HP EliteBook 6930P Notebook Review

The HP EliteBook 6930p is HP’s latest 14" thin and light business notebook. It is part of HP's premium EliteBook range of business notebooks that emphasizes mobility, performance and durability.

HP bills the 6930p as a business-rugged notebook, and with its brushed metal design, it looks both tough and elegant. It includes a brushed, anodized aluminum lid combined with a magnesium alloy chassis. Indeed, this 5.2-pound notebook is sturdy, but at 13.0 x 9.6 x 1.2 inches it’s a bit wider and thicker than the Dell Latitude E6400 (13.2 x 9.4 x 1.0 inches). To lessen the weight, you can opt for HP’s Illumi-Lite LED-backlit display for an additional $50.

HP Elitebook 6930P Specifications :
Processor : Intel Core 2 Duo P8600 2.40 GHz with 3 MB L2 cache
RAM : 2 GB DDR2 800 MHZ (Upgradable to 4 GB)
Hard Drive : 160GB SATA 5,400 rpm
Optical Drive : 8X DVD+/-RW DL
Display : 14.1″ at 1280 x 800 px
Graphics : ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3450 256 MB (Default: Intel GMA X4500)
Wi-Fi : 802.11 a/b/g/draft -n
Bluetooth : Bluetooth 2.0 with EDR
Operating System : Microsoft Windows Vista
Ports : 3 USB 2.0, Ethernet, Firewire, Headphone, Microphone, Modem, VGA, 2 in 1 Card reader, Expresscard
Dimensions : 13.0 x 9.6 x 1.2 inches
Weight : 5.2 pounds

What constitutes a computer for the elite? If there's anything in a name, HP may have the answer with its latest business laptop, the EliteBook 6930p battery is out to create some separation between its new EliteBook brand and the EliteBook's predecessors—the Compaqs—by serving up a metallic look and up-to-date Centrino 2 parts. Aside from good looks, the new design is crammed with "business rugged" features. Whether it's the DuraFinish lid, the DuraKeys, or 3D DriveGuard, the 6930p is prepared to run marathons around the competition.

As for other components, there are three USB 2.0 ports, an SD card reader at the front, a Smart card reader, an ExpressCard slot, a DVD-RAM GSA-T50L LightScribe drive, modem and Ethernet connectors, a FireWire 1394 port for digital cameras, a couple of audio jacks and VGA for an external monitor. Some users have complained about problems with the VGA but on our sample it plugged and played as expected. However, it would have been preferable to have also been offered a DVI output.

Under the bonnet lurks an Intel Core 2 Duo P8600 2.40GHz processor with 2GB RAM (expandable to 8GB) with a 160GB hard drive running at 5,400rpm, the laptop using the Mobile Intel 4 Series Express chipset. The hard drive is upgradeable to a 250GB and 7,200rpm model, or you can opt for an 80GB SSD. Even the basic set-up is decent enough to handle multimedia operations such as DVDs, spreadsheets and the Internet, all running concurrently.

This machine has also passed the same rigorous US military standard (MIL-STD- 810F) as the Hi-Grade, and can withstand drops from 2.9ft, sandstorms, vigorous vibrations and an altitude of 15,000ft.

The keyboard is mounted firmly on to the magnesium alloy chassis and, although there is a little flex, provides a crisp and responsive action. HP has coated the keyboard in a protective substance to enhance the longevity of the keys, and it gives the board an almost rubbery feel.

Consequently you'll only find standard ports on the device. There are three USB interfaces, Firewire, a modem, and a LAN connector as well as an analogue VGA port on the rear of the HP EliteBook 6930p battery. Of course headphone and microphone ports belong to the standard equipment. Unfortunately a digital video interface is done without, for instance a display or HDMI port directly on the device. If you want to save the cost of a docking station yet you want to connect an external monitor to the laptop, there's just the built-in VGA connection. In the test at a resolution of 1920x1200 pixels on our 24-inch test display (Dell 2408 Wfp) this produced an acceptable and thoroughly fit for work picture. Indeed this cannot keep up with the quality of a digital video interface.

