Article

HP Communities – Your Office in Your Briefcase – HP Communities

My Comments

I have reviewed a significant number of the ultraportable computers and had assessed them in their capacity for “working on the go”. The regular 15” computers would work well if you do most of the travel by car, but I have found the 13”-14” computers as being able to come up to the job when you do a lot of travel, by offering a lightweight form while being able to type easily and benefit from an easily-viewable screen.

Input devices

I have written an article about the kind of pointing device to use with your laptop, including the situations when the integrated trackpad would come in handy. For the wireless mice that the article was suggesting that we use, I had found that most wireless input devices would require a proprietary dongle transceiver that plugged in to the USB port on the computer. Here, I would prefer that we go for a Bluetooth or Wi-Fi Direct mouse especially as nearly all laptops have integrated Wi-Fi and Bluetooth and you wouldn’t need to carry or worry about losing those dongles.

Power Needs

As for power supply, it may be wise to check through the manufacturer’s direct-sale Website store incase they offer one of those AC/Auto/Air adaptors. These adaptors have a DC input and a cord which connects to the EmPower airline DC connector or the cigar-lighter socket in a car; alongside an AC socket for the regular power cord.

If you do visit one or two particular countries or regions regularly, you could use AC cords that have plugs that are local to those particular areas for your laptop and other gadgets that use standard AC input sockets. This can be seen as a way to “free up” travel adaptors for other gadgets like mobile-phone chargers or bathroom necessities.

If the laptop uses a user-replaceable battery, you could find that you can run longer with a spare battery. It is also worth paying attention to the optional “long-run” battery packs like what Sony offers as an option for their VAIO S and Z Series notebooks. These high-capacity battery packs clip on to or install in the computer and run as secondary batteries that provide a lot of extra run time.

Of course, there had been mention about the use of headphones or a headset for your laptop as well as use of Microsoft’s Office 365 and Office Web Apps as part of your business computing needs.

Conclusion

One might say that, because the article was written at an HP Website, it may favour the HP products but I would still give the competing products like the Acer and Sony products a go.

Introduction

I am reviewing the HP Envy 4 Sleekbook which is a 14” ultraportable which may not fit Intel’s description of an Ultrabook but which satisfies the same market. This is an ultraportable computer that is expected to serve as a secondary-duty unit with the technical specifications that match this requirement. But it has the 14″ screen that may be considered par for the course when it comes to “laptop-bridge” notebook computers that have a large-capacity hard disk, discrete graphics and an optical disk drive.

The variant I am reviewing is one that would be considered basic with 4Gb RAM and 320Gb on the hard disk but there may be variants in other markets that have 6Gb RAM and 500Gb on the hard disk.

The computer itself

Aesthetics and Build Quality

The Envy 4 Sleekbook is finished in a satin-black metal finish on the lid and escutcheon surrounding the keyboard area. There is a jet-black grille above the keyboard where the power switch is located and this is also where the speakers are located. There is a red rubber finish on the underside and this yields a non-slip quality which can also be less worrying for those of us who deal with polished furniture because of the reduced likelihood for scratching.

You may think that the 14” variant of an Ultrabook is going to be too heavy but this Sleekbook is not too heavy to be tiring to carry. It can go well in a shoulder bag or bike bag without becoming too cumbersome as well as allowing room for other stuff in this bag.

There is a vent grille underneath and this is important because of the tendency for this computer to run a bit warm on the left had side when handling heavy tasks like video. This can be a liability if you intend to have it in operation for a long time while you are in bed or sitting on the sofa. Here, I would recommend that you place the Sleekbook on a tray if you leave it on the bed or on the bedside table or coffee table when you get off your bed or couch.

User Interface

The HP Envy 4 Sleekbook’s keyboard has a soft but hard feel. But this full-size keyboard does give you enough room to  touch-type comfortably without any errors or your hands feeling cramped. You have to use the Fn key to use the function keys like F5 to refresh your browser screen.

The trackpad bas o distinct touch-identifiable primary / secondary button zones so it becomes difficult to know where to click or right-click while you are touch-typing. This could be made better through a differently-textured button area or a “button ridge”.  Another issue that can trouble some users is that if they touch the top left hand corner twice, they can  defeat or enable touchpad. This is an action that is easy to mistake when double-tapping to double-click an option on the display

Audio and Video

The Intel HD graphics subsystem can work well even with video content such as the on-demand TV content that I have viewed from SBS On-Demand. There was no blurring and the graphics had come through smoothly but it wouldn’t be suitable for intense gaming activities.

