*HP Envy 15 (11XX / 12XX series) Owners Lounge!*

This is sort of a weird thing to post, but it applies to anyone getting their Envy 15 soon...

If you are on the fence on whether to keep it or return it, but then decide to ultimately keep it, HP's liberal 21 day return policy will most likely make you LESS happy with your purchase (than if they had a more unreasonable return policy)...

Basically, if you're forced to keep it, you will synthesize happiness and be more likely to be happy with your purchase. And that synthesized happiness is just as good as natural happiness.

Here's the evidence:
http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/dan_gilbert_asks_why_are_we_happy.html

So basically, if you think you're going to keep the laptop, then get off the fence and tell yourself that returning it is not an option - you'll be happier with your purchase in the end. It might have some flaws, but accept the flaws and OWN it. Personally, I'm thrilled to get this thing - if it ever ships!!!

 

Basically what it sounds like you're saying is: JUST LEARN TO BE CONTENT WITH WHAT YOU GET AND YOU'LL BE MORE SATISFIED IN THE END. I think that is probably very true, but... what would I do with my time if I actually found a laptop I could be satisified with for several years? I would literally have 3-4 hours of extra free time a day. lol

I am banking on a Envy 15 or a refreshed MBP 15" to satisfy my laptop craving. I've enjoyed my UL80VT, but since I started gaming more seriously (MW2 Clan) I needed a portable, but yet powerful gaming computer. Thus, the Envy 15 or MBP refresh.

 

I understand where you're coming from, but for someone like me who's stuck between a soon-to-refreshed MBP and its less expensive PC counterpart the Envy 15, there's a little more to the anxiety. I've held and at least briefly fiddled with both. I have to say that despite the novelty of the Envy 15, I felt that the MBP had a slight lead in terms of design refinement.


A few factors I need to learn more about before finalizing my decision for sure.

1. Price - There's a possibility the refreshed 15" MBP will be prohibitively expensive, much more than the HP. I know the refresh is a rumor but based on Apple's previous practice of gaining access to the newest mobile CPUs on their Macbooks before the CPUs' official release, I'm 90% sure the refresh will be announced very soon and sales will commence soon after. My only issue is just how much the MBP will cost and how much more it would cost than a comparatively speced Envy 15.

For now, I'm putting the price differential limit at $300-$350. If it turns out that a newly speced MBP 15" with a 3-year warranty and Windows 7 installed is more than $350 more expensive than the HP Envy, I will more than likely stick with the Envy. Judging from the way current pricing on the current generation MBP 15" has changed little since its inception, I'm inclined to believe that having to pay extra to install Windows 7 alone wil bring the price differential at well past $350.

We'll see!

2. Graphics switchability - In this day and age of laptops having multiple roles, I consider this function crucial. I'm not 100% sure of this, but based on what I've read in this thread and in other articles whether the Envy 15 i5 version comes with it. If it does, great. But if both the Envy 15 AND the MBP are found to have switchable graphics (perhaps even automatic just like Asus' future upcoming UL80JT?), it'll become a tough choice to make.

Once again, we'll see!

3. Form factor and weight - I'm going to wait and read more views on the new Envy 15's weight in terms of how it compares with the MBP 15. I've read it's slightly slimmer but I'm at this moment researching on differences.

4. Aesthetics - This consideration probably constitutes roughly 15-20% of my purchase concerns. As I mentioned above, the MBP seems to hold a slight lead here. It's just simple, shiny, yet elegant in its own way. The Envy 15 is very much like that rival gentleman/lady who dresses in a boldly unique fashion to appear different from his/her rival at the ball. In this case, I didn't really like the pock-marks or the chiseled cover. But then again, I'm a guy. I'm on a budget for a tough, long-lasting notebook that's also light and well-speced. I can't be complaining about prettiness!

But then again...you said it...we'll see!



Notice once again that I didn't list "specs" as a factor. I'm confident Apple will refresh its MBP line to make it competitive with the Envy 15's. To all the PC-hating Apple fans, like it or not, there ARE MBP users switching to the Envy. The current sales figure growth masks it, but you hear about turncoats.


EDIT: Was going to say that I'd probably fall into the group of people who're unsure simply because I know there's an alternative. I'm the type of guy who wants to be REALLY sure that he got the better of the two worlds offered to him. I'm confident I'd at least be SATISFIED with the Envy 15, but the question is, would I be even more so with the MBP? A few years ago when I first bought my Dell Vostro 1500, I was in a quandary as to whether it was worth it to upgrade from an 80gb HDD to 160gb or even 250gb. As I downloaded a lot of movies and music, I ended up regretting not having spent a few extra dollars on the HDD upgrade. Lesson learned. Some things aren't worth cheaping out on!!!