Regarding the positioning of the individual interfaces it should be noted that they are limited to the rear area of the right-hand side of the case as well as the middle area of the left lateral edge. For this reason there are slight advantages for right-handed people but also left-handed people should generally get on well with the EliteBook 6930p. Ports which are potentially permanently occupied for example the VGA output and the connection for the power supply are fitted on the rear of the device.

The 6930p contains all the basic ports, but nothing exciting. There is a 1394 FireWire port, but no DVI or HDMI. There are three USB ports, but there is no charging over USB when the laptop is switched off. There is no eSATA. There is a dial-up modem, although we are not sure if anyone uses them anymore. There is also a MMC card reader slot on the front of the laptop.

Pre-installed software on the 6930p is fairly light; there are no anti-virus software trials or DVD burning software (or the Google Desktop, we're looking at you Dell), but there is the obligatory 60-day trail of Office 2007. You also get two different toolbars in IE, AOL and bizarrely, "Delio", which we haven't seen before. It appears to do nothing.

EliteBook 6930p also has hard disk protection (HP 3D Drive Guard) and keyboard with drainage system which results in ultimate protection of your hardware and data. Built to satisfy demands of Americas Army, HP guarantees reliability even under extreme conditions: temperatures above 60 degrees Celsius and below -29 degrees Celsius, extreme vibrations, high humidity and dust environment. HP DuraKeys and DuraFinish are technologies that are intended to provide better keyboard and other surfaces protection. All this speaks enough for itself when it comes to build quality of EliteBook series.

There is a trend with more recent notebooks to offer more granular power management, and HP have gone out of their way to maximise the battery life on the EliteBooks. In this respect HP have done well. We conducted our standard taxing battery test by setting the screen brightness to 50 per cent, and then playing a DVD. This produced an impressive 3 hours and 10 minutes of battery life, well above average. The battery for HP EliteBook 6930p has a 55 Whr capacity.

The 6930p contains all the basic ports, but nothing exciting. There is a 1394 FireWire port, but no DVI or HDMI. There are three USB ports, but there is no charging over USB when the laptop is switched off. There is no eSATA. There is a dial-up modem, although we are not sure if anyone uses them anymore. There is also a MMC card reader slot on the front of the laptop.

The HP Elitebook 6930p still uses a matte display, so it is easy to view under fluorescent lighting. However, some reviewers say the color output is a little lackluster. Testing shows that this business laptop provides good performance for office applications, and reviewers calls the HP Elitebook 6930p is a great value. If you need serious power and all the latest features, reviews point to the Lenovo ThinkPad W700ds (*Est. $2,100 and up). It's heavy and expensive, but this laptop is the closest you can get to desktop performance in a notebook.

The HP 6930p battery uses a 14.1-inch widescreen LCD, and the high-resolution (1440x900 pixels) panel is bright and exceedingly crisp. You can even read tiny on-screen text, although the high resolution means default text sizes on some Web sites and in Windows’ menus (like the All Programs list) can be pretty small. The LCD delivered vibrant colors in Windows apps, as well as good motion reproduction for video.

Above the screen you’ll find an integrated Webcam, ideal for video chat, video e-mail and videoconferencing applications. HP’s easy-to-use utility lets you set the camera’s resolution to eight different levels ranging from 160x120 (good for grabbing a tiny snapshot of yourself to append to your e-mail signature line) all the way up to 1600x1200 (for taking a photo as good as a 2-megapixel camera might). At the default 640x480 resolution, the camera showed good color accuracy, though lots of motion resulted in lots of blur. Icons at the bottom of the utility let you take a still picture, capture video or capture audio only.

When working with different windows at the same time, it was found that the HP Elitebook had a very good capacity to be able to handle some complicated programs at the same time. For example, you can use the video features and check on the e-mails at the same time and the speed of the computer is as good as any other, this is creating a very good impact on the way how people are getting what they really need.

