HP DV3T hits the HP site!

yess that'd be awesome :]. oh yeah also can you take pics with the system on before and after the anti-glare is applie?. i know pictures from a digi might not do it justice but maybe the difference will be significant? just a thought

 

Does this computer have any quick play buttons (play, next, back, stop)?

Also, can someone take a picture showing the keyboard and power button, etc...like from directly above it?

Thx in advance

 

Yes, there are quick-play keys but they are in the form of function keys, so to skip you would hit Fn-F9 (or whatever the right key is). The volume control and Wi-Fi connectivity are activated via a touch sensor above the keyboard, which works beautifully. I can post a picture of mine when I get it in a week or so. I don't think anybody has put up a pic of the backlit keyboard, so I would be happy to do so.

 

I'm looking to get a laptop bag, sleeve, or some sort of carrying case for my dv3t. For current owners, what do you use? What would you suggest? The problem is my 9 cell battery might be too big for regular 13.3" carrying cases. Does anyone know this for sure?

 

soccer,

I got the incase 13.3 macbook sleeve from best buy and it's very nice. It fits our 9 cell as well. It's a tad bit expensive, but this this one premium I'm willing to pay.

http://goincase.com/macbook/neoprene/

All 13 inch ones should work fine.

 

Anything that fits the 13.3 Macbook will work. I've tried InCase @ BestBuy ($35) and it fits. What I ended up buying was for $19.99 here:

http://www.amazon.com/BE-EZ-100572-Sleeve-Macbook-Wasabi/dp/B0015R819O/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1244174030&sr=8-7

Hope you like it. I like it. It's not as soft as neoprene but it's sturdy and it fits with a 9-cell battery.

 

i just want to ask, where in the customization site does it give you the option of getting a backlight keyboard? i would luv to have it, but i can't see the option for it available.

 

Backlit keyboard is Expresso Black only I believe. If the option is not available, then it means they've run out of parts, which has happened before.

 

Thanks for the tip. One more question...this computer tends to pick up a lot of fingerprints. For the owners, how do you clean it? I dont want to leave streaks or anything.

 

Anti-static wipes is your best bet. The only thing is, the second you touch the computer after you wipe it down, it's going to get dirty again. The price we pay for having a glossy finish and a trackpad that doubles as a mirror.

 

RadTech Anti-glare ClearCal for 13.3 macbook:

I received it today and noticed that it was slight larger than what I needed. the sides of the film fit almost perfectly, probably about 1mm or less short on each side - no biggie. I also needed to cut the top of the film to make it fit since the film would cover the webcam and mic. It was just about 1.5 cm that I cut off, very easy to do. I would recommend cutting it before you take off the adhesive.

So before you take a look at the pics, please know that I messed up big time. After working hard to get all the dust off my LCD and cutting the film to fit, I ended up dropping the film onto my keyboard and half on the screen which created a crease. It was unusable after that. RadTech was amazing and they are sending me a new one for just $4.88 (price of shipping).

FIRST: No film - you can see the window light glare (using lowest LCD brightness)

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SECOND: w/film - please ignore the air bubbles since the film was a total loss, i just put it on quickly so you could see how it works. (using lowest LCD brightness)

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FIRST: No film - you can see my reflection of taking the picture (using HIGHEST LCD brightness)

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SECOND: w/film - please ignore the air bubbles and smears since the film was a total loss, i just put it on quickly so you could see how it works. (using HIGHEST LCD brightness)

​

Again it's $20 (use coupon STMCMF1 for 20% off) and you can also try 20% off Live CB.

http://www.radtech.us/Products/ClearCal-Displays.aspx

 

Hey have any one upgraded their ram to 8 gb yet?

 

Is it just me, or did that screen actually increase the glare all the while somehow managing to make the picture quality worse?

 

ive been curious about that too...but how much of a performance increase could that change even create at this point? i feel like it wouldn't be that great...

 

question about the backlit keyboard: was this option always only available for the black laptop? or was it also an option for the moonlit white? i can't remember lol.

 

Black only. 8gigs of ram would be such overkill on this machine. You'd be bottle-necked by CPU and RAM speed as well. 4 gigs would be plenty for a DV3T.

 

It's hard to say since the pics were at two different times of the day and light was perhaps different on the second pic when I put the anti-glare on. Imagine if you were to switch back to an older laptop with TFT or XGA screen (non-glossy). When it hit direct sunlight or had a bright light in the back, there wasn't glare but there was a bright light hitting the surface of the screen.

