only give-aways. Due to the missing DVD drive there is also no DVD player software included.

By installing hardly any software on the system, the operating system is kept light. In contrary, we criticized other Sony systems for being excessively and ineffectively equipped with software. On the other hand Sony could have included at least one full version that brings a real advantage. MusicStation and Photo- and Videosuite are nice give-aways yet their functionality is already included in Windows through Media Player and Photo Gallery.
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Input Devices

Keyboard

For some time almost all Sony laptops come with a so called chiclet keyboard. That helps to tell the keys apart while writing and also looks stylish. Of course you cannot expect a full-size keyboard in an 11.1 inch machine but Sony's X series nevertheless possesses a suitable typing device.

You have to get used to typing due to the relatively hard key stroke but all keys are sufficiently sized and are located where you would expect them. The Page Up- and Page Down-keys as well as the Home and End key are only accessible through a combination with the “Fn”-key. In exchange there is a second “Fn”-key located next to the arrow keys, so, that one can also activate it with the right hand.

Volume and brightness are also controlled through combinations between the “Fn”-key and the “F”-keys as well as switching to an external monitor. Above the keyboard sits the Wireless switch, known from other Sony devices. It switches LAN, WLAN, and WWAN on and off.

Touchpad

The touchpad sits in the middle of the wrist-rest and is separated optically and hapticly by a small sill. The touch sensitive surface is quite small especially as there is a scroll bar on the right and the lower side that is not detached from the rest. During our test however, the scroll bar was never activated by accident but rather just when you lift your finger and lower it again on the very right or lower part of the touchpad.

Sony does not follow the trend to include Multi-Touch gestures with it's current X-series: The touchpad did not react to the input of two fingers at the same time.

The two buttons located underneath the touchpad are also a bit small yet they operate well and give good feedback on the keystroke.

Keyboard
Keyboard

Touchpad
Touchpad

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Display

11.1 inch is the size of the Sony Vaio VPC-X11S1E's LED backlighted display. The resolution is 1366 x 768 pixels, which is no problem thanks to the scalability of Windows 7. But if you would like to install Windows XP for instance, you have to get used to small symbols and small writing as the DPI value is quite high with 141.2.

The screen has it's brightest area at the lower middle, where the illumination reaches 275 cd/m². Further to the top of the screen it gets darker, in the upper right corner it bids only 239 cd/m². The overall average is 257.7 cd/m² which is a good value.

244
cd/m² 254
cd/m² 239
cd/m²
250
cd/m² 260
cd/m² 250
cd/m²
273
cd/m² 275
cd/m² 274
cd/m²


Information
Maximum: 275 cd/m²
Average: 257.7 cd/m²
Illumination: 87 %
Black: 1.47 cd/m²
Contrast: 177:1
Brightness on battery: 260 cd/m²
Distribution of brightness

We didn't exactly like the high black value of the screen: 1.47 cd/m². It results in a rather meager contrast of 177:1. Subjectively that isn't so noticeable, but colors were a bit dull.

It's still possible to work in bright light.
It's still possible to work in bright light.

The screen has a non-glare finish. That in combination with the good brightness makes it possible to work outdoor or in bright light without disturbing reflections disturbing.

Horizontal and vertical viewing angles describe the angle in which one can sit in front of the screen without the colors changing. The bigger this angle the more you can vary your position in front of the screen.

The X11S1E offer good horizontal viewing angles but if you move the screen up or down colors will change quite soon. That is annoying especially because of the mobile layout of the device: When you change the position of the device you might have to also change the inclination of the monitor.

Blickwinkel Sony Vaio VPC-X11S1E/B
Blickwinkel Sony Vaio VPC-X11S1E/B

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Performance

The new Atom CPUs based on the Pinetrail architecture did not yet make it into Sony's X-series. Instead an older Atom Z540 based on the Silverthorne architecture is inside our test sample. The single core processor calculates with 1.86 GHz and has built-in hyperthreading, meaning it can work on two tasks at a time. If you have more money at your disposal, you can also get a Z550 with 2 GHz.

The graphic chip is the Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 500 which is integrated in the chipset. The chip uses up to 760 MByte of the RAM, according to the usage.

2 GByte DDR2-533 RAM can be used as main memory. The memory consists of one module of 2 GByte and cannot be upgraded as the system only supports a maximum of 2 GByte of memory.