You can easily find many kinds of HP laptop battery and laptops in the market at present that are giving you the best features available, however, you should definitely check up the Free HP Elitebook 6930P and make sure that you check the specifications and prices, as this is considered to be the best that you can find in the market for all your needs. This is a computer which is especially designed for the people that need to be on the move at all times, however, you can also find that some of the features are worth having even if you are not so mobile, as well.

Dell Studio 1537 Review

The first time we laid eyes on the Dell Studio 1537, we couldn’t help but get interested and want to know more about it. Smooth. Sleek. Striking. This laptop is a thing of beauty. It’s as if an artist was commissioned to create it. Every nook and cranny fits and contributes to the whole design.

The Dell Studio 1537 battery is a sight for sore eyes, with our model coming with a red lid to round out its overall smooth appearance. It also comes with some decent firepower behind that standard Studio beauty, packing a latest generation Intel Core 2 Duo P8400 2.26 GHz to go along with 4GB RAM, a 320GB HDD and a dedicated 256MB ATI Radeon HD 3450 GPU. When you consider that you can get all this for a cost that won’t exceed three digits, the Studio looks like a solid value.

Specifications:
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T5750 (2.00GHz/667Mhz FSB/2MB cache)
Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium Edition SP1, 64-bit
Glossy, widescreen 15.4 inch display (1280x800)
8X Slot Load CD / DVD Burner (Dual Layer DVD+/-R Drive)
3GB * Shared Dual Channel DDR2
Size: 250GB * SATA Hard Drive (5400RPM)
Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X3100
High Definition Audio 2.0
Dell 1510 Wireless-N Card
56 Whr Lithium Ion Battery (6 cell)
Midnight Blue

The monitor is 15.4″ at 1280×800 with LED backlight. The first impression is excellent, since it is very bright and with vivid colors, better than most laptops at this price point. But when compared to my HP ProBook 4510s battery, contrast and vieving angles are not so good. Viewing angles are better than in other laptops I have used. As I do not make a professional use of color, I cannot tell about the colour gamut, but I have raised a bit the red level in the Catalyst Control Panel since the skin colour in pictures seems too dull. The glossy surface of the screen is not annoying to work if there is no light behind you, but if there is a window or similar, the reflection can be distracting. In the dark scenes of films and games the reflection is more noticeable, even without light from behind. Outdoors, even with the brightness to the maximum and working with clear background, the reflection of myself in a sunny winter day is too visible. It is possible to work, but it is annoying.

It is very difficult that pictures of the screen reflect what the eyes see, but here you have some images: the first is quite blurry, but it was made with low light and can help to get an idea of how the colours and brightness are; the second is less faithful to the reality, but you can see that the contrast and color are not as good as in my usual monitor, an HP L2245w.

The battery for Dell Studio 1537 can be best described as a multi-media laptop. Powerful, long battery life, and a great designed machine. A laptop with over 200+ customizable patterns for your notebook design. After using the machine for about a month, it’s been a powerful and reliable machine. Supporting almost all new media from blu-ray with packed surround sound and it’s gorgeous 15.4 HD Led display which makes your video look lifelike. The machine has its flaws and its great pros…

The green Dell Studio 1537 used for this laptop review has an impressive 4 GB of DDR2 memory installed, which is the maximum this model will take, and is fully capable of playing high level games as well as watching DVD movies on pure battery power. We hooked up the laptop to a home theater system (nice audio and a HUGE plasma TV via the laptops HDMI connector) and were impressed with the overall performance of this color laptop. We found that the battery life is greatly improved and highly recommend the 9-cell instead of the 6-cell Studio 1537 battery.

If you're in the market for a sleek new laptop that won't break the bank, the Dell Studio 1537 might be up your alley. Our affiliate Laptop Logic has a full review. Dell may not first come to mind in enthusiast circles when discussing desktop machines, but their laptops do quite well and garner a better reputation in most instances. But if you are one of the multitude of users that need connectivity and portability, then the Dell Studio 1537 might be up your alley. Our affiliate Laptop Logic has a full review of this laptop that we're sure you'll find interesting.