EDIT2: Before a hypothetical $300-350 coupon very much like the one HP released a while back, the Envy was still $481 cheaper than the cheapest MBP even after the extra environmental waste fee. Assuming I'm able to obtain the typical HP coupon discount sometime in May/June, I should be able to obtain savings of at least $781 by going with the HP. I may allocate those savings toward a new speaker system for my desktop replacement!


EDIT3:

A few other issues I may explore:

1. 15.4 vs 15.6 - The MBP has remained faithful to keeping a 15.4 display. I personally prefer 15.4 for my own personal reasons, but this isn't a major concern.

2. The Envy 15 has a bezel instead of an edge-to-edge glass display. I'm told HP decided to go with a bezel to reduce glare and weight. I wouldn't have minded a few extra ounces just for pure glass!

3. Heating - I think both the Envy and the MBP run the risk of heating issues when put under excess amounts of stress. Luckily I don't plan to game heavily in law school. I just want the extra GPU for the occasional round of Counterstrike or L4D 2 on those days when I've decided to skip the visit to the bar and also to make sure my laptop is able to easily play movies shown in really really high resolution in the near future. Even my desktop 7600M GS was just powerful enough to play 720P episodes of Heroes when it first came out. Call the GPU a future-proofer for the next 3 years!

 

Well stated...

I was ultra happy with my first gen Envy, would have kept me content for a couple years... but a free upgrade to HD5830, USB 3.0, Centrino 6200 card... Now ill be Ultra Super dee duper happy for a few years! ...well, if it ever ships...

 

From the old thread. Fits with what I saw at the store. We could of course start speculating that the 2nd Gen. ENVY has far better opening angle, but I doubt it.
The angle is definitely weak, will just have to see if it's an issue in practise.

 

I'm guessing this is the 1st gen? How do you like it? How are the weight and typing for you? Does the bezel really guard against glare?

 

Sorry to be unclear, this isn't my ENVY, I just found the pic in the old thread and remembered someone asking for it.
Having played with a first gen at the store, I can say that typing is just great. I'd been worried about the extra buttons on the left and right, but I never accidentally hit them. And I liked the feel of the keyboard.
I liked the weight, but since I couldn't really carry it around that's a limited impression.
Not sure about glare, since the bezel is also pretty shiny. So stuff did reflect off it. There weren't any annoying light sources at the store though. On the bright side, the shininess meant I had to get right up to the ENVY before I realized it wasn't E2E glass.
The one thing that did bother me was screen angle, as I said. Of course I was standing up and the thing was on a table, but in that situation I kept pushing the screen back only to be reminded that it didn't do that. If sitting at a desk it will be fine, but sitting with the thing in your lap or giving a presentation with it on the desk will have to be up to the individual. Might work with habituation, but if not it would be a repeated source of annoyance (at least if you give presentations regularly.

 

Regardless, the angle info was still really useful. I'll have to take that into account very carefully. I don't plan to do presentations, but for some people, the limited angle is a potential dealbreaker.

 

Has anyone received an ENVY with anti-glare screen yet? I don't recall whether the Beats version had access to that. Can't decide between ultrabright or antiglare. Pretty vs. useful...

 

Just to add my own shipping info...

I've ordered an Envy 15 - I7 720, 6 gig, 500 gig 7200rpm, ATI 5830, 15.6 HD Anti-Glare, slice battery using the $350 coupon.

I ordered the system on 1/16 after having returned a Dell Studio XPS 16.

The system was scheduled to ship on 1/28. I received a shipping confirmation and tracking number early this morning (1/26). Fedex doesn't have the information posted yet so I'll assume it's normal ground shipping.

 

Actually someone did and said they liked it. Mine should be here Friday and I'll post my impressions ASAP

 

Same here, scheduled 1/28 and received shipping confirmation this morning. Woohoo!

 

Cool, thanks. I'd imagine both of them are great but with obviously different appeals, though. So it's more of a general preference.

 

Probably so. I only decided to go with the matte because I plan on using it to read pdf's of my schoolbooks and maybe do some of my homework either outside or indoors at school which has Florescent bulbs and I figured those would tend to be annoying and reflected with a glossy one.


