HP Envy 13 Review

The HP Envy 13 is a high-end laptop that looks to combine portability and attractive design features with some of the most powerful hardware of any laptop currently on the market. Although the Envy 13 starts at the substantial price of $1,499.99, you’ll have to shell out $2,109.98 for HP’s “recommended” setup. Do the Envy 13’s features justify this price, or are there better options at a lower price?
Positives
The Envy 13 draws frequent comparisons with another 13-inch laptop, the Apple MacBook Pro, and understandably so. Both units boast sharp-looking aluminum casing, generously proportioned touchpads, and attractive glass-covered displays – the Envy 13 actually having a larger total display area, at 15.4 inches, with top-of-the-line 1600 x 900 resolution. It also sounds particularly good, with HP’s “Beats” sound circuitry design.
It’s impressive enough that the Envy 13 can hold its own against Apple’s offerings in terms of style, but where the Envy 13 really distinguishes itself is with its hardware. It comes loaded with a 2.13GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 3GB of RAM, and a 250 GB hard drive. This makes the Envy 13 one of the most powerful laptops of its size ever produced.
Negatives
Of course, as you’d expect, you’ll have to pay a premium for this type of high-octane performance. Even the basic Envy 13 package comes in at about $500 more than the MacBook Pro. While the Envy 13 is slim, its price is more in line with those of ultra-thin laptops like the MacBook Air and the Dell Adamo.
Apart from its steep price, there aren’t many serious faults to be found with the Envy 13. With an ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4330 graphics card, it can reliably run even new games, albeit at reduced performance settings. In this respect, it doesn’t really compare to gaming-specific laptops like those offered by Alienware. Also, there are some minor design problems, including the lack of a keyboard backlight, which probably should have been a given for such an expensive machine.
The Bottom Line
The Envy 13’s appeal really depends on your budget. Simply put, if you want a high-performance, highly portable laptop, the Envy 13 is as good as it gets, but if you need a little more bang for your buck, you’d be better suited looking elsewhere.

Posted in: HP