TechRadar Verdict
Pros
- +
Tough Gorilla Glass chassis
- +
Comfortable, backlit keyboard
- +
Beats audio controls
- +
Crisp, detailed screen
- +
Great connectivity
Cons
- -
Very expensive
- -
Heavier and thicker than rivals
- -
Lousy touchpad
- -
Average CPU
- -
Lid attracts dust and fingerprints
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The HP Envy 14 Spectre is the latest and best-named Ultrabook to hit the shelves, and with the combined draw of HP's premium Envy range, and Dr Dre's urban cool Beats brand, it's going to be very hard to ignore.
We're well into the Ultrabook race by now and we've already been impressed by the Asus Zenbook UX31, Acer Aspire S3 and most recently by the Dell XPS 13, perhaps the toughest rival that the HP Envy 14 Spectre faces in the battle for our hard-earned pennies.
And HP's newest baby is taking an interesting approach to the competition by being less concerned with a size zero frame. The HP Envy 14 Spectre is 20mm thin, and weighs 1.8kg - hefty for an Ultrabook.
But the slight bulk enables it to throw around some extra connectivity and features that other Ultrabooks, perhaps save the Toshiba Satellite Z830, can't match.
Of course, before we start dreamily idolising this shiny new offering, there are a couple of points that need to be looked at. Firstly, the fact that the HP is built around an Intel Core i5-2467M processor, rather than the Core i7 CPUs on offer inside the likes of the Dell and Acer mean that for all its bulk, the Spectre lacks power.
You might also be forgiven for thinking that this lower-spec processor will have a pleasing effect on the price of the computer. Not so.
The HP Envy 14 Spectre costs a sphincter-tightening £1,100 in the UK, and $1,400 in the US. That's a clear £200 more expensive than the Dell, and in these hardened times; a penny saved is a penny earned... or something.
But before you click away in disgust, there are a number of excellent features that the HP Envy 14 Spectre has to offer, and we have to say that it's one of the best-looking Ultrabooks we've yet seen. Clearly a lot of time and effort has gone into its design and development.