The laptop in general is aimed for those into video & audio and all around usage. Great for internet browsing and powerful to do video editing and audio work. Packed with a HD display and 5.1 surround speaker set its built for all your media purposes, with its 4gb of ram and dual core processor the laptop is even powerful to act as a home media machine, with its HDMI & VGA port it is a very versatile machine and can be used in many ways through different consumers. Pricing is anywhere from 600-900$+ depending on how you customize your machine specs.

Dell Studio 1555 - 15.6in Review

Dell's Studio range of laptops first debuted last year in the shape of the Studio 1535, but to keep things fresh the PC giant has updated its 15in mainstream offering with the Studio 1555 (15 for short) we're looking at today. Primarily this is to make the switch to a 16:9 aspect, 15.6in display, but there's also been one or two design tweaks, new features and hardware options added, so there's a little more to it than a simple change of scenery.

Dell's Studio laptops are an alluring bunch; fitting snugly between the brand's budget-conscious Inspiron line-up and the premium XPS ranges, the Studio 15 and Studio 17 battery blend classy good-looks with surprisingly affordable prices. Adaptation is the key to survival, though, and the newest arrival, the Dell Studio 1555, marks an evolutionary step forward.

You'd be forgiven for not noticing any dramatic changes over its predecessor, but there are some subtle changes. Most notable of these is the disappearance of the 15.4in, 16:10 ratio display. In its place there now stands a 15.6in, 16:9 replacement.

Pre-installed with the Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium operating system (64-bit version), you'll be able to easily create a home network and share all of your favorite photos, videos, and music. Windows 7 is the easiest, fastest, and most engaging version of Windows yet. Better ways to find and manage files, like Jump Lists and improved taskbar previews, help you speed through everyday tasks. Windows 7 is designed for faster and more reliable performance, so your PC just works the way you want it to.

Dell Studio 1555 Specifications:

• Windows Vista Home Premium (SP1, 32-bit)
• Intel Core 2 Duo processor P8600 (2.4GHz, 3MB L2 Cache, 1066MHz FSB)
  15.6" High Definition (1920x1080) High Brightness LED Display with TrueLife and Camera
• 3GB DDR2 SDRAM 800MHz System Memory
• ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4570 graphics (256MB)
• 250GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive
• 6X Slot Load Blu-ray (BD) Combo Drive (BD Read Only)
• Dell Wireless 1397 802.11g Half Mini-Card
• Dell Wireless 370 Bluetooth Internal (2.1)
• Weight: 5.8 lb. including 9-cell battery
• Dimensions: 1.0-2.0 x 14.6 x 10.0 inches with 9-cell battery (H x W x D)
• Battery: 9-cell 85Wh
• Dell Design Studio Custom Lid: XenoMayan - Haab3 by Tweeqim

Quite frankly, we were surprised to find a Dell Studio laptop on the shelves at Staples. We would have guessed that as Dell's upscale, entertainment-focused laptop line, the Studio would have ceded shelf space to Dell's mainstream Inspiron line. Both laptop lines are present at the office-supply store, however, and representing the Studio line is the Studio 1555 (4285MBU) ($749.98), a 15.6-inch desktop replacement. Its size and specs make it a good fit for the office or the home. The dual-core Intel processor and 4GB of memory make for a smooth Windows 7 experience, the 9-cell battery delivers more than 6.5 hours of running time, and at just shy of 6 pounds, it's still light enough for daily travel. This Dell Studio 1555 battery is nearly identical to the Editors' Choice award-winning Dell Studio 1555 (USE006CS) reviewed earlier this year; it bumps up the processor a notch while knocking $50 off the price. Given that this model follows the same recipe and does so for less, we think the Studio 1555 (S1555-4285MBU) deserves to keep the Editors' Choice that the preceding Studio 1555 earned.

The keyboard feel, is on the silent/soft side. It feels very sturdy and there is hardly any flex – good for people who slam their keys a lot or “key mash”. It does not have the springy feel as like the Dell Inspiron keyboard but more of a Logitech G15 or Microsoft Digital Media Pro. There is no dedicated keypad, nor is there a “Num lock” or “Scroll Lock” keys, or numbers seen on I, O, P etc which require the use of the FN key. All the numbers are typed using the number keys above QWERTY. This may prove a problem for people dealing with figures all day. There is proper spacing between each key and the travelling between each key is very marginal. Typing should not cause any problems and should be a breeze. The orange button, make the laptop less attractive and makes a mess of the overall tone of the white led’s, black keys and silver palm rest. What were they thinking? Perhaps the designer had the Walkman W800i in mind?