Left-hand-side connections – Ethernet, HDMI, 2 x USB 3.0, SD card slot

Like a lot of recent HP laptops, the Envy 4 Sleekbook is a “Beats Edition” unit which means that its audio subsystem has been “worked” by Dr. Dre’s “Beats Audio” team. This yielded a “full sound” through headphones or speakers whether with the on-demand video-drama content or some music I played through this laptop. Infact this has allowed the bass content to “come through” when I played a few music tracks through the integrated speakers, giving them what a classic 3” cone speaker used in most portable audio equipment would yield.

Connectivity, Storage and Expansion

Right-hand-side connections – Audio In, Audio Out, USB 2.0, Power

The Ethernet connection is a special socket that expands to take the common RJ45 plug but closes up to preserve the Envy 4 Sleekbook’s compact looks. As well, there are two USB 3.0 connectors here which become very relevant with this computer so you can offload data quickly to a USB 3.0-equipped external hard disk. This is augmented by a USB 2.0 connector on the right so you can plug in a wired external mouse or other device that uses this connection. There is only the HDMI vide connection for external video displays so you would have to use a USB DisplayLink VGA adaptor or the HDFury HDMI-VGA adaptor if you were to use the Sleekbook with an economy data projector.

The Sleekbook’s 32Gb hard disk has just about all of the space used as the main drive with a smaller partition used for the system-recovery data. At least this gives you a better idea of how much space you have used. Like other similar ultraportables, this computer doesn’t come with an optical drive, but this combination would suit its use as a secondary computer rather than as a main computer.

Battery life

Lid view

This computer is not demanding on the battery life through regular day-to-day operation but can go through the battery a bit more quickly with multimedia tasks like video-on-demand. I infact noticed that there was nearly half the capacity after watching the 1-hour video-on-demand content via the Wi-Fi network.

Limitations and Points Of Improvement

I would like to see the HP Envy 4 Sleekbook have an improved trackpad design that allows you to identify the primary and secondary buttons by touch. This could be achieved through a differently-textured surface or distinct ridges and grooves for the button zone.  Similarly, a secondary button could be used to turn the trackpad on on off without the need to mistake a double-tap action in a particular zone.

This ultraportable could benefit from a DisplayPort connection so as to exploit this newer technology and benefit from video adaptors that work to this standard. As well, it could work with a dual-band 802.11a/g/n wireless chipset so it can benefit from the unexploited 5GHz wireless-network band.

This notebook even looks the part in that hotel lounge

HP could do better with this model by offering a deluxe variant that has better options like the Intel i5 chipset, 6Gb RAM and either a solid-state drive or 500Gb hard disk across all markets. This can yield the possibility of retailers being able to use that model as a deal-maker.

Conclusion

I would position the HP Envy 4 Sleekbook as a computer for those who want a larger screen and that bit extra for a secondary portable computer for travelling. This is even if you are simply visiting that Wi-Fi-equipped cafe or hotel lounge as an “office away from the office”.

Articles

HP introduces Officejet 150 all-in-one mobile printer, Photosmart 5520 — Engadget

My comments

As most of us know, desktop multifunction printers which have an integrated scanner have been around with us for a long time and are a popular primary-use printer type. They have worked well also as photocopiers and, in an increasing number of cases, fax machines which are more cost-effective than the cheap thermal-transfer plain-paper faxes that some small businesses use,

But this device class hasn’t become of benefit to the mobile user. Some of these users may require a document to be printed out for the customer to sign as part of the workflow such as a quote-acceptance or job-completion handover form. Here they don’t want to have a pile of these documents occupying space in the briefcase or van before they head “back to base” to process and file them.

Typically, these users either had to buy a mobile printer and a mobile scanner if they wanted to be able to print and scan hard-copy documents on the road. Canon previously offered a scanning attachment for their BJC-80 mobile printers but required the user to install the attachment in the printer if they wanted to scan.

But now HP have offered the OfficeJet 150 mobile multifunction printer which I see as a game changer. It can work in a similar manner to the direct-connect multifunction desktop printer and can link with a regular computer via USB or Bluetooth. Of course it has what used to be known as “three-way” power where it can be run from AC, a rechargeable battery pack or your vehicle’s cigar-lighter socket. Infact the unit does come with the rechargeable battery pack as well as the AC adaptor and the car adaptor can be obtained through HP.

