On HP's Web site, upgrading to a current-gen Intel Core i3 processor over last year's version only costs $25 you can upgrade all the way to a third-gen Intel Core i5-2467M processor plus AMD Radeon 7670M graphics for an extra $150, which isn't such a bad proposition. It's a bigger laptop, but still easy to carry around. And, in that sense, you're getting a better deal: the UX32A costs about $779 for that older processor plus a 320GB hard drive, while the HP Envy 4-1015DX has a 500GB hard drive for $679. The Intel Core i3-2377M processor is similar to the one in the Asus Zenbook UX32A, but a little faster (1.5GHz versus 1.4GHz). At $679, it undercuts most other Intel-powered ultrabooks out there, but there's a big caveat: this laptop config has a Core i3 processor that's last-gen versus current-gen (Sandy Bridge, not Ivy Bridge), along with a 500GB 5,400rpm hard drive with 32GB SSD cache, and 4GB of RAM. The version of the Envy I reviewed, the HP Envy 4-1015DX, is an entry-level retail configuration from Best Buy. (A 32GB SSD cache is included in this model's hybrid hard drive.) Even more confusingly, having an Intel processor doesn't even technically make the HP Envy 4 an ultrabook according to HP's site, upgrading the 500GB hard drive with a 32GB solid-state drive (SSD) cache ($50) is what transforms your Envy 4 into an ultrabook, adding Intel Rapid Start technology and faster bootup times. HP's site doesn't exactly make shopping easy to figure out. A ton of processor, RAM, and hard-drive configurations abound, including an optional AMD discrete graphics option. There's no DVD drive.įinding the right configuration price and bang-for-the-buck value on the new Envy ultrabook isn't easy. The HP Envy 4t has all the basic necessary ports and connections, including a pull-down compact Ethernet port, USB 3.0, and an SD card slot, plus Bluetooth. It makes me wonder how Envys will co-exist with rest of HP's Pavilion products. I only have one question: didn't the Envy brand used to be high-end? Not anymore. Back-to-school shoppers, take note: this could be for you, if you don't mind not having a DVD drive. It'll get the job done, and it has good speakers. In the $679 entry-level Core i3 configuration I reviewed, the total product feels decent, and certainly ample for most people, but it's not a standout. That's the problem with having too many choices: suddenly, the ultrabook landscape becomes no different from, or less crowded than, the rest of the midrange consumer laptop universe.
Or perhaps I'd just consider paying up for the HP Envy Spectre XT. Or if I wanted to save money, I'd opt for the more affordable but larger AMD-powered Envy Sleekbook 6, instead. If I were buying the admittedly nicely designed HP Envy 4, I'd pay up for a more full-fledged configuration. Having an SD card slot, an Ethernet port, and a long-life battery for a reasonable price was rare for an ultrabook back then. But December 2011 was a different time than August 2012. And, yes, it's a replacement of sorts for the highly versatile HP Folio 13. It's in a similar category to the Toshiba Satellite U845, but better-designed. On a whole, the HP Envy 4 is a larger ultrabook, one of those slightly thicker, bigger, and heavier laptops that you would perhaps expect to have an optical drive, or discrete graphics. It comes with a last-gen Intel Core i3 processor, a 500GB hybrid hard drive, and 4GB of RAM in a body that feels like the Editors' Choice Award-winning HP Folio 13 ultrabook I loved last year and the HP dm4 thin laptop combined together, with little bits of Beats Audio design touches. The least expensive of all the 14-inch Envy 4 configurations costs $699, or $679 at some retailers (the HP Envy Ultrabook 4-1015DX I reviewed is a retail configuration available from Best Buy). While AMD versions of the HP Envy 6 cost less than their Intel counterparts (the 15.6-inch Envy Sleekbook 6 is available for as low as $599), the 14-inch Envy 4t only comes with Intel CPUs. These thin laptops represent a different part of the thin-and-light landscape than the stylish and expensive HP Envy 14 Spectre released earlier this year, or the thinner Spectre XT. Exhibit A is the HP Envy 4, a 14-inch laptop that's part of a line of Intel processor-bearing ultrabooks and AMD processor-bearing "Sleekbooks" in both 14- and 15-inch sizes. Finding the sweet spot, though, has never been tougher.
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