* Systeminfo CPUZ CPU
* Systeminfo CPUZ Cache
* Systeminfo CPUZ Mainboard
* Systeminfo GPUZ
* Systeminfo HDTune

System information Sony Vaio VPC-X11S1E/B

Due to the specialization of the notebook in mobility and not on performance you have to cut back on expectations. Despite of browser games you should not try to play any games on the Vaio X: Even in the nine year old benchmark 3DMark2001 the system can only reach 1090 points. In the next version 3DMark03 the system only manages to achieve 370 points. That is too little performance even for the most unambitious gamer.

We evaluate the application performance with the tool PCMark05 and get a result of 1547 points. Together with the other tests determining the CPU performance like the benchmarks SuperPi and WPrime we get a rating of 60% for the application performance. That's sufficient for simple tasks like writing texts or surfing the internet, but, as soon as things get a bit more challenging, image manipulation for instance, you should not rely too much on the Vaio X unless you have a lot of patience.

To see how the system deals with a video in HD resolution, we downloaded a cinema trailer in Full HD from the internet. Unfortunately the Vaio X was not up to the task: The sound went smoothly, but, the picture was lagging behind even when we plugged in the DC and set the energy saving options to “high performance”. Also high definiton flash videos played directly within the browser, for example via gametrailers.com, constitute a problem for the Vaio X: They stuttered along.
Cinebench
Rendering Single 563 points
(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(1)(0)(0)(0)(2)(1)(1)(0)(0)(0)(1)(0)(0)(0)(3)(0)(1)(3)(7)(3)(6)(4)(5)(3)(4)(0)(2)(4)(0)(0)(1)(1)(1)(5)(2)(2)(1)(0)(0)(1)(4)(1)(2)(2)(1)(2)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)
Rendering Multi 934 points
(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(1)(1)(1)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(1)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(1)(1)(0)(1)(0)(0)(3)(0)(0)(3)(0)(0)(3)(2)(1)(2)(4)(1)(2)(0)(2)(2)(0)(2)(2)(1)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(3)(0)(0)(3)(2)(0)(1)(0)(2)(0)(1)(0)(0)(1)(0)(2)(0)(2)(1)(0)(2)(2)(0)(1)(1)(0)(2)
OpenGL 32 points
(1)(1)(1)(1)(1)(1)(2)(3)(0)(8)(6)(12)(4)(3)(2)(1)(1)(1)(3)(1)(1)(0)(0)(1)(1)(1)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(2)(1)(3)(0)(1)(1)(0)(1)(0)(0)(1)(0)(0)(0)(1)(0)(4)(1)(0)(0)(0)(2)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(1)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)
Help
... in comparison
Cinebench R10 Rend. Multi (32bit) in comparison
Sony Vaio VGN-P11Z/R (min)
635
...
Asus Eee PC 1000HE N280, Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) 950
891
Asus Eee PC 1008HA N280, Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) 950
892
Asus Eee PC 1005PE N450, Graphics Media Accelerator 3150
894
Sony Vaio VPC-X11S1E/B Z540, Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) 500
934
Asus Eee PC 1201N 330, GeForce 9400M (G) / ION (LE)
1516
Samsung X120 SU7300, Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) 4500M
1642
Asus U2E-1P017E U7500, Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) X3100
1976
...
mySN QXG7 (max)
19189
PC Mark
PCMark 05 1547 points
(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(2)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(1)(0)(1)(0)(0)(1)(0)(1)(0)(1)(2)(1)(3)(2)(1)(0)(2)(1)(4)(1)(1)(2)(0)(1)(1)(2)(3)(1)(2)(2)(1)(2)(4)(1)(3)(1)(1)(1)(1)(1)(2)(0)(0)(0)(1)(1)(3)(2)(2)(1)(0)(0)(1)(0)(0)(1)(1)(3)(2)(1)(1)(0)(2)(1)(0)(0)(2)(1)(0)(0)(1)(1)(2)
Help
... in comparison
PCMark 05 in comparison
Acer Aspire One 751 (min)
692
...
Toshiba NB200-113 N270, Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) 950
1493
LG X110 N270, Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) 950
1509
HP Mini 2140 N270, Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) 950
1532
Sony Vaio VPC-X11S1E/B Z540, Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) 500
1547
Dell Latitude 2100 N270, Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) 950
1586
Asus Eee PC 1002HA N270, Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) 950
1616
Asus Eee PC 1005HA N270, Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) 950
1617
...
Alienware M17x (max)
9615
2.4
Windows 7 Experience Index
Processor
Calculations per second
2.7
Memory (RAM)
Memory operations per second
4.2
Graphics
Desktop performance for Windows Aero
4.5
Gaming graphics
3D business and gaming graphics
2.4
Primary hard disk
Disk data transfer rate
6.4
3D Mark
3DMark 2001 1090 points
(0)(0)(1)(2)(1)(0)(1)(1)(1)(0)(2)(6)(3)(4)(4)(7)(2)(3)(3)(4)(4)(7)(3)(1)(2)(1)(0)(2)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(1)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(1)(3)(2)(4)(0)(1)(1)(0)(0)(1)(1)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(1)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(1)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(1)
3DMark 03 370 points
(2)(4)(5)(8)(15)(18)(7)(7)(4)(3)(1)(1)(0)(0)(0)(2)(2)(2)(1)(1)(0)(1)(0)(2)(1)(0)(2)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(1)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(1)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(1)
Help
... in comparison
3DMark 03 in comparison
Samsung Q30 (min)
116
...
Toshiba R400 U2400, Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) 950
165
Asus Eee PC 900 353, Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) 900
289
Asus Eee PC T91 MT Z520, Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) 500
363
Sony Vaio VPC-X11S1E/B Z540, Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) 500
370
Acer Aspire One 751 Z520, Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) 500
395
Asus Eee PC 1101HA Z520, Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) 500
413
Sony Vaio VGN-P21Z Z520, Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) 500
418
...
Alienware M17x (max)
58095