Things that make me go "hummmmm"
• The fact that my Envy is getting to spend more time in Shanghai than I ever will:wink:

 

Cool, my Envy 15 i7 just shipped....almost a week early

 

My Envy i5 just shipped..

 

Wohoo finally my delayed order shipped. However in the email it says it's standard 5-7 business day shipping and not the expedited one I was promised.

 

Well, I went for the HD glossy screen. I've owned both matte and glossy screens in the past and don't have a huge preference either way.

- Supposedly, the glossy screen offers 18% better contrast
- However, the real reason I ordered the glossy screen was because I have a 4 year old daughter. She tends to touch the screen occasionally and the glossy screens tend to be more durable/wipeable.

 

Exact same reason I ordered mine, well almost. I obviously did not do it because of your daughter but because there is no way my son's finger prints won't be all over that screen.

 

FYI, if this is your first HP order coming from China, here is what to expect;

Fedex tracking numbers can take 1 day+ to show up in thier system. HP actually ships units in bulk air cargo containers from China to the USA. The next stop is Anchorage AK, where they go through customs. From there they will either go to Oakland CA or Memphis TN which are HP warehouse / distribution centers, this is where the individual computers are uncrated and then 're-shipped' to you.

Once they depart Anchorage it goes very quickly.

 

HP Envy custom order coming from China
Sony CW Custom Order coming from San Diego, USA

ehheeh.

 

lol only if sony were chinese

 

Mine finally shipped! So I guess I get to test it out and see if I like it. I'll get it nearly 3 full weeks after ordering, so it better be perfect lol

Oh, I always get the preconfigured Sony VAIOS because they are made in Japan, while the CTO's are made in the US.

Build quality seems better on the prebuilts.....

 

If you really want to be a geek about the Fedex Delivery, you can check the Flight Tracking web sites.

Assuming that HP ships from Shanghai, China. Packages going to the east coast will probably hitch a ride on FDX 90 from PVG(Shanghai) to MEM(Memphis, TN). They usually take the most direct route regardless of 5-7day or 2 day or whatever, the slowdown is usually in the sorting at the first US Hub, which is Memphis.

With that assumption in mind, for us East coasters FDX 90 will arrive in Memphis at 10.43PM EST This evening, and that assumes that HP finished manufacturing the lappy before FDX 90 left at 3.40pm Shanghai Time 1/26 (because they are 13 hours ahead time diff)

anyway, it "could" be states side by this evening. and depending on how they sort the freight, it could be at a local sorting facility by tomorrow morning, if you got 2day.. but I didn't..

of course this whole blurb is all based on assumption. Packages from Shanghai to us could go another route, like through Anchorage, AK..

anyway.. at least its on the way

 

It better be here as I paid extra for 2 day......

 

oh fk.........................

 

but the delay makes it useless... I think.

if based on the original date/...

 

Any way to tell the difference between 2day and regular shipping? My warranty got shipped via ground and had a 20 digit number. The envy is a 12 digit number.

 

Then I'll be calling HP and getting a refund, for sure.

HP shows tracking and shipping from China, so 2 day should be the day they ship it.

If it was like Dell, where systems are actually boxed and shipped from TN and tracking doesn't show up until Dell folks ship it in the states, then there is no arguement...

 

my experience is if you get 2 day, once it reaches the US, the last legs will go air until it gets on the truck for delivery.

as for the length of the number the 12 digit is FedEx Express(next-day, 2-day, saver), and the 20 digit is Fedex Ground... i think

 

Mine shipped yesterday but it appears to be riding around on a rickshaw in SHANGHAI.

 

Yeah the rickshaw drivers only carry an abucus, no wireless barcode scanner, so you won't see tracking info until it gets scanned onto the plane by Fedex.

 

lol, I got my ship notification as well. One day early. It was scheduled for the 27th.

 

Lol, and a lot of times the bulk shipments that are on pallets aren't individually scanned until they reach a local distribution center. so until it either reaches Anchorage, Oakland, or Memphis or whenever the pallets are disassembled, tracking is prob not gonna show up

 

Mine got shipped today. Standard ground shipping, so it should be here either this Friday or next Monday/Tuesday.

 

So that's why you live up there...

 

Im considering this laptop vs a Dell Studio XPS 16 and want to nail down some things that this thread seems to be driving toward. Please let me know if im wrong about anything:

USB 3.0 ONLY on the i7 models, which have worse battery life (architecture reasons)
NO backlit keyboard
NO switchable graphics which means you must always be using the m5830 (worse battery life)
When using the battery the CPU is strictly limited to x7 multiplier.