There is the ability to perform driverless printing from PictBridge-enabled cameras and selected (non-Apple) smartphones. But if this is to work with most mobile devices, HP could modify the ePrint Home & Biz app to use Bluetooth as well as Wi-Fi wireless for the device connection. Similarly this printer doesn’t support Apple’s AirPrint ecosystem for their iOS devices because this technology is pitched at network connectivity as the main link.

On the other hand, HP could develop and supply an “ePrint / AirPrint” kit with an 802.11n Wi-Fi interface that connects to this printer. This could be set to work as a wireless network adaptor for existing Wi-Fi networks or as an access point for quick-set-up arrangements where there isn’t a wireless router in place.

As I have read through the press material on this device, the HP OfficeJet 150, like all mobile inkjet printers that have been released so far, is a two-cartridge colour printer. This means that colour printing can be very costly on these setups because if you run out of one colour, you have to throw away a cartridge that has plenty of the other colours. This class of printer could be improved upon with the use of a four-cartridge colour printing setup in order to provide the same level of economy as a well-bred desktop multifunction inkjet printer.

What I see of this is an effort to provide tradesmen, travelling salesmen and other similar workers with a lightweight portable device that works with workflows that require heavy use of hard copy and quick-turnaround documents.

Introduction

I previously reviewed the Brother HL-4150CDN high-speed single-pass desktop colour laser printer and have been looking to review colour laser printers with a similar feature set (Ethernet networking, high-speed colour printing, auto-duplex printing) to this model that I reviewed. The first competing model that came along with this basic function set is the HP LaserJet Pro 400 which I am now reviewing. It is known as the M451dn but is also available as the M451dw which has integrated 802.11g/n Wi-Fi wireless connectivity.

It is equipped with the HP ePrint email-to-print function, yet is able to, like other printers in this class, turn out colour print jobs as fast as monochrome print jobs for this class of printer.

Of course it is also very interesting about the way HP are positioning this printer in a very confusing purchase environment as they are promoting their high-end “OfficeJet Pro” business inkjet printers like the OfficeJet Pro 8600 Series as being as cost-effective, if not cheaper, to run as a colour laser printer. This in fact affects how they position and price the LaserJet printers and the consumables available for them.

Prices

Printer

The machine’s standard price: AUD$599

Optional Extras:

High-capacity paper tray: AUD$145

Inks and Toners

The printer itself

Setup and initial observations

The HP LaserJet Pro 400 Series printer is the first single-pass high-speed colour laser that I have reviewed here that uses the Integrated toner-drum print cartridges rather than a separately-replaceable drum unit. There may be benefits and caveats to this approach such as running costs or design abilities for this class of printer.

Like most of the these colour laser printers, this printer uses a drawer for loading and unloading the colour print cartridges. This makes them easier to replace and the process isn’t very messy as well as avoiding the use of “clamshell” designs with lids that can be hard to open.

The network connectivity works properly for all Ethernet-based wired networks and you could even have it plugged in to a HomePlug powerline network adaptor at the end of one of these networks for a reliable no-new-wires network setup. As well, it is a future-proof network printer with integrated dual–stack support for IPv6.

Walk-up and mobile-device functions

Control panel

This printer has the ePrint email-to-print functionality which I have given plenty of space to but you need to instantiate and manage this function from a regular computer on the network. It could benefit from having on-off or “reset” functionality managed from the printer’s control-panel menu like on the HP LaserJet Pro M1536.

As well, it can work properly with the HP ePrint Home & Biz mobile app for the mobile platforms as well as having inherent support for Apple’s AirPrint iOS mobile-printing effort.

This printer has a “quick-form” printout functionality so you can print out graph paper, notepaper, music staves and similar ruled paper from the machine’s control panel. It still has the same options that have been available across all HP printers equipped with this feature.

Computer functions

The printer uses the same “Smart Install” feature that the HP LaserJet P1560 and the LaserJet M1212 that I previously reviewed here use. This has the driver held in the printer’s firmware and you install the driver to your computer by pointing to the printer’s Web page or to a virtual drive letter and downloading the software from there. This kind of setup can be augmented through the printer checking for and downloading the latest driver software from HP’s Website at regular intervals so that subsequent users have the latest driver software.

