HP Envy 14: Availabilty, etc.

Dutch sites. A couple of links:

- HP introduceert Envy in Nederland | Hardware.Info Nederland

- HP introduceert luxe Envy 14-notebooks eind juli in Nederland | Core | Tweakers.net Nieuws

- http://www.diskidee.be/20...hp-in-nieuwe-serie/14666/

I fear for the United Kingdom (and all other countries probably...), because mostly they handle the same prices as us (and the other way around) So UK should probably prepare theirselves for high prices too. I do hope not though, so I can import an Envy 14 from the UK

 

And now we have confirmation that it can indeed be configured with a quad core processor. Damn, that's amazing. I believe it is now the smallest laptop with a quad core.

 

There is no Info at the HP sites of Netherland or Belgium yet, but there seems to have been a press information from which those three sites got their data.

HP Germany anounced a price of 1299 Euro and you can already see the configuration on the HP Germany Website.

Let's hope that someone at HP Netherland just screwed up big and wrote down the original $ prices instead of calculating the Euro price.

 

If this base config that we are getting for $999, it looks perfect.

 

The HP Elitebook 8440w already has been on sale with a quad core.

 

i find it hard to believe that the US Envy 14 base model will have 4GB RAM AND a 5650. This is HP, they love nickel-and-diming the customer. My guess is that it'll be 3GB base with an upgrade to 4GB for $50-$100, and a ATI 4570 for the base with a $100 upgrade to a 512MB 5650.

Think about it: If the base version had all of that and was priced at $999, what would differentiate it from the DM4 or the DV6, which would cost very close to that once upgraded to Core i5s, 4GB RAM, and discrete graphics?

EDIT: The Envy 13 (and 15) are being phased out, and their base models are at $1399 and $1299. What makes you guys think that the Envy 14's base configuration will have specs that beat the 13 and 15 handily (the 15 less so since the refresh), and still cost $300-$400 less?

I wanna be optimistic, since I don't want to get a MBP just to run Windows on it, but it doesn't seem to add up. The Envy is a premium line, and HP will market it at a premium price (like the current Envy's, but a little cheaper), or risk cannibalizing sales of its mid-range line.

 

there is to be only one GPU for the Envy 14 being the ATI 5650 with 1GB GDDR3. but yer i think u may be right with the RAM scenario.

 

If we're lucky, they'll do what they do with the Envy 17 and simply make the RAM a $25 upgrade from 2x 2gb to 1x 4gb, leaving a RAM slot open! That way, I'll purchase another 4gb stick for half or less of the 385 or so they charge for the 8gb upgrade!

 

those are fairly confirmed specs for the base model. i dont see why that isnt an acceptable price point with the current brands already out

 

It is also a larger than average screen, 14.5" vs 14.1, the extra space and thickness also allows for non gimp graphics to be placed into the machine and maintain usability.


What design path would "I" prefer in a premium laptop? .1-.2 inches thinner vs more space for higher end graphics components?

I'll take the latter thank you. If your muscles are so atrophied that the extra heft is too much to bear, then get the vaio z or mbp 13. More money, for weaker graphics power, but hey, we got that "premium" tenths of an inch edge!


People need to stop confusing corner cutting with design decisions. If you want the highest res screen on the smallest lightest possible form factor, then the vaio z will be at the top, if you want osx on a lighter notebook with top level battery life, then the mbp will do ok, if you want mbp style design but prefer a focus on more graphics power at the cost of a bit of battery life, then go with the envy 14,

oh and btw, if you do, you get a higher res screen option than the 13, and a brighter better screen if reports are maintained, AND for less money when similarly specced.

I can take difference preferences just fine, but when people confuse themselves about what gives what, it makes my eye twitch.

For A LOT of people, the particular combination of features and design paths the envy 14 has chosen will be the preferable "premium" notebook choice.

 

Sorry for not reading through all the 126 pages of this topic - someone might have mentioned this before, but,

At first, I was under the impression that the envy 14 would have a 1600x900 display. From HP's web pages, I read

Are they really taking away the specification that made me consider the laptop in the first place? Is it a spelling mistake? Do they make it an option you pay for?

Info PDF found here: http://www.hp.com/united-states/campaigns/envy/pdf/envy14_datasheet.pdf

Some clarification would be great

 

it's probably a confirmation that the 1600x900 radiance display is an upgrade and not the base configuration.

 

I sure hope you're right

 

yeah I would be very surprised if they offered the high res option as part of the base config. I'm glad they haven't because personally, I'm fine with 1366x768 on a 14.5 screen. If others want a higher res option, I'd prefer that they be willing to pay for it, instead of raising the price for all of us.

 

If only it was that simple, but some of us do care about cost/value.

