HP Ultrabook: HP Folio 13

So finally HP made it official in the US after seeing it in Australia:

HP Folio 13 Ultrabook official: starts at $900 with a 128GB SSD and backlit keyboard (hands-on) -- Engadget

http://www.theverge.com/2011/11/16/...inches-thick-128gb-ssd-and-a-backlit-keyboard

They are also going for the lower price point starting at $899 for the i5 with an SSD and backlit keyboard. It's not as thin and light as the other ubooks but it has a lot of ports like the Toshiba Z83x and maybe the added weight goes towards the claimed 9 hour battery life.

Supposed to hit on December 7... I'm liking this "new" category of notebooks.

 

Available now and its $704

HP Folio 13 Ultrabook Coupon, only $703 after coupon

That's a pretty nice price for an Ultrabook. Even if I do prefer the Zenbook/Macbook Air look or the U300s.

 

There's no such thing as a free lunch...I'm suspicious of what corners they cut to sell at 70% of the price of most ultrabooks and half the price of the class leader (MBP 13).

I like the look and the backlit keyboard of the Folio, but if something seems too good to be true, it usually is. And this price is too good to be true.

 

I think the MSRP is close to $1k for the Folio, but HP had a 33% off coupon that expired yesterday that everyone was using (especially for the new Envy series).

So I'm not sure HP was cutting corners on the ultrabook... just the price.

 

Is there any review out there for the HP Foilio?

 

Only previews (there is one here on NBR), just like the new Envy which released at the same time... the reviews haven't hit yet.

 

13 is too small for me , but the price is attractive

 

Reminds me of my current laptop. Looks like a worthy upgrade.

Waiting for the prices to drop once Ivy arrives.

 

In all honesty the Envy 13 was thin and so is the 5330m so this Folio isn't miles away from either. Nice price and I understand that the battery life is also fantastic. Might consider one

 

I would agree to pay a little more for a better screen that was also antiglare Also hopefully the feel of the touchpad is similar to my 8460p, which previews seem to say that it is great.

 

The Mac comment is, I feel, out of place. What isn't half the price of a comprable Mac?



Sent from my SGH-i917 using Board Express

 

Received my Folio 13 yesterday and have had the day to play with it.

I have to say, for the price (especially after that coupon), this is a great laptop. I bought this as I was overall disappointed with a 11.6" macbook air I have due to it's battery life and believe it or not it's sharp edges (it's going back).

Size wise, I still would have preferred a 11.6" but this is not that big at all. Screen angles could definitely be better but overall very happy.

 

i did a complete wipe of my folio to install a fresh windows 7 pro. i forgot to save the drivers for wireless and gigabit. can you upload them for me to download? hp has NOTHING on their support & drivers website for these components. any help would be appreciated. i can't even find the name of the ethernet device, which keeps me from going directly to the manufacturer website to download drivers.

 

HP usually has a SWSETUP folder which has all the drivers that you would want to backup before wiping the drive..

If you didn't back it up, it would be a PITA to go download all the drivers.

 

i did not do a backup because i assumed Windows 7 would have generic drivers i could use to get online. nope. WORST OF ALL, HP DOES NOT HAVE A COMPLETE LIST OF DOWNLOADABLE DRIVERS FOR THE FOLIO 13. in fact, they completely lack any drivers to get internet access. (i did not check their driver availablity beforehand). in addition to that, i did not have find any information anywhere describing what wireless/LAN hardware the folio 13 has. therefore, i cannot google the drivers i need. i called hp for support and was told they cannot give me any assistance with drivers since i am not using the original windows OS that came with the notebook. i ended up getting lucky and downloaded a intel wireless driver from another product page and it matched the hardware for the folio 13. i just picked another recently released notebook and the drivers matched. lesson learned: always make a backup before doing a clean OS install. do not assume hp will have the drivers available.

now, who wants to upload that swsetup folder for me?

 

so lucky Folio owners how about a full review?

thanks

 

Hoping it goes on sale again. Reviews for this laptop are hard to find compared to others.

 

Ok - found and compressed the directory. It's 1.5Gb in size. I can upload it to my hosting provider but would rather not put up the ftp credentials here.. Can you go to LeeCentral and send me a note through the contact page. I'll send you the info.

 

thanks jeep but i have resolved the problem by downloading drivers for the dm4t series and they work just fine. i have also asked hp to escalate the issue so this problem does not happen to other folio owners

 

My main question: What is the fan noise like? Does it stay off when idle and only really ramp up when you're actually doing something...