When I get the new LCD screen and put it on, hopefully correctly, I'll post some more pics. I know there are more people out there who aren't that crazy about the glossy screen.

Also, viewguard sells their own version for $15.

 

How's the hinge on the dv3t? Is it sturdy and does it give the impression it will last a long time? Also can anyone confirm if the screen is 16:9 or 16:10? I'm asking because the website says 1280x800 which is a 16:10 screen but on the youtube vids a couple pages back he says the screen is 1366x768 which is a 16:9 resolution.

I prefer 16:10 screens for the additional vertical screen space. Better for spreadsheets, pdf viewing, etc.

Thanks!

 

I can confirm that the default screen resolution is in fact 1366x768.

 

2 questions:

1. LCD Brightness: Is there some 3rd party software or even HP software that will help me adjust my LCD brightness to go even dimmer than it currently can? I know this may sound like a weird question. Sometimes when I am on battery I prefer it to be dimmer.

2. Mute/On Touch key: When you hit the mute/on touch key at the top where the volume is, is it supposed to stay white? When it powers on and off, the light goes from orange to white like it would for wireless. I wish there was some indicator that showed whether mute was on/off or how high/low the volume is instead of needing to look at my windows audio taskbar. thoughts?

 

My key turns red when the sound is mutted

 

For the LCD Brightness, you know you can use the FN key on the keyboard + the F5 and F6 key (it could be a different combination, but one has a screen with an up sign and the next has a mini screen with the down sign--im not at my computer right now so i can't confirm)? No third party software needed. If you did know this, I apologize haha!
Here's a third party software: http://www.filetransit.com/view.php?id=75378
I've never used it before though.

 

i am totally with you on that one sometimes at night i want to lower the brightness a little more than the lowest setting but no luck. hope fully HP can release an update to fix that.

no it is supposed to turn orange showing that the volume has been muted. also when you adjust the volume a white bar shows on the screen and becomes shorter or longer.

 

For those of you interested in purchasing the DV3t, it looks like HP has lowered the base price of the machine:
http://www.engadget.com/2009/06/09/hp-introduces-cheaper-dv2-dv3-and-dv6-laptops/
However, I would wait until a coupon or discount comes out, because I matched it with my configuration and it was still $100 more expensive.

 

Well, I received my new HP dv3t (complete with a backlit keyboard) yesterday, which was a surprise because HP never even told me it had shipped. Anyway, the backlit keyboard looks identical to the standard color-matching keyboard. You toggle the backlight with the Fn-Space Bar combination. The backlight is extremely bright, and would be very helpful in low-light situations.

Still, I am not all that thrilled with it because it looks like there is just a huge purple/white florescent light under the keyboard. That is to say whereas with Apple laptops you only see the light emanating from behind the letters/numbers, with the dv3t, you can not only see it through the letters and numbers, you can see it through the cracks and crevices between the keys. Still, I am glad I have it for when I fly at night or want to use it in other low-light situations.

 

Eek! That's what I thought since it would make the most sense! kloves2fly, since you are running Windows 7 like me, are there some drivers I need to load to help this to be the case?

I loaded the HP Quick Launch buttons but they don't load correctly when it boots up. Is that what needs to be loaded for it to work correctly? All my keys work correctly in terms functionality, just that the mute and volume touch-keys don't reflect what it's doing.

 

I don't think the touch volume bar is supposed to change as the volume increases/decreases, you should just see a similar bar on the screen that moves left and right. The mute button should indeed switch between white and orange, though. Also, the wireless indicator should switch between blue and orange.

 

Could it be that his colors change only in Vista? His sig reflects that he's dual-booting. I'm running RC 7 and I don't see a change of color when I toggle mute either.

 

this happens with me, too. no orange when i press the mute button.

 

Hey guys, my first question got answered (1280x800 vs 1366x768) but I'm wondering about the quality of the hinges on the dv3t. Are they robust? Do they have the feeling they'll last over time? Are they tight or loose? Almost ready to order one of these puppies. Espresso or moonlight??? Hmmmm......

Thanks.

 

to me, the hinges feel tight and good quality. if you are looking for a lid that snaps shut, though, this isn't it. when it comes to it clasping closed it only relies on the hinge and it kind of "falls" down. i still think its very good quality and no parts suggest that it would falter over time.

