*HP Envy 15 Owners Lounge! PART 1*

Once I got the touchpad driver updated and adjusted the extensive advanced settings, I've had no problems with it. I used to hate the non-depressing right button (because my finger would end up moving the pointer off-target when I tried to right-click) -- but then I discovered you can assign the secondary button to whatever "tap-zone" you choose...

In fact, I just discovered the ChiralMotion thing; it's the best scrolling method I've ever used. Much better than the 2-finger scrolling...

 

Regarding the "buttons" on the trackpad, which aren't physically raised or have any tactile sensation to define the separation of them, has anyone thought of putting two pieces of masking tape on the trackpad to define the location of the buttons? It gives tactile feedback, let's you "feel out" where to click, just as you would with a physical button. I haven't tried it,, but just wondering if anyone else has an opinion.

 

Power brick: Has anyone considered a more portable alternative to the included 120W PSU?

 

I prefer to use physically clicking buttons to perform left/right clicks, as opposed to tapping. The problem I have with the touchpad is that, because the clicking portion at the bottom also picks up cursor movement, quite often when I click, the pointer jumps to the very bottom of the screen. On top of that, sometimes the mouse will do other things that aren't even enabled, like grabbing windows and doing clicks together with the jumping.

I tried covering the bottom with some tape, but that doesn't work. Too little tape and it picks up the same movements and the cursor jumps... too much tape and the clicks don't register at all. Like I said earlier, the "clicking" in the touchpad is only for tactile feedback, the actual click is still picked up as a gesture by the driver based on where it senses your finger is positioned. So, if it can't tell where your finger is when you "click" the touchpad, it doesn't register at all as a mouse click.

The closest I can get it to usable is having gestures disabled, tapping off, all edge motion off and one finger vertical scrolling enabled only within the right-hand scrolling region.

 

I absolutely love the ChiralMotion thing. I am so used to it (already), that I have a hard time scrolling on my old laptop. lol


My biggest problem with the trackpad (which isn't big at all), is the jumping around every once in a while. My older laptop had a very small trackpad, so I would forget where the edges sometimes. It also jumps every once in a while when I'm trying to clicking a button while dragging/scrolling (like everyone else). It's hard to get used to because I used to leave my thumb resting on the left-click...which you can't do since it's also part of the trackpad. It did take some minor getting used to (especially when left-clicking & hold something in order to drag it), but it honestly wasn't that hard to get used to. I just needed to retrain my muscle memory.

It helps to adjust the trackpad's level of sensitivity in the Synaptics settings.

 

90-W PFC HP Smart Adapter 463955-001.

I'm not sure of the physical size of this unit, but it is stated in the Envy 15 User manual that you can use this unit. I dont believe it will charge the slice battery though.

 

Even though the Envy might be able to use that PSU, it might cause the laptop to run in a weaker state...even without the slice trying to charge itself. basically, it could do what the Dell SXPS 1645's are doing now. Their systems are getting much better performance while running on battery than if they are plugged it (with the same power settings in both modes).

Our systems might not do this, but it's worth being cautious about.

 

Agreed on the ChiralMotion one-finger scrolling. It's awesome.

I wish the 3-finger flick had more settings though. Right now they generates the arrow keys (flicking left generates arrow left, etc). This of course only makes sense in certain applications. It would be great if you could change what it does. For example, flicking left could generate 4th mouse button (Navigate Back) and flicking right could generate 5th mouse button (Navigate Forward). Could be interesting to have flick down generate Minimize All (show desktop) and flick up generate Restore All.

Also, it seems that the scrolling option "Scroll item under pointer" doesn't work. Would've been great if it worked like KatMouse.
EDIT: It does seem to work, but only within the active application, so it doesn't exactly what it says: "item under pointer" (like KatMouse)...

 

Can anyone provide a check list for us newbie Envy 15 owners what we should run through and make sure our new laptops are in working order? There are a lot of discussions throughout this blog that are extremely helpful, but I believe many of us will be getting our new PC next week and would appreciate an unofficial check list. Thank you!

 

Check list as in utilities?
There is a guide on the HP Forum, I think it is stickied, the HP-out-of-the-box Guide or something similar.
But I agree such "Got my Envy, what to do Guide" would be awesome in the front page.

 

Well….the checklist I meant is of all the unofficial problems that a new user should look out for. Example:
1) Check slice battery connection and connectivity;
2) Web Cam..is it working properly;
3) Are lines on screen bad;
4) Some people have had issues with assembly or creaking palm wrest
5) Etc. etc.

 

So sort of like a checklist that can tell you on a scale of 1 to 10 how borked is your Envy is upon delivery.