The driver software is still easy to use, using the same “preset” methods as had often been the case with other HP driver programs. Even the printing options for duplex or booklet printing are highlighted with a graphic of how the finished document will come out when printed and how you bind it.

Print speed, quality and reliability

Integrated print cartridges in the printer tray

The print speed for the HP LaserJet Pro 400 Series printer is the same high speed for colour jobs as it is for monochrome jobs using the same paper.

The auto-duplex function could be more efficient with any multi-page or multi-copy jobs. It doesn’t match the Brother HL-4150CDN on this aspect where the Brother could effectively process two sides of two sheets at once.

As well, this LaserJet printer also exhibits a registration problem on the page’s vertical axis where the back of the page is printed significantly higher than the front. It may be limited to this demonstration sample but can be of concern with some desktop-publishing tasks where the back of the document has to line up with the front, such as “cut-out” or “odd-shape” projects like tags and door-hangers. But it wouldn’t be of importance when you turn out booklets or regular documents because of the various margins allowed in the layouts.

I have performed a 100-page auto-duplex print run using regular paper and this printer has been able to complete the job reliably which means that it could satisfy heavier tasks more easily.

The documents that came out of the HP LaserJet Pro 400 Series colour laser printer were the same ultra-sharp output expected out of a good-quality office colour laser printer. The printer was even able to show up the detail very well in documents that had this.

When it came to printing photos through this laser printer using regular office paper, I was expecting a dark image with poor contrast. But I had seen the HP LaserJet Pro 400 Series turn out images that have the same contrast as a good-quality business inkjet when given plain paper. It tended to be heavier with the green on an image that used a contrasting pale-green and bright-red features while it didn’t run a dominant pink overcast image on a group shot of people. This would appeal to those of us who are turning out quick proofs of photographic material.

Limitations and Points Of Improvement

One sore point that I have noticed with the HP LaserJet Pro 400 Series (M451dn) is the consumables, namely the print cartridges. Here, HP could offer high-capacity colour print cartridges as well as the standard colour print cartridges, which they could reduce the price on. They do offer the high-capacity black print cartridge which yields twice the number of pages for approximately AUD$30 extra but the colour cartridges are still of importance especially if you do a lot of “full-bleed” colour or turn out a lot of material in your business’s trade dress.

The printer could use high-capacity flash memory, preferably the SDHC cards, for holding job queues, especially if it is  expected to be a business workhorse. As well, a feature that a lot of competing dedicated colour laser printers do offer is a USB socket for “walk-up” printing from USB memory keys or digital cameras.

But, as I have explained previously, I would definitely like to see improvements with the automatic duplexer especially in its throughput and its front-back vertical-registration behaviour.

Similarly, I would like to see a menu option available from the printer’s control panel that allows you to turn the ePrint feature on an off from that particular control surface. This would allow you to stop the ePrint service overnight when you close up your premises or suspend use if it if you find that it could be misused. It could also benefit from a “confidential print” option where you have to enter a code at the printer to print out the job.

Conclusion and Placement Notes

If you value ePrint email-to-print, prefer an integrated-print-cartridge laser-printer design and have moderate workload expectations, I would recommend you purchase this unit and run it with the high-capacity black print cartridges. Otherwise, I would go for the Brother HL-4150CDN if you are valuing a cost-effective heavy-duty printing machine that excels on double-sided printing throughput.

Introduction

Previously I reviewed the first of the HP Envy laptop computers which was a 15” “thin-and-light” that abounded in luxury. It was launched around the time that Windows-based computers started to match up or overtake the Apple Macintosh computers in the way they performed and looked. This one was styled in a bronze finish with a perforated filligree pattern across the top of the lid and on the keyboard.

Now I am reviewing one of the latest iterations of this top-shelf range, known as the HP Envy 15 “3000 Series”. This unit, like the rest of the current high-end HP lineup has the dark-black lid with a glowing HP logo. But, when you open it up, it appears to look like the Apple MacBook Pro lineup in many ways with the aluminium keyboard surround and the black keyboard and display escutcheon. It is an example of a trend that is besetting the 15” multimedia laptop class as manufacturers try to cut in to the MacBook Pro’s market dominated by the creative industries.

