The good: Modern design; touch-sensitive controls are convenient and attractive; 64-bit Windows Vista and 4GB of RAM provide performance boost; HDMI and eSATA ports; comes with remote control.

The bad: Subpar battery life; glossy keyboard and touch pad don't provide the best feel; no FireWire, Bluetooth, or Draft N Wi-Fi.

The bottom line: If you can get past its poor battery life, you'll find a lot to like about the 14-inch, feature-packed HP Pavilion dv4-1125nr.

Read full review of the HP Pavilion dv4 »

By Matthew Elliott, CNET.com
Nov 7, 2008

If you can find a more feature-packed laptop for under S$2,200 (US$1,583.53) on store shelves, I'd like to see it. The HP Pavilion dv4 separates itself from its retail competition by including 64-bit Vista and 4GB of memory while also serving up multimedia-friendly features such as an HDMI port, dual headphone jacks, and a remote control. It features a 14-inch screen, which I find preferable to 15-inch models because it provides the same 1,280 x 800-pixel screen resolution but saves you travel weight. Unfortunately, its portability is curtailed by substandard battery life. If you can live with roughly two hours of battery life, the HP Pavilion dv4 makes a well-rounded and affordable laptop.

Editors' note : This review is based on tests done by our sister site CNET.com. As such, please note that there may be slight differences in the testing procedure and ratings system. For more information on the actual tests conducted on the product, please inquire directly at the site where the article was originally published. References made to some of other products in this review may not be available or applicable in Asia. Please check directly with your local distributor for details.

Design

The Pavilion dv4 is a solid machine. The plastic chassis feels very well built; the lid and wrist rest possess little of the flex found on some mainstream laptops. The laptop's single, long hinge keeps the display firmly rooted in place. It features the same look as the Pavilion dv5 and dv7 models we saw earlier this year, with a glossy black lid, silver keyboard deck, and chrome edging. The lid and wrist rest feature a subtle, pleasing crosshatch design. Unlike some Pavilion models, such as the dv5, the dv4 does not feature HP's "frameless" bezel design.



Weighing 2.5kg, it is lighter than HP's Pavilion dv5 models and the Toshiba Satellite A300, each of which weighs in at 2.9kg. What I like most about 14-inch laptops is that they save you size and weight while serving up the same screen real estate. While some 15-inch models deliver a 1,440 x 900-pixel resolution, most provide a pedestrian 1,280 x 800-pixel resolution, which is the same native resolution found on the Pavilion dv4. Icons and text aren't made too small and remain very legible. The display features a glossy screen coating, which makes movies and photos looks smooth and vibrant. Many laptop users, including myself, are quite sensitive to glossy screens, but the dv4 is far from an egregious offender when it comes to glare and reflections. A 1.3-megapixel Webcam above the display lets users conduct video chats.

Features

The Altec Lansing stereo speakers are adequate and will suffice for movie dialogue and effects, but you'll want to use the headphone jacks (there are two) for music. The most eye-catching design note of the Pavilion dv4 is the strip of lighted, touch-sensitive media controls above the keyboard. In addition to the standard media transport buttons, there is a volume slider, a mute button, a Wi-Fi power switch, and a QuickPlay button. The buttons glow a pleasing white, and the mute and Wi-Fi buttons turn orange when you cut the volume or Wi-Fi signal. Though attractive and modern looking, we still prefer a volume dial, as found on the Toshiba Satellite L300, because on more than one occasion the touch-sensitive volume control failed to respond to our touch. And don't mistake the QuickPlay button for an instant-on feature that bypasses Windows; it merely calls up a screen when Windows is running that provides shortcuts for playing DVDs, music, videos, photos, games. Like most applications of its ilk, QuickPlay is of dubious value; you'll likely find it more efficient to access your preferred media applications direct from the Windows desktop or Start menu.

As with past Pavilion laptops, I don't enjoy the glossy finish on the dv4's touch pad. Sure, it improves the overall design of the laptop, lending it yet another chrome accent, but most laptop touch pads feature matte finish material, which allows your finger to move across the surface with little friction. The glossy finish here feels "grabby". The touch pad is also very narrow, top to bottom, measuring only 38.1 x 76.2mm. In the plus column for the touch pad are the wide and quiet mouse buttons below it, the vertical scroll area along its right edge, and a tiny power button above it.

Unlike the odd dimension of the touch pad, the keyboard looks and feels like a natural fit on the Pavilion dv4's 14-inch chassis. The keys have a glossy finish that aids the overall look but detracts from the actual typing experience somewhat. To these fingertips, the keys felt a bit too slick, though they do feature good travel and are very quiet, as opposed to clacky. Prior to purchase, take a few minutes in the laptop aisle of your local electronics retailer to get a sense for the keyboard and touch pad of any laptop you're considering.



Larger Pavilion dv5 models serve up an extra USB port and a FireWire connection, but the more compact dv4 boasts an impressive array of ports, which includes HDMI, eSATA. Other than FireWire, the only connections missing are Bluetooth and Draft N Wi-Fi. You'll also have to make do with 10/100 Ethernet; Gigabit Ethernet is not offered.

Tags: Laptop Computer, Touch Pad, Hewlett-Packard Co., Keyboard, Webcam

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