 

Anybody who can check their memory modules name/model/latency? I'd like to have the modules ready for when the laptop arrives, or at least know how poor I'll be this christmas..

 

Has anyone yet determined what actually causes the line problem with the panel?

 

I haven't heard of anyone mention that they had dead pixels on their LED screen. Has anyone noticed any?

 

I'm under the impression that this is pretty uncommon in new generation laptop screens, particularly LED backlit ones .... It probably shouldn't be a major worry for you.

 

The fact that the display is LED backlit should not mean there is more or less of a chance of having dead pixels - it is after all only the lighting, the display is still an LCD display.

Although not an Envy 15, my Inspiron has an LED backlit display and I had this replaced due to the number of dead pixels.

 

I mean that the process they're based on is newer and more reliable.

 

Update on iTunes / Windows 7 / PM55 chipset issues causing sync problems for iPhones / iPod Touch:

http://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Other-Notebook-PC-questions/dv7-3085dx-Bios-updates/m-p/179853#M7584

In part, it says:

 

Laptop has been out two months and already 3 BIOS updates?

Is it me, or the Envy was kinda rushed?

 

Definately Rushed.

 

100% rushed to jump on the back of the Windows 7 launch.

It's still a good machine but, from the looks of this thread, it seems to have a few minor teething problems that you simply would not expect a premium machine to have launched with.

 

Definitely in agreement with everyone here based on my own early-adopter experiences. Looking back though a lot of companies have had issues spring up with first-run products (including dell, apple, etc.) so I'm hoping there will be fixes on the way to remedy the situation quickly. Here's hoping my replacement comes through for me.

 

What isn't being rushed these days? Look at the smartphones that need monthly software updates (ie: iPhone or Storm) or the cars that are having larger mass recalls due to stupid stuff(ie: toyota's floormats or the Mustang's transmissions issues)...

It's probably because manufacturing costs are so low, that doesn't hurt them as much if some items are returned. They simply salvage what they can and resell those parts with minimal loss. It is now more profitable for them to be the "first" to the market. Getting their name out seems to mean more than anything else these days. Hopefully, as our Web 2.0 stuff becomes more integrated, we will be able to reverse this way of thinking withing big businesses. Our ability to communicate the shortcomings to a larger audiance (and quickly), will have more and more sway as more people learn where to find the real info (in places like this awesome forum).

 

Everything is new - product line, CPU, chipset, GPU, trackpad. Not just for HP but for suppliers as well.

As a contrast, there's not much whining about the Envy 13, which arguably is a lot more conventional internally. That one attracts a different audience though.

 

I see. Indeed new laptops always have to go thru some tweaking...

For example the Studio XPS line that at the beginning was almost a fail with heat, especially the smaller SXPS13.

The HDX Dragon (thats the name right?) was also plagued with problems.

The new Apple iMacs are even worse some even arriving dead. And the MBP 17 had some issues some time ago with lines on the display and graphics problems.

I could go on, but I think you see my point, why should have we expected this to be bug-free from day one, at least the third BIOS update shows that HP is doing something to iron out the problems, and that gives me some peace.

 

[rant/]
The problem here is fit and finish, if you buy a mustang you will be disappointed if it has some problems in it, but if you buy a rols royce you will be furious. Can't even stress that I was actually thinking of buying this pc, giving hp another shot, but now besides a sub par product in terms of hardware you get a sub par product in terms of software (bios updates, beats software badly written...). There's nothing much to say about this laptop except that it feels cheap, it was given a cheap treatment, and will continuously be cheap albeit the hefty tag price, hp maybe the largest notebook manufacturer, but there products, especially outside US, are crap, ridiculously, overpriced crap, there is no hardware that compensates for the amount of crapware that comes with there pcs, at least mine notebook I knew what I was paying for (lenovo, and now a MSI EX 625 - a lot of flex, but rugged enough to be with me for some 3 years).
[/rant]

 

Has anyone purchased a third party auto/air adapter yet for their Envy 15? HP doesn't carry one. Kensington carries an adapter for multiple vendors, not sure if it'll work with the Envy. It is 90W, and has tip types E, H, and I for HP laptops. I don't care if it can charge the slice battery, as I wouldn't really need it charging the slice while in flight.

Also, any way to know if the planes I will be on have power ports for laptops in coach class? Or should I just plan on taking and using the slice?

 

I can't seem to find a single sentence in this rant that jibes with reality. The fact is you won't be able to point to any laptop at this price that has this hardware in a 1" body. People seem to forget that point when they claim they can get the same configuration for less money. You have to pay for thin and light, remember?

How often do we have to remind people that a MBP with similar specs will cost you $3,000+?