A lot of people want Z-like functionality at a better price point. I personally want 13-14" slim, light, powerful (i-series, dedicated), form factor at a modest price and paying 2x as much for a Z isn't reasonable. With a $1,000-$1,500 budget there are limited options for American (Windows) consumers save the 3820TG which I believe is an urban legend.

 

430M or 520M for $100 more? Opinions? From what Ive seen it doesnt look like 520M will be worth the money.

 

For my fellow obsessive E14 watchers:

"Synaptics Introduces Four-Finger Multi-Touch and MacBook Style TouchPads"

EDIT: Who wants to bet we'll see this touchpad on the Envy 14?

 

Is it that much better?

 

quit being a negative nancy

 

thats not really new. Ive known about the touchpad from basically all the youtube videos on the machine.

 

Thats what im wondering. Some quick benchmarks I looked up showed barely any increase in performance.

 

I'm also not gonna go through 126 pages of thread, sorry if this has already been discussed, folks. I've finally reluctantly wandered E14-ward after waiting so long for the ASUS N82, drawn mostly by the better resolution (though now I see this one might be 1366x768 too. Damn.)

I believe the Envy 15 only has something like a 110 degree maximum screen opening angle - any word on whether the 14 will be different?

 

On the flipsipe, the i5-450M looks like it might be standard? If so, I don't mind that the Radiance screen is an upgrade option. I'm guessing it'll cost $100-200 to upgrade to it.


It also means I'll need to read reviews and closely examine the photos and video reviews to determine whether I want the extra pixels.

 

Depends on what you're doing, but if you're just doing daily tasks and nothing CPU intensive, $100 is not worth the upgrade from the 430M.

 

Really? None of the videos I watched went over the touchpad change in detail. I've used the Envy 15 touchpad before which still had the distinct right-click/left-click areas apportioned toward the front. This is completely new to me, and I can tell you I've been scouring the youtube universe and webverse for Envy 14-related videos quite a bit!

 

Meh. Looks like the 450M might be coming standard if the PDF posted a moment ago is worth anything.

 

but the pdf has the wrong release date doesnt it

 

I hope so... that's too long to wait...

 

so i took a look at this video:
YouTube - HP ENVY 14 and ENVY 17 hands-on

at the 5:10 mark, he says that the opening $999 price would have Core i5 and ATI 5650. Damn. That changes things for me. It's definitely worth more to me now than the DM4, and the $999 Adamo (which I was considering, since I'm not a gamer) as well as a refurb MBP (for which I'd have to spend an additional $100-$150 to buy a W7 OEM DVD and suffer through lower battery life than with OSX).

If it doesn't have heat problems and switchable gfx give it good on the go battery life, I think the $999 base model could represent tremendous value for money, even for a premium product. I guess we'll find out soon.

 

I wouldn't get your hopes up on the $999 i5. I believe he misspoke.

 

No , its been i5 forever.

Multiple HP directors have said it in their videos.

And a for the new synaptics clickpad...
(without the lines)...any chance it may be on envy 14?

the envy 14 clickpads i've seen on videos dont look like the new synaptics touchpads...

also...if not, are the new gestures enabled using a new software driver? or is it a hardware update?

 

Yeah this is getting annoying..
I mean it's obvious that with their current pricing of the dm4t and other laptops, and the prices we've seen so far for the envy 13 and 15, a $999 price for the envy 14 would be impossible, so what's up with the false info?

 

so..is it possible to get $999 on this envy14?when it will be available?june?july?i cant wait any longer...T.T...waited for ages...

 

Which video clip did you see? That blog article I linked to seemed to hint it'd arrive on HP's newer Envies...like the 14? I'm going to have to review the vids!

EDIT: YouTube - HP Envy 17 and HP Envy 14 (Starts at about 11 seconds in)

I HOPE there have been changes since this was shown!

 

HP marketing was brilliant on this one - lure consumers in with the 1600x900 screen + i5 + 5650, then peel back the curtain and reveal the true base configuration. Once people are hooked on those specs they will pay the extra couple hundred dollars for that configuration.

Like I said before, when you configure a dm4 with 1 GB 5470 and an i5 CPU, it equates to roughly the base price of the Envy. No chance in hell the Envy offers the aforementioned goodies as a base config.

 

UGH, so much random speculation not based on any evidence...

There has been NO evidence that there will be any gpu OTHER than the 1gb Radeon 5650. Until we see differently, stop assuming there will be.

Now, about the processor; The best evidence we have is the DIRECTOR of the Envy line saying, verbatim "This will start at 999 with a core i5". Once again, until we see something that says otherwise, stop making up information.

The screen will more than likely be a 1366x768 with an upgrade available to the Radiance 1600x900, which will probably be around 100 bucks.

No one knows a thing about the RAM. Could be 3gb standard, could be 4, could be 6. We don't know, but my gut tells me 4.

Now, about the PDF that everyone keeps linking. We have no idea what is up with it. there seem to be errors in both the one for the 17 and the 14 (like listing a CPU that isn't being made yet.) so we don't know what about those sheets are right or wrong.