Take a look at this review of the Dell Studio 1555 Laptop. Online shopping at Beansaver.com is quite a fun. While shopping online one can always expect good online deal. The best part is that one can browse through umpteen numbers of products from your home in any place in the world. Be it a car or a bunch of flowers, you will find everything here. The online deals we provide are very attractive and will help you save your hard earned dollars. The website has been designed in a way where every user can find a product of their choice instantaneously. Cheap Stuio 1555 battery is high on demand because of its ultra portability and price. It completely fulfills the demand of computer user without much fuss making it a very desirable package and that too at a very reasonable price.

When we originally reviewed the Studio 15 (1555) we certainly weren't impressed. The stereo speakers located beneath the screen produced weak and flat sound and we couldn't detect anything from the built-in subwoofer. We sent our review unit back to Dell for service and upon its return all we can say is, WOW!

The subwoofer adds a surprising impressive level of bass to the speakers in the battery for Dell Studio 1555. The bass is actually strong enough to feel with your hand on the keyboard. Overall the sound pretty good with crisp high notes from the main speakers and milder bass from the subwoofer. In short, the fixed subwoofer makes a world of difference and is much better than before. I still think the audio could use some tuning to lower the volume of the main speakers to match the subwoofer, but it's a minor issue.

Overall, the built-in speakers and subwoofer are good and external speakers or headphones are only a must-have accessory with this laptop if you want privacy.

HP Compaq Business Notebook 6735s Review

HP’s offering the Compaq 6735s notebook for as low as $399 thanks to a $100 rebate. The Compaq 6735s is a 15.4″ business notebook, geared towards office workers.

The HP Compaq 6735s battery has a good screen on it and it never struggles with anything im doing - (I do not play games on it though, so can't comment about that). Its also light enough to carry about and have on your laptop. Battery wise, It can last a 2-3 hours of surfing the internet, but please note I don't use settings to make the battery longer, so could be longer!

Technical Details for HP Compaq Business Notebook 6735s:
Product Description: HP Compaq Business Notebook 6735s - Turion X2 Ultra ZM-84 2.3 GHz - 15.4" TFT
Recommended Use: Small business, corporate business
Dimensions (WxDxH): 35.8 cm x 26.7 cm x 3.2 cm
Weight: 2.5 kg
Localisation: English / United Kingdom
System Type: Notebook
Built-in Devices: Stereo speakers, wireless LAN aerial, Bluetooth aerial
Processor: AMD Turion X2 Ultra mobile technology ZM-84 / 2.3 GHz ( Dual-Core )
Cache Memory: 2 MB - L2 Cache
RAM: 2 GB (installed) / 8 GB (max) - DDR2 SDRAM ( 1 x 2 GB )
Card Reader: Yes
Hard Drive: 320 GB - Serial ATA-300 - 5400 rpm
Optical Storage: DVD±RW (+R double layer) / DVD-RAM - integrated with LightScribe Technology
Display: 15.4" TFT 1280 x 800 ( WXGA ) - BrightView
Graphics Controller: ATI Radeon HD 3200
Audio Output: Sound card
Telecom: Fax / modem - MDC - 56 Kbps
Networking: Network adapter - Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g, Bluetooth 2.0 EDR
Wireless NIC: Broadcom 4312G
Notebook Camera: Integrated
Input Device: Keyboard, touchpad
Power: AC 120/230 V ( 50/60 Hz )
Battery: Lithium Ion
Operating System: Microsoft Windows Vista Business
Microsoft Office Ready: Includes a preinstalled image of select 2007 Microsoft Office suites. Purchase a Medialess License Kit (MLK) to activate the software.
Environmental Standards: EPA Energy Star , EPEAT Silver

The most affordable Compaq 6735s configuration comes with an AMD Sempron processor, 1GB of RAM, DVD burner and 160GB hard drive. It’s MSRP is $751, but HP is offering a $252 instant discount and $100 mail-in rebate on this model, dropping the final price to just $399. This configuration doesn’t have a whole lot of horsepower, but there are richer configurations available that have more memory and a more robust processor.