HDTune: Samsung MMCRE28G8MXP Benchmark
Transfer Rate Minimum: 65.1 MB/sec
(10)(7)(15)(9)(11)(12)(8)(9)(6)(10)(5)(10)(8)(11)(10)(24)(13)(21)(19)(23)(17)(23)(19)(19)(13)(26)(32)(25)(20)(19)(14)(18)(18)(11)(13)(8)(2)(9)(2)(4)(3)(4)(4)(3)(2)(2)(1)(0)(2)(0)(0)(1)(0)(0)(0)(1)(1)(1)(0)(0)(1)(0)(1)(1)(2)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(1)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(1)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(1)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(1)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(1)(0)(2)
Transfer Rate Maximum: 68 MB/sec
(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(2)(0)(3)(5)(0)(2)(2)(4)(4)(4)(2)(16)(5)(20)(13)(12)(16)(9)(11)(27)(13)(17)(13)(15)(3)(5)(3)(4)(4)(13)(8)(16)(17)(21)(13)(11)(33)(23)(20)(12)(15)(13)(6)(7)(4)(1)(13)(13)(8)(15)(6)(6)(6)(8)(5)(1)(1)(7)(2)(4)(1)(0)(3)(4)(3)(0)(0)(1)(1)(0)(3)(0)(1)(0)(0)(0)(1)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(1)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(1)(0)(0)(0)(1)(1)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(1)(1)(1)(2)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(1)
Transfer Rate Average: 67.3 MB/sec
(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(2)(1)(5)(1)(3)(2)(5)(5)(5)(15)(17)(31)(16)(33)(18)(14)(21)(10)(7)(9)(6)(9)(6)(20)(23)(28)(26)(17)(24)(28)(20)(17)(8)(12)(6)(12)(10)(12)(8)(11)(9)(6)(5)(7)(5)(1)(4)(4)(2)(5)(1)(2)(1)(1)(0)(1)(2)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(1)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(1)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(1)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(1)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(1)(0)(1)(1)(1)(1)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)
Access Time: 0.2 ms
(9)(12)(3)(2)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(1)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(1)(2)(2)(4)(7)(15)(6)(7)(6)(22)(18)(6)(7)(22)(52)(31)(29)(30)(37)(38)(38)(17)(26)(22)(12)(4)(18)(4)(13)(5)(7)(7)(7)(5)(8)(2)(1)(1)(1)(2)(2)(4)(1)(1)(0)(1)(1)(0)(0)(1)(0)(0)(1)(1)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(1)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(1)(0)(1)(2)(0)(0)(0)(1)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(1)
Burst Rate: 59.4 MB/sec
(0)(1)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(1)(0)(1)(1)(0)(0)(1)(0)(2)(0)(0)(2)(0)(1)(5)(0)(3)(1)(3)(1)(7)(3)(2)(6)(3)(2)(4)(3)(3)(2)(6)(3)(9)(3)(8)(5)(8)(6)(5)(10)(8)(11)(9)(11)(3)(13)(16)(12)(7)(8)(21)(15)(12)(12)(15)(21)(8)(14)(20)(21)(12)(15)(9)(9)(8)(13)(13)(9)(15)(7)(9)(6)(5)(5)(5)(5)(4)(5)(3)(3)(5)(0)(0)(0)(2)(3)(3)(1)(1)(0)(3)(3)(5)(1)(0)(3)(0)(0)(2)(0)(0)(0)(0)(1)(3)(1)(0)(2)(0)(2)(2)(1)(0)(0)(1)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(1)(0)(1)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(1)
CPU Usage: 6.3 %
(14)(0)(27)(15)(52)(68)(55)(26)(47)(44)(22)(26)(14)(20)(14)(11)(15)(12)(10)(4)(4)(4)(3)(7)(4)(3)(3)(2)(2)(1)(3)(2)(3)(3)(2)(2)(0)(1)(0)(2)(2)(2)(2)(3)(1)(2)(0)(2)(0)(1)(0)(0)(1)(0)(1)(0)(0)(0)(0)(1)(0)(0)(0)(0)(1)(0)(0)(1)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(1)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(1)(0)(1)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(2)(2)(0)(1)(0)(1)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(1)