The computer itself

Aesthetics and Build quality

The HP Envy 15 3000 laptop has aesthetics that reflect a recent-issue Apple Macbook Pro, especially when you open it up. This is with the screen having a black escutcheon and the keyboard surround being made of natural anodised aluminium and the keyboard being a black illuminated kind. This aluminium surround, which also feels cool to the touch rather than sweaty, also reminds me of its use on a large range of classy hi-fi equipment especially most of the B&O equipment since the 1970s..

Of course, the back of the lid is finished in a satin black finished with a small HP logo that reflects when the computer is off and glows like the Apple logo when it is on, like the HP Pavilion DV7-6013TX that I previously reviewed. This styling is much more discreet than the distinct Apple logo that the MacBook Pro uses, but this could be augmented further with an “Envy” logo which identifies it as being part of the high-end Envy range. It also reinforces the fact that the computer feels very well-built and durable.

I have noticed no overheating from this laptop compared to the previous Envy model. This is probably due to the use of a larger more-standard shell that is typical for a 15” standard laptop than the previous effort of creating a 15” “thin-and-light” notebook which is a breeding ground for this problem. But there is still a constant fan noise that occurs when the computer is in full use.

User interface

This keyboard reminds you of the MacBook Pro

The black illuminated keyboard has a rough-textured feel that reminds you of using a “rubberised” keyboard. Unlike most other laptops of this size, this unit doesn’t have a numeric keypad but you can still type very quickly and accurately on it. The illuminated effect is augmented by a “waterfall” effect which happens whenever the keyboard lights up and this can be triggered by a proximity sensor that “wakes” the Envy up when a user comes near.

The trackpad is a recessed smooth aluminium area with marked off area for selection buttons which can be deliberately pressed down. This is in a similar manner to what happens for the MacBook Pro’s trackpad although you deliberately press down anywhere on that trackpad to “click” your selection and is exploiting the single-button mouse that is part of the MacOS’s operation.

The keyboard and trackpard are augmented with an aluminium on-off button above the keyboard and a thumbwheel that provides ready access to the sound volume control. This is infact a much more desirable function because you can quickly turn the sound up or down as you require in the manner that most of us have liked where we use a knob or thumbwheel to adjust the sound. But it can be temperamental and choose not to adjust the sound level when you need to adjust it.

Audio and Video

The HP Envy 15 3000 Series is another of the HP range that has had its sound tuned by Dr. Dre’s Beats Audio. This sound tuning and multi-speaker setup has paid off in improving the sound quality of the integrated speakers.  You benefit from a sound experience that has a sense of presence across the frequency range, in a similar way to how the larger portable radios and cassette recorders which use the orthodox 3”-4” cone speaker in their larger housings sound. You will not really expect the full beefy bass sound out of this laptop unless you have it hooked up to speakers that put out the full range. This is still because the small speakers are all packed inside the main chassis with the keyboard, battery, computer circuitry and secondary storage. Here, HP could spread the speakers around such as mounting some of them next to the screen for example.

Once I connected a set of B&O Form 2 headphones to this laptop, the sound had that full punch and the equalisation circuitry was effective. This can be of benefit if the Envy 15 was used alongside a speaker system that doesn’t provide full control or with a pair of good headphones. The BeatsAudio Control Panel effectively bypassed the bass response and equalisation for the headphones and another device I was using as an external amplifier in order to yield a “flat” sound but the “punchiness” was there while the BeatsAudio functionality was engaged.

This is another of the laptops that implement a dual-graphics setup with AMD Radeon HD 7670M as the performance option. Like the other AMD-based dual-graphics laptops that I have reviewed, the AMD software allows you to choose which graphics mode the computer will run in when you run particular software. This will make it easer to prefer higher-performance operation for the programs that need it like the games or graphics-editing tools, yet use the integrated graphics with the power-saving benefits for regular office applications.

Left hand side - slot-load DVD burner, USB 3.0, USB 2.0, audio input, 2 audio outputs

Thankfully the screen isn’t finished with that glossy reflective plastic and it makes for an easy-to-read display. It will also be of benefit if you choose to dim the display to conserve battery power on this laptop.

Connectivity and Expansion

The HP Envy 15 3000 Series is equipped with a slot-load DVD burner but a machine of its price could benefit from an optical drive that could handle Blu-Ray discs. This feature could be positioned on at least the more-expensive high-end offering that is equipped with the higher-capacity hard disk and Full-HD (1920×1080) screen.