 

review from cnet asia: HP Folio 13 (Core i5 2467M Processor 1.6GHz, 4GB RAM) Review - Notebooks - CNET Asia

 

HP might as well have released a new refreshed Envy 13...

If the fan does stay off I'd probably give this one a try

 

Engadget review:

HP Folio 13 review -- Engadget

Had the longest battery life of the current ultrabooks... but is also the heaviest (and thickest?).

 

Looks like the Toshiba Z835 is the Folio's biggest threat:

"All told, the Folio 13 meets its stiffest competition in the Toshiba Portege Z835..."

 

This is a seriously good ultrabook. I bought one for my girlfriend for Christmas and I was very impressed with it. As far as build quality, it beats the pants off of the Toshiba. Not even close.

 

How so? Can you be more specific?

 

I found the Toshiba to be very flimsy and cheap feeling. The monitor flexed like crazy, the materials felt cheap, and I didn't like how the keyboard felt. I guess that these are personal things, but it was my impression.

On the HP, the palm rest is made of metal which feels very nice. The keyboard is (IMO) great, the touchpad feels good (although the button is stiff...but I dont use that). The keys on the keyboard are laid out very nicely (the function keys are all mapped to specific functions like changing the volume, etc...akin to the Macbook way of doing things).

I really like the rubberized underside of the HP, as well as the metal lid.

All in all, it just feels like a quality laptop, something I didn't get the impression from on the Toshiba. It looks good, feels good and is built well. And this is coming from a guy that uses the latest Macbook Air 13" as my main computer. If I wanted a windows laptop, the Folio would be it for sure. In fact, I'd almost go so far as to say that I like the build of the Folio better than that of my Air.

 

Good to know. The biggest complaint I have about the Toshiba is that I'm not comfortable typing on it. It just doesn't feel quite right.

But one thing I like A LOT about the Toshiba is that it has dedicated Home and End keys. I *really* wish this Folio had included those keys.

 

So HP gave out review units of the Folio and no the Envy. ... The Envy is supposed to be their top of the line model.

 

I think I still would rather have an IBM X220 when you can find them on sale. Longer battery life, better screen, and better build quality. Granted this ultrabook looks very nice. I really wish they would use a 1600x900 or 1440x900 screen.

 

And fuglier too.

 

Meh thats subjective.

 

The Folio cheats a bit... weighs 3.3 lbs... ultrabook specs say < 3.1 lbs.

Pretty thick too.

 

Answer:

Ahh pants. I grabbed a 5330m for my partner and due to the i3 the fan is pretty much off most of the time. (P.s. If ONLY they had improved the battery life on that machine)

 

Question for your Folio 13 Owners...

Have had mine for over a week now and am very happy with it so far. Biggest complaint would be the screen angles but no issues with anything else. Also, to those worried about fan noise, mine is not always on - in fact doesn't go on much at all. When it is on, you do hear it but it's not too bad.

With that sad - two questions:

SSD and Defrag:
The folio comes with an SSD but I noticed that by default, the system is configured to defrag the drive. I know that SSDs you are not supposed to defrag them as it's not necessary AND actually causes more wear. Anyone know how to get Windows to notice it is an SSD and disable Disk Defrag? I've got an SSD in my desktop and it just automagically worked that way.

Hibernation:
The system is definitely configured to enter hibernation state at some point and does so but when accessing Power Profile, there is no configuration for it. As if the system thinks it can't and doesn't happen. Anyone have any ideas on how to reconfigure it so I can customize when to go to hibernate after sleep (I find it does it too quickly and does it while plugged in which I don't care for). Note, there is also a partition for Hibernation which I thought was interesting.

Hoping not to do a wipe of the system now that it's setup..
Thanks

 

1: Click start and type defrag. Click disk defrag... Configure schedule. remove the tick. Or, Click start, type services... Click services. Set the Disk defragmenter service to disabled.

2: Click start and type power. Click power options. Click change plan settings for the currently selected power profile. Change advanced settings. The settings for sleep are within.

Thanks for the fan info

 

Thanks -

Already did suggestion 1 - just seems strange to me as my desktop doesn't even allow you to enable defrag at all on the SSD there.

As to item 2 - no joy. Literally - no hibernate option Under Sleep. There is "Sleep->Sleep after" but no "Allow hybrid" or "Hibernate after". If I check the power options with "powercfg -a", it says that hibernate is not available. Pretty funky if I do say so myself.