The hard drive in our test sample was a solid state drive by Samsung. The drive has a capacity of 128 GByte. In general, SSDs do not offer a higher data rate than normal hard drives. But, while the data rate stays the same across the whole SSD drive, it falls towards the end of a hard drive.

So, the Samsung SSD achieved an average data rate of 67.3 MByte per second and also a considerably lower access time compared to common harddrives: 0.2 milliseconds.

Therefore, the Windows Startup should also speed up. We wanted to know it exactly and measured the time necessary to boot the system. The result: After just 37 seconds the Windows desktop comes up, not bad indeed. A look into Windows' own diagnosis system revealed that it took 71 seconds until all programs were loaded.

More hard drive capacity turns out to be quite costly, because Sony only offers SSDs for the Vaio X. E.g., upgrading to 256 GBytes costs 390 Euros. However, downgrading to 64 GB only saves 10 euros.

DPC Latency Checker Sony Vaio VPC-X11S1E/B
DPC Latency Checker

DPC latencies

With the program DPC Latency Checker we evaluated the system's DPC latencies. Too long latencies hint on synchronization problems with external devices, e.g., sound crackling of external sound cards, or lagging of graphic cards.

Unfortunately the Vaio X11S1E's amplitude went into the red area several times. So, the user should check each driver to find out which one causes the communication delay.
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Emissions

System Noise

The tiny outlet on the back is partly covered by the monitor once the notebook is opened. But, this doesn't seem to impede the fan from doing it's job. At least it never gets too loud: We recorded hardly audible 28.3 dB(A) when the system is idle. Furthermore, the fan sits at the rear of the case and emits the already low noise mostly towards the back.

Even if maximum performance is needed the small fan just reached a noise of 35.9 dB(A) which is still a very good value. No wonder that our rating for loudness was almost perfect: 95 percent.

The only thing impeding a 100 percent rating is the high frequency soundscape of the fan: When a lot of power is needed, an unpleasantly high pitched noise is audible.

Loudness
Idle 28.3 / 28.3 / 28.3 dB
HDD 28.3 dB
Load 31.5 / 35.9 dB

30 dB
silent 40 dB
audible 50 dB
loud
Key: min: , med: , max: (15 cm distance)

Temperature

Despite of the low noise level, the fan does a good job: The system stays well cooled most of the time. The overall maximum temperature is 50.5 degrees Celsius at the left bottom side. But you will have to stress the system as much as it would hardly ever occur during everyday usage of the Vaio X. 50.5 degrees are not perfect but considering the thin case still alright.

During idle status, the maximum temperature is 40.6 degrees Celsius in the left upper back part. Thus the laptop gets noticeably warmer, but, can still be put accordingly to it's name on the lap.

The DC device does not heat up too much with the maximum temperature being 40 degrees. All in all the temperature of Sony's Vaio X11S1E reaches a good rating.

41.9 °C 41.2 °C 36 °C
40.3 °C 39.8 °C 33.4 °C
31.1 °C 31.8 °C 29.2 °C



38.1 °C 46.2 °C 50.5 °C
37.3 °C 46.2 °C 47.2 °C
29.4 °C 31.6 °C 32.1 °C

Maximum: 41.9 °C
Average: 36.1 °C Maximum: 50.5 °C
Average: 39.8 °C
Power Supply 40 °C | Room Temperature 22.5 °C
The loudspeakers are hidden behind a cover at the bottom.