Business and consumer laptops tend to be built to a different set of criteria. Stolid dependability is usually the order of the day with business machines. HP is one of the main players in this market, and the Compaq 6735s, available for around £540, is one of its more popular models. Well-made and with a no-nonsense design, the HP Compaq Business Notebook 6735s battery will no doubt appeal to those seeking a low-cost, dependable laptop, but there's little to get excited about and the specification is rather lacking.

AMD business class solutions and an impressive combination of mobile office features make the HP Compaq 6735s notebook PC an affordable productivity tool, also ideal for students. This sleek notebook is newly designed and equipped with enhanced security and excellent battery life, making it one smart investment. An array of multi-layered, customizable security solutions help defend your network, your applications, and your data. Drive encryption for HP laptop battery encodes all information on your hard drive so that your sensitive information is unreadable to an unauthorized person if your notebook is lost or stolen. Experience web conferencing and other multi-media content with no additional hardware to buy or carry. The HP SoftPaq download manager provides a simple, powerful way to download software updates to your PC environment in as few as three steps. HP 3D DriveGuard, using a three-axis accelerometer which detects any sudden movement and initiates protective action, helps protect your notebook's hard drive against impact, bumps, or drops so your critical information is easily protected while you are on the move. HP business notebooks undergo over 95,000 hours of rigorous quality testing to ensure your notebook is ready to go the distance. The HP Compaq Business Notebook 6735s features 2 GB of RAM and a 160 GB hard drive.

If you intend to buy HP Compaq Business Notebook 6735s - Sempron SI-40 / 2 GHz - RAM 1 GB - HDD 160 GB - DVD?RW / DVD-RAM - Mobility Radeon HD 3200 shared video memory - WLAN : 802.11b/g - Vista Home Basic - 15.4″ Widescreen TFT 1280 x 800 BrightView - Smart Buy - Microsoft Office Ready? You’d better select 2-4 or more to the business compared to the difference of the HP Compaq Business Notebook 6735s - Sempron SI-40 / 2 GHz - RAM 1 GB - HDD 160 GB - DVD?RW / DVD-RAM - Mobility Radeon HD 3200 shared video memory - WLAN : 802.11b/g - Vista Home Basic - 15.4″ Widescreen TFT 1280 x 800 BrightView - Smart Buy - Microsoft Office Ready immediately to exercise the power of your choice. Use your wisdom and common sense to judge the correctness to select best laptop computer.

HP have also included an array of multi layered, customizable security solutions help defend your network, your applications, and your data. Drive encryption for HP ProtectTools encodes all information on your hard drive so that your sensitive information is unreadable to an unauthorized person if your notebook is lost or stolen.

The 6735s battery is available with the 160, 250 or 320 GB hard disks which all run at 5400 rpm. The hard disk in our test model is the Hitachi hard disk with 250 GB. That should give enough room for storage, and the data transfer speed of 50.1 MB/s (average) is a good value. Additionally, the hard disk makes hardly any noise, and, thus, sets a high standard of comfort. The HP Drive Guard, which is provided as an extra feature by the producer, prevents, in the case of a possible system failure, data from getting lost by stopping the read-and-write head.

The optical drive from Samsung has a good response time. It may take a few seconds before the drive starts working with the CD/DVD placed in it's holder. Otherwise, the technical details are pretty much standard. One pleasing additional feature is the Lightscribe function which is a very nice way to label CDs and DVDs.

Thus, HP delivers a laptop which offers balanced performance, and, due to the price, is able to compete.

HP ProBook 4515s Laptop Reviews

The HP ProBook 4515s (£369 inc. VAT) strikes an effective balance between power and mobility and proves a success despite minor flaws. Overall, the ProBook 4515s is a feature-packed and highly usable laptop. Its mixed performance and low-quality build mean that it's not ideal for intensive use, but for an affordable, fully-featured business laptop, it's a great choice.

