HP Envy 14 Spectre to launch end-Feb in Asia
(Credit: HP)
The flashiest laptop of 2012 (so far) will go on sale in select Asia-Pacific markets by the end of the month.
HP's 14-inch consumer Ultrabook, the Envy 14 Spectre, is nothing like its first attempt, the business-like Folio 13. This laptop has Gorilla Glass in spades, with the scratch-resistant material on its lid, display, palmrest and touchpad.
With its Envy branding, it's no surprise that the Spectre shares similar design cues with the Envy 15. This includes Beats Audio support, together with a volume control dial and a backlit keyboard. It will come standard with a high-resolution 1,600 x 900-pixel display--HP will not be offering the cheaper 1,368 x 768-pixel LCD option in this region.
Meanwhile, the unique NFC feature on the Spectre, known as HP Touch to Share, allows users to share data between the laptop and supported NFC-enabled smartphones. We'll be taking a closer look at this application when we can get a review unit.
As hardware specifications go, the Spectre isn't too different from a typical Ultrabook. You have a choice of Core i5 or i7 processor, 4GB of RAM and a 128GB or 256GB SSD. Its 20mm thickness and weight (just under 1.8kg) are average for a 14-inch Ultrabook. You can read about the Spectre in our hands-on.
In short, there's something for everyone on the Spectre: Narcissists will appreciate the heavy dose of reflective glass on this HP laptop while the geeks will get a kick out of having near-field communication (NFC) on a notebook.
This HP laptop will go on sale later this month, with a starting price of S$1,999 (US$1,604). The base configuration will come with a Core i5 processor, 4GB of RAM and a 128GB SSD.
About the author
After years of reviewing the innards of PCs in his previous job, Senior Writer Vincent Chang has moved on to covering notebooks and PC systems at CNET Asia. A big reader of sci-fi and fantasy, he has accepted the inevitable and gone down the e-book route, though he's still resisting the siren call of the Kindle.
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