Loudspeakers

The small stereo loudspeakers are on the bottom. As they share a single grille, they can hardly create a stereo effect. Furthermore, the desk dampens the soundscape.

In addition, neither the maximum volume is very high nor the power of the bass. The speakers will be sufficient for occasional internet videos and Windows sounds but only very unambitious user will be able to enjoy music and movies.

But, the headphone jack on the left side is considerably well positioned, at least for right-handers, and also supplies a decent sound. Thus a set of small earphones should be added to the price and weight of the laptop if you really want to enjoy multimedia content.
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Battery Runtime

Minimale Laufzeit (Classic Test)
Classic Test

The small 4 cell battery with 33.6 Wh is integrated in the bottom part of the laptop and comes from Sony's own production. It's a lithium ion battery with 33.6 watt hours. A 8 cell battery is also available. According to Sony's marketing it should double the runtime.

Even with the standard battery the manufacturer promises up to 8 hours of battery life. We did the reader test in Battery Eater Pro that simulates a minimum load by reading a text. Additionally we switched the energy saver mode on and WLAN off. We got 7 hours and 34 minutes which comes closed to the promised 8 hours.

To find out the minimum battery life we also used the Battery Eater tool. This time it calculated a 3D graphic and the energy saving functions were turned off and the screen brightness maximized. The notebook kept running for 170 minutes or 2:50 hours. A good result as well considering that the Vaio X is too weak to use it for such challenging tasks anyway.

Most people will use the Vaio X for websurfing via WLAN. On battery we could do so for 312 minutes or 5 hours and 12 minutes.

Battery runtime
Idle (without WLAN, min brightness) 7h 34min
(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(1)(3)(0)(2)(3)(3)(2)(3)(2)(9)(3)(4)(6)(5)(9)(3)(6)(3)(5)(2)(4)(4)(2)(2)(1)(6)(2)(1)(0)(0)(3)(0)(3)(0)(1)(1)(0)(1)(0)(0)(1)(1)(0)(2)(1)(1)(1)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(1)(0)(0)(0)(1)
Surfing with WLAN 5h 12min
(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(1)(1)(1)(3)(8)(9)(3)(6)(6)(8)(3)(4)(3)(2)(2)(4)(4)(0)(1)(3)(0)(2)(0)(0)(2)(2)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)
Load (maximum brightness) 2h 50min
(0)(0)(1)(10)(13)(25)(14)(14)(6)(1)(4)(6)(3)(4)(4)(2)(3)(0)(0)(1)(0)(0)(1)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)(0)

When it comes to power consumption the Vaio X has to be modest to be able to achieve such running times: A minimum consumption of 4.0 watt and a maximum of 11.5 watt under full load really is an excellent value. No wonder Sony can attach the Energy Star Seal on it's device.

When switched off the Sony laptop only uses 0.1 watt of energy that is within the measuring tolerance to 0.0. In stand-by mode the consumption is 0.3 watt which is still quite passable.

Sony and it's costumers can be more than content with battery life and power consumption. To bring so much battery power in such a small case really is an achievement.

Current consumption
Off / Standby 0.1 / 0.3 Watt
Idle 4 / 6.5 / 7.8 Watt
Load 9.1 / 11.5 Watt

Key: min: , med: , max:
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Verdict

Sony charges quite a lot for it's slender device: The extremely stylish computer is offered for 1499 euros and more. Considering you could buy five better equipped notebooks instead, is it really reasonable to go for it? Well it's definitely an experience to have the razor-thin and light as a feather Vaio X in your hands: Suddenly all netbooks in the world seem plump and oversized.

Allowedly, the field of application is small: Writing texts, surfing the net, maybe a bit of simplest image manipulation, that's it. Still it feels good when other laptop users carry around their huge laptops while you can take this not even 1.4 cm thin notebook out from almost any bag.

Furthermore, Sony grants it's dwarf a more or less decent display, a battery that is quite strong considering the size of the notebook and a quite timeless design, which you will still like in a few years time. Furthermore, all necessary wireless connections are integrated, but, that's what can be expected in view of the high price. Regarding wired connectivity: There are not plenty of ports, but, that's alright in consideration of the size.

The loudspeakers are rather useless when it comes to multimedia, there is no microphone-in, the touchpad is tiny and the fan can become quite noisy: Seems like you will have to live with some flaws when you decide to buy such a thin device. Those who think the Dell Adamo XPS is still too big and do not require the performance of a MacBook Air, should take a look at Sony's designer piece. That is whoever has the necessary petty cash.

