Something noticeable at this years Consumer Electronics Expo was the emergence of the ultrabook. With netbooks completely out; ultrabooks are fighting for the market that wont completely rely on a tablet for portable computing. Just like the sea of tablets it seems that the flush and craze of ultrabooks is on the rise.
One of the ultrabooks to make a buzz is the HP Envy 14 Spectre. Why? Cause it looks good while promising an ultra performance. Â The Envy Spectre is HP’s first ultrabook aimed at the consumers (instead of small businesses). Like many ultrabooks the Spectre is being compared to Apple’s MacBook Air; the standard for light and thin notebooks. Â While the HP Spectre is thin, its glass body doesn’t necessarily make it light. It still weighs less than four pounds; which is less than regular laptops such as Apple’s MacBook Pro.
The point of this ultrabook is performance reliability and looks.  Aimed at the premium consumer, the Spectre uses lightweight scratch-resistant gorilla glass on the palm rest, lid, display and ImagePad. The high definition display promises high resolution with rich colors. The sound on this ultrabook is high quality as well with high-performance Beats Audio.  It also boasts an ultra fast solid state drive and  128 gigabytes of storage and you can add more.
The Envy 14 Spectre also has a back-lit keyboard that has an advanced proximity sensor that can sense a users prescence.  Features like HP’s CoolSense Technology and HP Wireless Audio Technology differentiate this ultrabook from the others.  HP’s CoolSense Technology prevents the ultrabook from overheating by automatically sensing where the it’s is being used and automatically adjusts the cooling  settings. Wireless Audio Technology allows sound to be transmitted wirelessly to up to four devices using KleerNet Technology. KleerNet technology allows connections between wireless devices that is better than bluetooth connections. The HP Envy 14 Spectre also includes a lot of pre-installed software.  It has the full version of Adobe Photoshop and two years of Norton Internet Security.
The ultrabook will be available the second week of February 2012. The starting price is $1400. It can be preordered by calling and reserving. I am anxious to see if this high end ultrabook will be a hit due to its unique design and build. Its reliability will make it a favorite among those willing to pay a little more for a portable notebook who are not fans of the MacBook Air. The extreme similarities between both notebooks are definitely going to stir up controversy.
SPECIFICATIONS:
Screen Size: 14″
Operating System:Â Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit (Can be upgraded to Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit)
Processor: Intel Core i5 / i7
Processor Speed: 1.6 GHz/ 1.8 GHz
System Memory (RAM): 4 GB DD3 (Expandable to 8 GB)
Hard Drive Type: Solid State Drive
Hard Drive Size: 128 GB (Up to 256 GB)
Audio: Beats Audio (External Volume Wheel and Mute Button on the side of the laptop)
Ports:Â 1 USB 3.0, HDMI output, Ethernet, Mini Display Port, 1 microphone in/headphone out combo
Digital Media Reader:Â Yes
Webcam:Â Yes
Connections: HP Wireless Audio, Bluetooth, WiDi, Â and NFC
Battery Life: Up to 9 Hours