An important fact about the Envy 15 3000 Series is that it is the first laptop that I have reviewed to be equipped with a Mini DIsplayPort connector. More so, this connector is provided in lieu of a VGA socket and if you had to use this laptop with that economy data projector or a cheaper external monitor, you would need to use a DisplayPort-VGA adaptor module or a DisplayLink-enabled USB-VGA module. Otherwise, it has the expected connections for a 15” premium multimedia laptop.

Right-hand-side connectors - SD card slot, locking slot, USB 2.0 port, Mini DisplayPort socket, HDMI output, volume control, Ethernet socket

For network connectivity, the Envy 15 has the 802.11g/n wireless and Gigabit Ethernet. But this could benefit from 802.11a/g/n dual-band Wi-Fi networking so as to work with higher-performance networks that use the 5GHz band.

Battery life

I had noticed that the HP Envy 15 3000 Series yielded 18% of battery power remaining after running the computer on effectively several hours of mixed activities ranging from  data transfer like PDF downloads and system  updates as well as playing  multimedia content from the Internet and DVD . But this computer was able to continuously play a DVD feature for 4 hours, 19 minutes with Wi-Fi engaged, bit it was assessed with the use of the integrated graphics rather than the AMD graphics chipset. Of course most users may want to make use of the discrete graphics only while the computer is on AC power.

This performance is very much on a par with the recent bunch of 15” laptops that I have tested for this site.

Experience with other people

I showed this computer to a visiting friend whom I knew owns one of the newer Apple MacBook Pro computers and he said that it was a “spitting image” of that computer. He noticed that the keyboard area made him think of that Apple computer that he owns rather than any other computer.

Limitations and Points Of Improvement

One improvement that I would like to see for the HP Envy 15 3000 Series would be that the premium model come with an optical drive that can at least play Blu-Ray discs rather than just a DVD burner. This would complement the 1920×1080 display that it offers and make it also an up-to-date multimedia laptop.

As well,  HP could make sure that the volume thumbwheel works properly with the Windows main volume control. This could be through mapping the thumbwheel directly with the operating system’s class drivers and function list rather than writing software to achieve that goal. What I see is that a lot of the problems with advanced functionality is that manufacturers tend to “reinvent the wheel” when it comes to providing the necessary software link to the functionality rather than taking advantage of the operating system’s software support and extending that with modules that hook to the OS’s application-programming interface.

The computer could also benefit from a line-in socket so it can work easily with hi-fi systems, tape / MD decks and the like for capturing audio from these sources to the hard disk. This could be available through a USB external sound module that HP could sell as an “official accessory” for the Envy computer lineup. On the other hand, HP could implement high-quality discrete sound-card circuitry like Creative Labs circuitry to raise the bar above everyone else when it comes to sound reproduction. This can also help HP tackle the PC-based DJ market and snap at Apple’s heels more effectively.

Another accessory idea that I would like to see for HP BeatsAudio computers would be a speaker set that implements this sound tuning so that the BeatsAudio advantage can be taken further for a punchy bass line.

Conclusion

I would recommend this computer for two main user classes. The first one would be a person who wants a graphics and multimedia workhorse in the standard 15” laptop form factor while staying with the Windows platform. This is more so if you want to demonstrate that the Windows platform is as good at these tasks as the Apple Macintosh platform.

The second user class are those people who are moving from the Apple Macintosh platform to the Windows platform and want a computer that maintains a similar look and build quality to their previous MacBook Pro unit  It can also mean that HP is doing its best to position the Envy computer range in the “Super Cool” fridge on personal-computing’s “Cool Wall”. It may also be interesting to see whether this computer will appear on the coffee bars at the Wi-Fi-equipped trendy inner-urban cafes.

This is another Envy to definitely Envy!

Introduction

I am reviewing the HP Pavilion DM4 Series Beats Edition notebook computer which is a 14” notebook that is intended as a bridge between the ultraportable notebook class of portable computer and the common 15” laptop that most people would work with. This is a consumer-class laptop that has been optimised with the full functionality like dual graphics, “tuned” sound reproduction and high RAM / hard-disk capacity while sing a smaller screen to permit portability.

The computer itself

Aesthetics and Build quality

The HP Pavilion dm4 BeatsAudio Edition is finished in an all-black finish with red lettering throughout. The keyboard surround is a rubberised finish while the lid and the rest of the base are finished in a satin-black metallic finish. The display and its surround are, on the other hand, finished in a reflective finish.