HP Envy 13 / Envy 15 in Review

Hands-On: HP Envy 13 / Envy 15 in Review

HP EnvyBook Pro.

The new HP Pavilion Consumer Notebooks do not look a bit like being made of plastic: With the Envy Notebooks HP introduces two aluminium-flagships that are meant to set new standards regarding haptics as well as performance. This is also true for the price: While the Envy 13 starts at 1699 Euro (Envy 13), the bigger 15 inch Notebook costs as much as about 2000 Euro - Greetings from the Apple Macbooks, not only regarding this point...
HP Envy 13 / Envy 15

At first two models should constitutes the Envy line-up. On one hand there's a compact mobile 13-inch device with the suiting name Envy 13, on the other hand there's a bigger high performance 15-inch wide screen device, the Envy 15.

According to HP, they have focused on designing the entire premium customer experience with their Envy series. Referring to this, entry level models can be found within the Compaq Mini and Compaq Presario line-up, followed by the well known and wide spread Pavilion notebooks. While the TouchSmart Notebooks - together with the Envy Notebooks - are the highest category of consumer notebooks offered by HP.
Case & Design

Although the responsible product managers of HP call it a coincidence, that the Envys in many aspects resemble the MacBooks by Apple, and ascribe this to a recently very well accepted and commonly used style, we almost found the countless analogies between the Envys and the Macbook a little bit suspicious.

The aluminium case is very stable and its shape gives it an extremely compact look. All in all the haptics of the presented pre-samples (changes in the versions that will be for sale are still possible) is excellent and the materials as well as the design- remind us of the aluminium-bricks from California.

Speaking of aluminium-bricks. Here we find an essential difference to the mentioned notebooks. Only the outer case of the Envys by HP is aluminium, while Apple mills the case tray out of a massive piece of aluminium. This nicely solves the necessary assembly steps, but the high quality impression of a single massive piece can impossibly be reached.

* HP Envy 13
* HP Envy 13
* HP Envy 15
* HP Envy 15

A typical Pavilion design element literary made it onto the cover of the Envy Notebooks. The palm rest as well as the display lid (Envy 15) have been decorated with a fine texture, carved into the metal sheet by a laser. Same as before: Overall nicely done, but in detail not on the same level as the microscopically fine permeations in the area of the MacBooks status LED or its perforation at the speakers.

The hinges of the Envy 15 consist of a wide, massive flip mechanism on the back, while the Envy 13 comes with two conventional, small hinges. Both solutions in the pre-samples looked very convincing. In closed state the flip mechanism of the Envy 15 holds itself close, while the Envy 13's lid is sufficiently held in place by magnets in the frame of the screen.

Whatsoever, credits to the very good quality of the Envys cases. No more plastic look and feel as in the Pavilion models. In this respect the Envys even get ahead of some business notebooks from HP.
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Connectivity

This would have been a category where HP could have shamelessly taken advantage of a well known weakness of the Apple MacBooks. Sadly, the outcome is only satisfactory. The Envy 13's ports are limited to two USB Ports, a digital Display Port as well as an audio interface. Now, you might wonder where, for example, the LAN Port is. HP integrates the LAN Port into the power supply pack, which sends the LAN signal into the computer through the power supply. In case you would want to connect the Envy 13 to a cable based home or office network, HP put a USB-RJ45 adapter into the bundle, though using this means that only one USB Port is free for other possible uses.

Except for the power supply (left), all ports were placed on the right case side in the middle area of the case. Although this is not the best solution if you're using all ports, users will have to put up with it.

Concentration of the ports on the right case side.
Concentration of the ports at the right.

Only the power supply is found left hand.
Only the power supply is found at the left.

The Envy 15's approach to the port arrangement is very similar to the more compact 13-inch model. Like the Envy 13 it has all ports at the right. With two USB 2.0 ports, a display port, a combined eSATA / USB 2.0 port and an integrated LAN port, the connectivity of the Envy 15 is only slightly better than that of the Envy 13.

Looking at the port arrangement, the concentration towards the middle area of the right edge is certainly not the best solution. It's a pity that even the 15-inch model doesn't come with an integrated optical drive.

Hardly any difference in the Envy 15:
Hardly any difference in the Envy 15:

All ports are on the right, only the power supply jack is left.
All ports are on the right, only the power supply jack is left.