While the 2.5kg chassis quite wide, the use of lightweight plastic means it isn't very heavy. If the size doesn't put you off, you can work quite comfortably on the move, thanks to the excellent 205-minute battery life.

While build quality is suitably sturdy for most use, it has a slightly low-quality feel to it and lacks the resilience we'd like to see in a business machine. Glossy plastics are used on the lid and throughout the user interface, and are quickly covered by smudges and fingerprints, requiring regular cleaning.

Built to handle every corporate and business user requirements, the HP ProBook 4515s notebook is performance on par with design elegance. The AMD Turion X2 mobile processor installed in the HP ProBook 4515s battery runs at a speed of 2.3 GHz and is backed by 3GB DDR2 memory for smooth execution of routine tasks. You can even improve the processing time by increasing the RAM capacity up to 8GB. The Windows Vista operating system offers a good balance between energy efficiency and computing power. The Intel AMD Turion X2 lets you enjoy your work for longer hours and doesn’t make you feel any interruption or slowness in overall performance.

The 17-inch version, the 4515s, is only available with Intel processors and discrete ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4330 graphics with 512MB dedicated memory. It has a full number pad, as noted above, HDMI output, and a Bluetooth option. It is only available in black.

Featuring genuine Windows for a familiar and intuitive environment
• The innovatively designed spacious keyboard is made out of a single part with keys raised from the surface underneath, leaving fewer places for dirt and dust to settle and thus making it easy to clean and more maintenance free than ever before.
• Built to simplify. HP QuickLook 3 provides read and write capability of email, calendar, task and contact information in seconds at the touch of a button, without having to boot up.
• Built to protect. HP File Sanitiser permanently deletes files, folders and personally identifiable information from your notebook.
• Built to conserve. The battery for HP ProBook 4515s reduces its impact on the environment by eliminating or reducing substances of concern and reducing energy consumption. It is ENERGY STAR® qualified and is EPEAT™ Silver registered.

In a first for its business models, Linux is offered as a pre-installed option as well as Windows. HP has also announced the Intel-packing 4410s AMD-powered 4415s today in the States. HP told Crave these 14-inch models will cross the pond sometime soon.

Where this laptop really stands out is its excellent extra features. The DVD drive provides full LightScribe functionality. This allows you to burn images and text directly on to the surface of compatible discs, providing an easy and tidy way to catalogue your discs with style.

The hard drive features 3D DriveGuard technology to protect your data. Should the laptop be dropped, the disk automatically parks its heads to prevent scratching the disk's surface. Finally, an integrated camera is fitted above the screen for live video-conferencing.

Overall, the ProBook 4515s battery is a feature-packed and highly usable laptop. Its mixed performance and low-quality build mean that it's not ideal for intensive use, but for an affordable, fully-featured business laptop, it's a great choice.

HP ProBook 4710s Review

A few months back we told you about the ProBook 4510s, HP’s all-new 15.6-inch notebook aimed at business users who need just the essentials at a good price. The newest member of the ProBook family is the 4710s, a 17.3-inch desktop replacement model that also delivers a good mix of features and performance for an attractive $1,099. Unfortunately, some questionable design and component decisions—no doubt aimed at keeping the price down—hold it back.

The HP ProBook 4710s battery is a low-priced 17-inch business notebook designed to provide businesses with a good desktop replacement notebook without breaking the bank. If your company wants the HP Elitebook 8730w but has a tight budget, the ProBook 4710s might be a good alternative at a starting price of just $899. Is this budget-priced notebook as good as it sounds? Keep reading to find out.