Is the above info correct?

 

dunno about the multiplier, but you may wanna add,

• Envy is External DVD drive only
• Envy only 5lbs, where as 1645 is about 7lbs with 9 cell
• Envy has Aluminum/Magnesium construction which i think is nicer than 1645
• Envy has no Edge to Edge display
• Envy has No Display Port
• Envy has a Better Video Card? maybe? Dunno about bench marks yet
• Sound on xps1645 is a little lopsided because the woofer is not centered, its always gonna sound like the left speaker is louder.
• Envy actually gives you an option for a smaller battery.. 1645 only give you the 9-cell.
• Envy uses WLED screen, i think.. which won't give you over saturated colors like the 1645 RGBLED (one of the reasons why I returned my 1645)
• Envy is 1.04 Inches or so all around (small batt), where as the 1645 is 1-1.4 and about 2.5-3inches with the 9cell...
• Envy has a larger touchpad... much larger

for me I'm thinking maybe the Envy is a little better.

 

heh, I'm pretty happy right now. Like some others, I got delivery two days earlier! (was scheduled for the 28th)

 

My tracking number is 12 digits and fedex shows it as 4 day(says shipped 1/25 ETA 1/29 but the 25th dates says "Package received after FedEx cutoff" so maybe they did update to 3 day)

 

Yeah, HP shipping is a joke...

 

I'm not sure exactly what shipping method they use, fedex ground deliveries are only Tuesday to Saturday, mine shipped today showing a Feb. 2 delivery estimate

 

I received the order shipping notice this morning 2.

 

Must be some crazy shortage going on. Now if you try to purchase it, the build date is Feb 25th, 2010!

 

Hey all,

Stopped by Bestbuy again to cross shop the MBP and the Envy 15 and 13.

Some differences I noted that others may have already mentioned:


1. The Envy 13's monitor has a higher range of angles it can accommodate. In other words, you can tip it back much further than you can with the Envy 15.

2. The Envy 13's screen seemed a little more vibrant to me. Someone else at another website discussion said it comes with the RGBLED. If that's the case, that makes it a dealbreaker since I've too many a time heard of people returning their Studio XPS 16 after their "eyes started bleeding."

3. Exterior designwise, the Envy 13 doesn't have the laser-etched exterior design that the Envy 15 has. This to me is somewhat of a plus, but then again, I will admit that the exterior flowery design is simply something to get used to. It might seem tacky, but as a dude on a budget, I can't complain!

4. I'm noticing that the Envy 13 and 15 don't seem to be completely aluminum based. The bottom portion looks and feels like aluminum, but the top portion (chassis I believe it's called) feels like it's made of something else. Think it's magnesium? This might seem strange to some, but I've read that magnesium is 30% lighter and 50% stronger.

5. I've also been cross-shopping against the Macbook (polycarbonate version). Depending on my budget, it looks like the MBP may be pushed out of the picture, but the Macbook is back in.




So in sum:

It's going to be down to the Macbook vs. Envy 15

I know both are different in their own respects, but IF and ONLY IF Apple refreshes the white plastic Macbook line with a dedicated GPU and i5's, it may prove to be a viable competitor in the price range!

EDIT: Any chance someone could tell me how the screens on the MBP compare to the regular Macbook? My eyes may fool me, but the MBP's screen seemed better. If it's the case that Apple cheaps out on screens for the Macbook, that'll kill the deal for me.

 

Mine is on its way too, will be here friday a.m.

Cant wait!

i guess i can relax knowing it wont be delayed now...

 

The MBP screens are definitely better than the regular MB screens, and some people claim the 15" MBP has a better one than the 13" MBP, but I struggle to see the difference side by side.

The 13" MBP is a much better value (currently) than the Envy 13, but I will admit that the Envy's screen is just as nice. I am considering both as my next laptop purchase and will wait to see how HP/Apple update each of them with i5/i7 chips. Hopefully, both will have higher-end, low-wattage options.

 

From what I understand, the entire case is magnesium. No aluminum on it. Yes, it is lighter and stronger, but the downside is that it's more brittle. It will break and chip if you hit it hard, it won't just dent like aluminum. So it depends a lot on how you take care of your machine. I personally like the magnesium better

 

Getting a 13" laptop was just an afterthought. Figured that with my eyes, I'm best off with a 15" regardless the weight.

 

Are the drivers stored on the HD somewhere if one wish to restore a partition? What is on the SD card that comes with the package? Maybe these are dumb questions.