What about the parallels to the MacBooks? Right, the 15" as well as the 13" MBP also concentrate all ports to one side, though, in this case, it's the left side, which is advantageous for righties. A further pro for Apple is that they manage to built an optical drive into both versions. This is something HP users have to pass on - a clear disadvantage in mobile use.
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Input Devices

What else than a single-key-layout would you expect? Admittedly, you'll find such in many up-to-date notebooks. The pre samples used an English key layout, which brings about a single-row enter-key. Otherwise the key size is comfortable.

First typing tests on-site didn't bring up any difficulties. Typing is characterized by a short key travel and, nevertheless, a clear feeback. At the caps-lock key you'll find a nice feature: a small indicator LED. Users of the Envy 13 will have also have to live with slightly smaller arrow keys.

Even the Envy 13 shows a comparably generous layout.
Even the Envy 13 shows a comparably generous layout.

With both Notebooks HP focuses on a stylish single key layout.
With both Notebooks HP focuses on a stylish single key layout.

Let's continue with the next feature probably already well-known from Apple: The multi-gesture touchpad. HP dismisses the standard touchpads and equips, both the Envy 15 and the Envy 13, with a large touchpad with comfortable surface. The special thing about it: The pad doesn't have any separate buttons, but can be clicked as a whole. Does that ring a bell?
There's a definite difference though: The pad recognizes a left-click as well as a right-click. Also, an integrated button for deactivating the touchpad in form of a discreet LED has been smartly integrated into the upper left corner of the touchpad.

Now, how about the response characteristics of this "new" input device. First tries proved promising. The pad has appealing gliding properties and recognizes some special gestures (turning, zooming,...), which can be triggered very smoothly. Although we couldn't directly compare both systems, Apple probably is still better in this discipline, last but not least, because the OS and the input devices, especially the touchpad, are carefully tuned.

Multi-Gesture now with HP:
Multi-Gesture now with HP:

The Touchpads proved surprisingly smooth to use.
The Touchpads proved surprisingly smooth to use.

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Display

Both, the Envy 13 and Envy 15, use a 'HD BrightView Infinity Display', which is LED-back-lit. Both models have a resolution of 1366x768 pixels, which gives a cinema-friendly 16:9 aspect ratio. In case of the smaller Envy 13 this is a comprehensible decision, in case of the bigger 15-inch model one could definitely ask for a higher resolution - even more because the installed graphics board is definetly capable of more.

Both displays have a reflective BrightView surface, in case of the Envy 13 in edge-to-edge design. According to HP, the final release of the Envy 15 will also be equipped with an edge-to-edge screen. Obviously, HP is not going to also offer a model with a matte display. Details about brightness or illumination levels are not available after our first contact. Even more so, because the screens might be different in the final version. Nevertheless, one thing seems to be sure: It's a pity that we will have to live with distracting reflections and mirror-effects.

The BrightView Panel in the Edge-To-Edge design causes disturbing reflections -
The BrightView Panel in the Edge-To-Edge design causes disturbing reflections -

on the Envy 13 as well as the Envy 15, both with a resolution of 1366x768 pixels.
on the Envy 13 as well as the Envy 15, both with a resolution of 1366x768 pixels.

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Performance

Focusing on mobility and low power consumption the smaller Envy 13 uses a ULV dual core CPU by Intel. When we take a look at the CPU used in the HP Envy 15 it gets exiting. In the pre-sample we already find the processor that's going to be build into the final version. According to first rumors, it can only be one of the first CPUs of the upcoming mobile Core i7 processors. At least also because HP calls it its "...thinnest and lightest i7 notebook". That's easy to believe as there isn't any i7 competition so far...

Let's take a look at graphic performance. The Envy 13 features a combination of an integrated Intel GMA 4500M HD graphics chip and an activatable ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4330 graphics card with 512MB DDR3 video RAM of its own. This enables the user to switch between maximum power saving with integrated graphics chip and acceptable graphics performance with active dedicated graphics card. The HD 4330 graphics card achieves about the same performance as the Geforce 9400M G (MacBook Pro 13) and allows older games to run on high detail and also some recent titles to run on limited detail level.

Using a high performance graphics card by ATI, i.e., an ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4830 with one gigabyte DDR3 video RAM, HP equipped the Envy 15 a little better. The HD 4830 is one of the most powerful graphic processors available today. Using 40-nanometer technology, it can nevertheless be integrated in compact notebooks. With 826 billion transistors and - believe it or not - 640 shading units, it promises a respectable surplus of performance.