It doesn’t feel “tacky” in any way to use and there is a sense of good build quality with this laptop, in a similar way to most consumer laptops that are on the market nowadays.

User interface

The keyboard on the HP Pavilion dm4 BeatsAudio Edition notebook has a lot of issues that can affect its useability. For example, the keys are finished in that cheap slippery plastic and are labelled with dull red lettering which can be annoying for most users. This is due to the emphasis on the “BeatsAudio” design and could be improved with illuminated keys. It still works well for touch-typing but the home keys need to be made easier to locate by touch. It is also worth noting that the B key is marked in the form of the “BeatsAudio” logo as another way of highlighting the marketing theme in this computer.

Even the B key is styled like the BeatsAudio logo

The trackpad works as expected and is distinctly identifiable, with distinctly-identifiable selection buttons. This goes against the trend with some laptops where the trackpad is simply an unmarked area with two buttons or a “Macbook-style” large square area with zones for primary and secondary selection.

This is augmented by a one-touch key for opening the Web browser and you have to use the Fn key and the function keys  to operate other functions like on most laptops.

Audio and Video

The audio subsystem has been tuned by BeatsAudio, which has been founded by Dr. Dre, one of the US’s major rappers, in a similar vein to how Leo Fender, the name behind the iconic Stratocaster electric guitars founded BBE as an audio-reproduction tuning technology.  This has led to improved bass response and presence in music playback with older and newer pop-music recordings even through the integrated speakers. Here, the sound appears to “come forward” and the notebook’s speakers sound on a par with a midsized portable radio. This isn’t just true for music playback. Speech and sound effects in movies and similar audiovisual work comes forward with the clarity and this can also help when the HP Pavilion dm4 is used as a speakerphone with IP telephony software like Skype.

Left hand side connections - VGA video, Ethernet, HDMI video, USB 2.0 x 2

The graphics subsystem is a dual-mode type with Intel Sandy-Bridge integrated graphics and an AMD Radeon discrete graphics chipset. The graphics operating mode is set according to the application you run on the computer rather than a manually-selected “all-or-nothing” setup. This is so you can have the advanced games and graphics-editing packages engage the “overdrive” offered by the discrete graphics when they are used whereas the computer works in economy mode with integrated graphics when you are working with other applications that don’t depend on the graphics performance like office applications.

The only letdown with this is that the laptop uses a very glossy screen which can be annoying to use in bright lighting conditions. This is especially if you dim the display in order to gain more battery runtime.

Connectivity and Expansion

The HP dm4 Series has the typical list of connection options expected for a mainstream consumer laptop. This is in the form of 3 USB 2.0 sockets, a Gigabit Ethernet socket as well as VGA and HDMI video-output sockets and a jack for use with headphones or a microphone. It has Bluetooth and 802.11g/n Wi-Fi as its wireless connectivity options.

Right-hand side connections - DVD burner, headphone / microphone jack, USB 2.0 port, power socket

But there are a few connectivity options that I would like to see for this laptop in this day and age. For example, I would like to have one of the USB sockets be a USB 3.0 type or a USB / eSATA combo socket in order to allow one to benefit from high-speed connectivity to direct-connected external storage devices i.e. external hard disks. It could also benefit from either dual-band 802.11a/g/n Wi-Fi connectivity or one of the newer multi-stream 802.11n Wi-Fi network setups for increased reliability and wireless network throughput. But the connectivity set may appeal to most typical household users.

Battery life

I ran the HP Pavilion dm4 BeatsAudio Edition through the DVD run-down test with a feature-movie DVD and it was able to play on for 4 hours 14 minutes. This is using the integrated graphics but having Wi-Fi and Bluetooth on. There may be a slight reduction in the runtime if Windows Media Player was to use the discrete graphics. Similarly, I was able to engage in mixed activities involving word-processing, Web browsing and, in some cases, YouTube video viewing with this laptop running on battery power.

Other facts about this laptop

Rear view with the BeatsAudio logo

This laptop also has a “Quick-Web” shell that allows you to head to the Web when you switch it on. This starts by default when you cold-boot it from “Hibernate” mode but you can head to Windows using the “Stand-by” option on this shell.