 

i hate the odd resolution! can't find wallpapers for 1366:768. 1280:800 look all stretchy. can any one suggest a way to find wallpapers for it?

 

Thanks. That's what I was looking for. I just didn't want something that would end up flopping around over time. I appreciate the response.

@perry: Try resizing in photoshop. There's a few ways to do it to get the best picture.

 

well I put my order and then i CANCELLED!!!...only did that because I found out you can put a backlit keyboard on the laptop so I did and spent extra 219 dollars on the extended accidental drop and spill warranty then extra 50 bucks for one gig of ram went from 3 to 4. HP customer service has changed alot through the years granted it was still some india person, but they spoke good english and they helped me cancel my order and rebuild a new order right over the phone.......I bought the laptop after someone on the boards reviewed it on youtube the guy who posted his review earlier in this thread with dual boot W7/vista.....great review by the way...I figure I saved me 1300 dollars vs the sony vaio TT model and the HP has better specs vs the TT model I was building that was gonna cost me 2600 dollars.\

BTW: it seems the discount code can only be used once per customer I wanted to order it online again for the live.com cashback, but lady said one code per customer she said just send live.com an message they will credit your account which I done in the past before.

 

RadTech Anti-glare update:

So I got the anti-glare film and was able to install it much faster this time. If you are interested in them, please make sure to follow their video on the page they have. I did exactly as they suggested and it came out perfect w/no air bubbles.

You can see the glare contrast from the top portion above the film and the film as I take a picture:

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Compare with a normal Acer 19" LCD (non-glossy). You can tell that Radtech's anti-glare doesn't come that close to the real non-glossy LCDs.

​

Would I recommend this? Not for $20. I'd like to try ViewGuard's version but of course I am not going to shell out any more money on this. So if you're really adamant about non-glossy, this is a fair solution but far from perfect as it still does have reflection.

 

Hows the build quality and battery life? I can't seem to find any reviews on this machine yet.

 

Build quality excellent and battery life pretty good due to Pennryn processors. I have a 9-cell battery but wish I got the 6-cell high capacity for smaller size.

If you are thinking between Lenovo and this one, I'd choose this one hands down. You get much better specs and the price is really good after special codes (30% off or if another $400 off comes out).

 

wat does the anti glare sheet do to the comp? also can u take pic when it is turn on?

 

It makes it so reflections are less intrusive.

@patriot: FWIW I've been following this thread because I'll be ordering one of these soon and I notice a lot of people said it runs cool. That's a big advantage over the dv4t IMHO, which I was also considering.

Now only if HP would release the dv3t in the dv4tse or dv5tse designs...

 

The only thing that concerns me is that the the T400 I would order comes with the P8400 CPU for $730 while the dv3t comes with the T6400 CPU for $715.

I know the P series CPU's are newer and use less power (25W TDP vs 35W TDP).

I'm also concerned about the keyboard, it is to my understanding that new HP's have "glossy" type keyboards as opposed to "matte" keyboards.

In any case, I do like the smaller size of the dv3t and the 9-cell battery option, I also got to check out the build quality of other HP laptops at the store and can say that they feel VERY solid, something I cannot say about the T400 which I have not handled. My main concern is getting a system that is going to last me at least 3 years, but preferably 4 years through college.

 

Are you factoring in the $400 coupons or the 30% discounts into your price figures?

Regarding the keyboards, I don't think they are glossy, more like smooth.

 

Where would these coupons be found? I haven't seen any for the dv3t.

 

coupon code NB3442 works right now for 30% off.

 

Any idea when it expires?

 

i think it is valid upto 2500 uses

 

i think you shud wait till july 1 to get free/or small fee to upgrade to window 7

 

is that how the upgrade thing works? i saw how best buy was gonna do it but didnt really understand lol...you'll be able to upgrade to windows 7 through hp?

 

I just oredered an HP DV3t, they gave me a june 23 build date and i have the 5-7 business days shipping option. Can anyone who has recently ordered this laptop tell me how long does it take HP to build this laptop and the time it takes on the 5-7 business days shipping ( Does it take 5-7 days or should i expect more days). Thanks.

 

I recently ordered an HP from the site. It said that my build date was June 17, it shipped today. I've noticed they're normally early on shipping their computers out.

 

I got mine within two weeks of ordering it.