According to data available so far, this graphics card should be approximately on the level of a Geforce 9800M GS or the new Geforce GTS 160M, both by ATI's biggest opponent, Nvidia. However, several times in the past we could already observe that benchmarks and actual gaming performance differ. It's going to be interesting.

Besides, the RAM equipment of the Envy models is also well worth mentioning. Based on the upcoming Calpella platform, the Envy 15 definitely sets new impulses. This is not only indicated by the 8 GB RAM ex factory, but also by the maximum RAM capacity. Because four RAM slots are available, a maximum of 16 GB are possible.
As a 32-Bit OS can only provide just above 3 GB of RAM for applications, using such would not be feasible. So, HP pre-installed the upcoming Windows 7 Premium 64-Bit.

Concerning the installed hard drives, HP is talking about using a 250 GB HDD in the Envy 13, respectively a 500 GB hard drive in the bigger Envy 15. Details are unknown right now. Nonetheless, you can assume that there will be some configuration options available or fast 7200 rpm models.
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Emissions

System Noise / Temperature

We couldn't measure the exact temperature on-site, but in the Envy 13 we observed a nearly inactive fan when idling. The Envy 15 is quite different. Even in idle mode it blows a lot of hot air out.

This impression is confirmed by the observed case heating. We'd call the surface temperatures of the Envy 15 quite high. Especially the palm rest areas become subjectively rather warm and reach a temperature of estimated 40°C when idle (!).
We'd say the bottom side feels with about 45°C even hot. So, considering the high performance hardware components inside, we are quite interested in the Envy 15's heat management under load...
The Envy 13 case also became lukewarm. However, it's temperature emissions were clearly lower than those of the Envy 15. As the fan stays inactive it can be assumed that the developers also utilized passive cooling in the Envy 13.

Already in idle mode the fan of the Envy 15 hard work to do.
Already in idle mode the fan of the Envy 15 hard work to do.

Touching the case this is apparent.
Touching the case this is apparent.

On the contrary the Envy 13 seems to accept high case temperatures for the sake of a silent fan.
On the contrary the Envy 13 seems to accept high case temperatures for the sake of a silent fan.

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Battery Life

HP promises up to 10 hours battery life for the Envy 13 and up to 7 hours for the Envy 15. Although this sounds promising at first, considering the configuration of the 15-inch-model this does not seem plausible. Soon it gets clear that the advertised battery life can only be achieved with the optional supplement battery docked, which is included in the delivery by default. According to HP about 50% of the runtime should be possible with the integrated lithium-polymer batteries. However, only if all energy options are activated.

In practice the battery life of both notebooks is likely rather moderate with the main battery and explains why the concept of supplement batteries was developed. Nevertheless, it's an interesting solution, even more because the supplement battery is included free of charge and its design goes with the laptop's.

So far the only information about power consumption is available at the power packs. The Envy 13 uses a 65W power pack, while the Envy 15 needs a 120W mains adapter. Under load an energy consumption with peak values clearly above 100W are likely for the Envy 15.

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The supplement battery included in the delivery helps both, the Envy 13 and the Envy 15, to achieve an acceptable battery life.
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Verdict

The aluminium case is probably the most noticeable innovation of the Envy notebooks by HP. Apart from a couple of details, it is well done. This is also true for the design which we'd like to describe as very worthy.
The connectivity, locaction and variety of interfaces, provokes criticism. Last but not least, some users won't be very happy without an integrated optical drive.

Thumbs up for the input devices. The keyboard as well as the touchpad knew how to convince from the beginning. This is especially true for the multi-gesture touchpad, which proved to be exceptionally smooth in use.

The display is open to criticism. First of all because of the distracting reflections of its glare-type surface. Furthermore, some users might not be satisfied with the low resolution of the 15-inch model.

You can expect a good performance of the Envy 13 as well as of the Envy 15. Using cutting-edge components they could even convince power users.
However, under load it might get interesting how the Envy 15 can cope with emissions. Already idling the metal case tended to heat quickly and the fan had a lot of work to do. So, we are eagerly waiting for test data under load, e.g., while running computer games. A throttling because of high temperatues would of course have a negative impact on its promising performance.

Even though HP won't like their notebooks to be compared to the MacBook Pro models, the Envys are playing in the same league concerning prices, performance, and emotions and are courting a similar design-oriented audience.
HP did really good work with the Envys and raised the bar for other Windows-based notebooks. But, after the first contact it is also clear that it can only on the surface seem that the Envys can keep up with Apple's design notebookshttp://www.notebookcheck.net