Limitations And Points Of Improvements

The main limitation that I have noticed with the HP Pavilion dm4 Series BeatsAudio Edition is the way the keyboard is designed. It could be improved through a rubber-feel keyboard with brighter labelling or illuminated keys and the latter option could add “cool factor” to this computer.

For connectivity, this laptop could benefit from a USB 3.0 or eSATA socket for use with external storage devices and / or dual-band 802.11a/g/n Wi-Fi networking so it can benefit from advanced Wi-Fi networks.

Conclusion

The HP Pavilion dm4 Series BeatsAudio Edition notebook exists as a bridge between the 13” ultraportable computers which don’t often have functionality like 500Gb hard disks, dual-mode “overdrive” graphics or extra connectivity and the larger more popular 15” laptops that have the full function set. Here, this could work well for students in senior-secondary or tertiary studies; or simply as a large-screen alternative to computers like the Toshiba Satellite L730 ultraportable.

It still is suitable for those Wi-Fi-equipped cafes and bars

This also includes users like hotspot surfers or long-distance travellers who are after a portable computer with the ability to be taken from place to place easily such as from cafe to cafe yet have a larger screen and hte functions of the full-size 15″ laptop.

Article

HP sued over security flaw in printers | Security – CNET News

My comments

An increasing trend that I have covered on this site and have noticed with equipment that I have reviewed is for the equipment to be updated with new firmware after it is sold to the customer.

Field-updating practices

Previously, this practice involved the device’s user using a regular computer as part of the update process. In a lot of cases, the user would download the update package to their computer and run a special program to deploy the update to the connected device. If the device, like a router, was connected via the network, the user uploaded the update package to the network-connected device via its management Web page or other network-file-transfer methods.

Now it is becoming more common for one to update the software in their device without the need to use a regular computer. This would be done using the setup options on the device’s control surface to check for and, if available, load newer firmware. 

It also includes the device automatically polling a server for new firmware updates and inviting the user to perform an update procedure or simply updating itself during off-hours for example; in a similar vein to the software-update mechanisms in Windows and MacOS.

As well, an increasing number of devices are becoming able to acquire new functionality through the use of “app stores” or the installation of add-on peripherals.

The HP lawsuit concerning printer firmware

Just last week, there has been a lawsuit filed against HP in San Jose District Court, California, USA concerning weaknesses in the firmware in some of their printers allowing for them to accept software of questionable origin. Issues that were raised were the ability to load modified software that could facilitate espionage or sabotage. This was discovered through lab-controlled experiments that were performed on some of the affected printers.

As all of us know, the firmware or apps are typically held on servers that can be easily compromised if one isn’t careful. This has been made more real with the recent Sony PlayStation Network break-ins, although data pertaining to users was stolen this time. But it could be feasible for a device to look for new firmware at a known server and find compromised software instead of the real thing.

They even raised the question not just about the software that is delivered and installed using a computer or network but the ability to install ROM or similar hardware chips in to the device to alter its functionality. I would also see this including the ability to pass in code through “debug” or “console” ports on these devices that are used to connect computers to the devices as part of the software-development process.

This could have implications as equipment like home appliances, HVAC / domestic-hot-water equipment and building security equipment become field-programmable and join the network all in the name of “smart energy” and building automation. Issues that can be raised include heaters, ovens or clothes dryers being allowed to run too hot and cause a fire or building alarm systems that betray security-critical information to the Social Web without the users knowing.

Further ramifications of this lawsuit

Device manufacturers will have to look at the firmware that governs their products in a similar vein to the software that runs regular and mobile computing equipment. This includes implementing authenticated software delivery, software rollback options and the requirement to keep customers in the loop about official software versions and change-logs (differences between software versions).

In some cases, business computing equipment like laser printers will have firmware delivered in a similar manner to how computer software is rolled out to regular computers in larger businesses. This includes software that enables centralised firmware deployment and the ability to implement trial-deployment scenarios when new firmware or add-on software is released.

Devices that have proper-operation requirements critical to data security or personnel / building safety and security may require highly-interactive firmware delivery augmented with digital-signature verification and direct software-update notification to the customer.

Similarly, security-software vendors may push for a system of integrating software solutions, including “edge-based” hardware firewall appliances in the process of software delivery to other devices.

Conclusion

What I would like to see out of this case if it is allowed to go “all the way” is that it becomes a platform where issues concerning the authenticity, veracity and safety of field-updatable firmware for specific-purpose devices are examined.