Key Specs

• Processor: 2.53GHz Intel Core 2 Duo P8700
• Memory: 4GB RAM
• Storage: 500GB hard drive
• Optical Drive: DVD+/-RW
• Screen: 17.3 inches (1,600x900)
• Graphics: ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4300
• Weight: 6.8 pounds
• Dimensions (HWD): : 1.3x16.2x10.6 inches
• Operating System: Windows Vista Business

With the exception of screen size, the 4710s is identical to the 4510s. It, too, has a glossy, fingerprint-prone black lid, with an interior whose textures include a glossy keyboard deck, a satin palm rest; and the speaker strip lines the top of the keyboard. Because the bezel is thin, it’s easy to focus instead on the bright 16:9 display. As an added touch, the power and QuickLook 2 buttons and LED lights all glow turquoise blue, which also keeps the design interesting. At 6.6 pounds, the ProBook is light for a desktop replacement, and, indeed, we had no problem shuttling it around the office.

The ProBook 4710s keyboard fits a notebook of this size, in that it's mostly quite large, with a deliberately huge space bar row (including CTRL, the function key and Windows key), which we found mostly pleasant to type with. The only real oddity here is that despite the amount of space on offer — which includes allowing a full number pad — the cursor keys are oddly tiny. They're not impossible to hit, but they're solidly out of scale to the rest of the keyboard.

The ProBook 4710s battery performed well in our standard performance tests, racking up a score of 2854 in 3DMark and 5308 in PCMark. As a working machine then, the ProBook 4710s should work quite hard, something that's backed up by its battery life. We can't imagine too many scenarios where you're going to want to lug the ProBook 4710s around too much, at least for the sake of your shoulders, but if you do, the increased size of this laptop does extend to the battery. With an eight-cell battery on board, the ProBook 4710s managed a very healthy three hours and 16 minutes in our DVD playback test with screen brightness at full whack. Considering how much screen it's got to run doing that, it's a very pleasing figure indeed.

This laptop impresses when it comes to gaming and 3D performance. It's not as powerful as the Acer, but its ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4330 graphics card offers enough performance to play games and run graphic-intensive programs.

The keyboard features a design where each key protrudes through an individual hole in the chassis (sometimes known as chiclet keys). There's more space between each key as a result, making it easier to type at speed without mistakes. It's a comfortable board, but it's also one of the noisiest, and there are no dedicated buttons for controlling your media files.

The HP Probook offers a base connectivity including all important interfaces. Among others it offers four USB-2.0 ports, a VGA-out, and an HDMI-interface for all-digital video and audio transmission.

In case you need further connectivity, HP also offers a USB docking station for the Probook 4710s. E.g., the compatible HP USB-2.0 docking station (FQ834ET) features a Kensington security slot, audio-in, audio-out, LAN (RJ45), a VGA-out and a DVI-D port for connecting an external screen. However, it does only support a single external display. Some users might miss sleep-and-charge support via USB. This would allow to charge mobile devices by connecting it to a USB-port of the turned-off laptop.

The 4710s has the typical system protections you’d expect from a HP System, spill resistant, HDD 3D DriveGuard, Disk Sanitizer in the event you need to wipe the drive and HP ProtectTools which will help you protect your sensitive information and manage passwords.

While HP says the 4710s is “Designed for small business professionals who want a stylish, affordable, 17.3-inch diagonal notebook with enhanced graphics, separate numeric keypad and a very large display to work on big documents and spreadsheets” I wouldn’t be surprised if some of HPs consumers bought one for themselves.

Overall the 4710s is a hell of a system for small business professionals to corporate executives and is just simply a great machine for any professional on the go.

The 4710s features the Intel Core 2 Duo processor, the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4330 512MB dedicated video card, up to 8GB of DDR2 memory, up to 500GB of hard drive space, and a DVD burner or Blu-Ray Combo drive, depending on model.

The 17.3-inch LED-backlit display has a resolution of 1600 x 900 pixels and a 16:9 aspect ratio.

The battery for HP ProBook 4710s also sports a keyboard with a separate numeric keypad, an optional 2MP web camera, stereo speakers and an integrated microphone, 802.11a/b/g/n wireless, a Gigabit Ethernet LAN port, Bluetooth, optional 56k modem, VGA and HDMI outputs, four USB ports, an ExpressCard slot, and a media card reader. The laptop starts at around 6.8 pounds and runs Windows Vista.