 

That may apply to fanatics and fanboys on NBR forums, but for professional photographers and movie-makers who put value and budget considerations toward the top of their priorities, I'm not so sure. I admit the E14 sounds promising. For what it's offering under the hood and outside, it's got potential. But the bait and switch tactic might actually backfire if I feel other options are available.

I'm always willing to stretch my budget for a few more clams if I feel it offers more bang for buck over the competition. The deal-sealer for me will be the touchpad functionality. I plan to occasionally camp out at coffeeshops where excess tabletop real estate is often limited or nonexistent. If I feel the touchpad is up to par based on video reviews and personal usage during the 21-day return period, I'm sold.

 

this about sums up everything. Everyone is going by the "too good to be true" logic.

 

maybe we should start a new thread with a first post that sums everything up so we don't have to see another "I'm not reading this whole thing" post.

 

Let's just wait and see. We have over 3 weeks left. Might as well get some giggles out of speculating and pooling together any news articles and vids that pop up on the web.

 

theres no problem with that, but I think quite a few people are making assumptions that are false, then simply going elsewhere.

 

It's just their own ways of killing the waiting time for the Envy,

why should you be so angry towards them?

As you said, nothing's carved in stone yet, and people are just trying to put together some information to anticipate their new-to-be machines

This happens with every machine that is released,

no reason to dishonor others for trying to put together their own speculations.

 

I'm way too invested in this laptop coming out like I want it to, can't you tell? =)
My god, I'm becoming an HP fanboy... HELP ME

 

so i've been posting in the "what notebook should I buy?" section. And I have decided to wait for this envy 14. I just pray its under 999 with coupons or meets it because my dad will not accept if its more then that

 

Honestly,

if I could have the wait, I would have bought the Envy 14....

I came over to HP from MSI,

and if it weren't for the slick deals of Envy 15 on eBay,

I would not have come to the Envy....................

I myself feel like I'm lounging around in the HP forums haha.

I mean, it is every customers dream to get a spectacular machine with $999,
right?

 

It's all in good fun, mates.

Like it or not, all the fanatics here, myself included, have some impression or conception of just WHAT the Envy 14 will or might include.

I'm personally hoping that I can keep the budget below $1,200 with the higher screen resolution. Multitouch coherence is high on the list, and honestly, I've convinced myself to just keep my expectations low and hope for the best. I'm not expecting the Envy 14's build construction to be as great as the MBP's, but I'll be happy if it's at least good as the E15's. I've handled the Envy Gen1 and Gen2 and can already tell both are well built machines. A little flex here and there is nothing to cry about.

As for specs--I don't really care whether the CPU is a 430M or a 540M. I just want a thin/light Windows machine with a great keyboard and fluid touchpad. You don't know how frustrating it is to spend a month reviewing just about every single $1,000 14"/15" notebook candidate only to find that for most of them, the touchpad really sucked and/or the keyboard was really really mushy. My "backup" solution just in case the Envy 14 turns out to be a flop is the T410.

 

I would expect the keyboard to be excellent.. I loved the Envy 15 keyboard except for the stupid column of quick launch keys on the left side. It threw off the layout of the keyboard pretty badly.

They got rid of those for the 14.. so I'd expect the keyboard to be great.

The touchpad, on the other hand, seems to be the same as the Envy... I'm sure it will be just as frustrating. Everything about it was fine.. the clicking had good resistance, the touchpad is very big, and fingers glide easily over it. But the worst thing is that the most important aspect.. the left click and right click.. was messed up.

A lot of the time I tried to click, and while clicking the cursor would move over (due to having 2 fingers on the touchpad), and I would effectively miss my target. This is unacceptable for a touchpad with integrated buttons.. it has to be able to click. I had to adapt by only using one finger at a time.. by moving with my middle finger, raising it, then clicking with my index. Even so, it would still occasionally move on click.

If they can fix that (they should be able to EASILY with drivers.. they just chose not to when I had my Envy), then it'll be an all around great laptop.

 

i wonder if they're fudging the thickness stats a bit. It says it's 1.1", but the MBP is .95", and the Envy 14 looks noticeably thicker, especially considering its slightly curved lid. This is a very minor point, and not a dealbreaker in the list, but I thought I'd point it out to see if others had noticed it in the videos.

Will still go for the Envy over other brands at this point because of the unibody design.

 

oh guys, how do you think the hinges will do on this machine? EVERY laptop i have owned in the past was made of plastic (sad i know) and the hinges just break over time (1-2 years) I should upload a picture of what mine looks like now. its horrible.

 

I guess it's down to REALLY paying attention to demo videos and test-driving the E14 when it comes out. It'd be REALLY nice if they could incorporate a clickpad like Apple's! The demo vids on youtube seem to show a touchpad that's just like the Envy 15's!