To the guys that have wiped and installed fresh - how does it show for you?

Thanks

 

Old: Folio
New: Spectre

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1GIkQELbrw&feature=youtube_gdata_player

 

I would be very keen for one of these if I could get enough RAM in it - I'm not sure if it can be upgraded. The other option is to get one of the new DM1zs with the I3s - all up it'd probably be cheaper, and I'd get to choose the SSD.

Anyone know if anything similar to these can support 2x8GB dimms?

 

Are the SSD's on this replaceable? (7mm maybe?) or would they be like the Macbook Air?

 

If it comes with WWAN I'll probably buy one as the battery is nearly reaching my current 2560p with extended battery. Also going to go for the i3 to keep the heat down and battery life up.

Hang on.... 4Gb MAX!?? Also only uses an mSata drive!

Ummm... Nope, sorry, I'm not buying one of these.



As for the Envy I'm thinking that they're getting them into the hands of people before the reviews complain about it looking like a Macbook.... Like ALL reviewers currently do which annoys the CRAP out of me.

 

They will ALWAYS be replaceable... just depends on how far you're willing to go to get to it.

HP Folio 13-1000 Notebook PC series- Manuals - HP Business Support Center

Maintenance Manual
Uses mSata for the hard drive

You'll need to remove 16 screws, the keyboard, top case, then you can exchange the hard drive

 

Usually if you run the windows experience index benchmark, windows will realize that you have a ssd (the hdd score being above 6ish) and do all the ssd tweaks itself

 

Hello,

Hibernate is not available is Intel Rapid Start Technology is enabled. The Rapid Start is enabled by default
To disable, Press F10 at Boot, go into BIOS System Configuration, and Disable the Intel Rapid Start.
Hibernation will now be available

 

Hey Sanchertx - thanks for the reply. I would love to understand a little more about how Rapid Start works (Can't find much info out there).

I ask as when I close the lid and say wait 5 minutes to re-open, windows starts near instantly. However, if it's closed say 30 minutes or more (haven't locked it down to exact time) there is a least a 10 second recover time AND you have to hit the power switch to resume.

Any additional info would be appreciated..

Thanks

 

Here is a NEW Folio YouTube:

Introducing HP Folio13 Ultrabook? - YouTube

 

Just realised that the Folio can have 8Gb if you're willing to get inside of the thing. I'm now thinking of ordering.

 

Mine has just arrived

First boot:
-84 running processes

Bloatware: (Removed)

Other:
-No paging file
-System protection off




Second boot:
- 76 running processes


Disabled/Changed the following in the bios:
-Fan always on: Disabled
-Intel smart connect: Disabled
- Seriously Intel you suck! I want to disable the webcam and other devices but your bios lacks options.


Services changed to disabled:

Removed tick from MSCONFIG (Startup tab):

I decided not to do a clean install for a change and I've not experienced ANY issue(s) with the trackpad.


Final results:
-17 seconds to desktop from off
-Steady 0% CPU use after the initial spikes
-37 running services


Cool sense - Does it work? Everything set to MAX battery (modified power saver profile)
-24c ambient temp
Cool sense on:
-51c/53c idle temp.
-76c Highest temp running the WEI
Cool sense off:
-51c/53c idle temp.
-78c Highest tep running the WEI



Conclusion:
To HP: Please, please, please resolve your running fan issues and get the fan profiles right straight away. Refine the thermal compound application. You get a pass on this machine as it's your first Ultrabook (Obviously forgetting your earlier machines like the Envy 13). Intel: Stop installing so many stupid drivers/applications and services. Less is more. Overall it's a lovely little machine and the real test will be when the lady friend has a look later on tonight .

P.s. The fan is NEVER going to turn off on this machine which will always be my main complaint.

 

My brand new folio is on its way...
Wanted to get a 64gb/32 sd card. Anyone know its read/write limitations? (what's the best it can handle).

Thanks.

 

Cant help you other than to say my Envy 14 Spectre behaves in much the same manner. I too would like to know what is going on. I find it annoying that opening the lid only resumes the unit some of the time.

I have the Intel Rapid Start Technology is enabled in my bios. So therefore hibernate would seemingly be disabled. In win 7 power mgmt I see enable hybrid sleep is set to off and hibernate to never.
So what changes after the unit has been left I wonder?