As for the ridiculous claim that the build quality of this machine is "cheap" -- uttered without a single fact to back it up -- well, I just refer you to the fact-laden review of the laptop on this site.

 

Hi there, I welcome you around here.

Please, your post seems very serious, could you please back that up?
If not, the value and weight of those words are lost against more than 10 members here that have been quite happy with theirs.

And as I said, new laptop, new hardware, new OS, new everything, bear with them.

Now, if you can show me which laptop offers similar performance on this price tag that comes with WUXGA, core i7, a good GPU, and that is this portable, by all means, I am interested in that laptop.
Thanks!

 

None.

:yes:

 

To the person who asked about dead pixels, I'm on my 3rd Envy for that reason

They collected/delivered within 2 days of me phoning support both times though

 

Serg, so am I...

In this rant that I posted, I had some reasons know listed:

1- the screen, yay it's 1080p, but lacks finish, and yes the dell sxps screen is better, and let's remember that this is screen is not available outside US AFAIK (might be wrong)
2- had owned two HP laptops, had to constantly sent them for maintanance, both amd and intel chips
3- Tried one of these envy something something, and I had constantly overheating problems, yes it's less than an inch thick, but if it don't work it doesn't matter (maybe I caught a faulty one)
4- the screen lines that came with it
5- and I don't care if there isn't anything like the coke, or something like your moms pie, it might be unique, but it doesn't mean that for me it's good

In brazil (where I live) to get a notebook is an overpriced pleasure, for instance: if it arrived in here by normal retailing process it would cost in reais R$ 10.000,00 (or more), now let's put this thing in dolars US$5.714!
an notebook that costs for you in the US or in europe like 800, for us it cost like 1.828!

And let's say that I went to the US and bought me a nice note to evade that outrageous price, and brought it back legally, and got a bunch of problems while paying a premium price, it's enough for me to go on a rant!

I'm sorry to all of you that misunderstood my previous post as bunch of fud, but it's my sincere experience.
And let's say that if I buy a car and the shift doens't work, the engine is giving me rattles, my seat warmers torch my buttocks and go on, I would be pissed, but if I buy a mercedes I shouldn't have anywhere near the problems that I had

 

Ok, I understand. I am originally from Ecuador, so I understand what you mean, for example I found a Studio 15 with 4500MHD priced at 1.8K using a T6400 only...I felt insulted. ^^

I do understand your concern, but you have to understand that although this is a unique laptop it cannot be perfect from day one. Most have agreed that it was somewhat rushed to catch up with Win7's launch, and taking that into consideration it is normal that these issues exist. Take for example the SXPS 1645, it was not that rushed (in fact it took ages to ship) and it is having terrible issues with the adapter. Same for the M15x, which is throttling the GPU out of the sudden.

Same happened with the SXPS13, the HDX Dragon, some IdeaPads, the MBP17, the new iMacs, M4400, etc. My point is that this laptop, as most new ones, comes with some things to be ironed out. Good knows is that BIOS F.07 means not that the laptop sucks, but that HP is working to fix everything ASAP. I mean, take a look, just 2 months out, and they have updated tons of drivers. It means the first ones had issues, yes, as usual, but slowly they are being worked out.

As far as you HP experience, I invite you to the thread on my signature "Tell you HP experience" so you can "vent" yourself, and let us know what happened. Though, I do have something to say, the Pavilion line (which I am not fond of and no offense to anybody) is plagued with issues, most due to the poor cooling design it was implemented. Neither AMD nor Intel are guilty there, but the "super good looking" Pavilions, that almost gave away the vents...I am in disagreement with HP there, and I find the design lacking to say the least. But the Envy is a fully different design, and it has proved to be cool taking into consideration what it carries. For example, the Apple MBP 15, when stressed, it gets toasty, but Apple fanboys wont tell you that, nor that the Apple has sub-par hardware for the price tag compared to the PC counterparts.

Now, the Envy 15, which is most compared to the Apple MBP 15, I find it rather funny. People focus on superfluous things when comparing them. The thinness, the "nicer" design, the "super" screen. Well, honestly, most people dont know. Taking the things to compare those two, the i7 beats any C2D when fully utilized, the 4830HD will outrun the 9600M GT on all tasks, the up to 16GB RAM is only matched by the M6400 and M6500, the large 500GB 7200RPM single HDD or dual 1.8" SSD or HDD, etc.

My point is not that I am biased towards this laptop, but that it is a thing never before done. All those i7 competitors are thicker, or warmer, or not up to par with the Envy 15. Now let's add to the formula the new OS with new drivers, the completely new softwares, the just launched PM55, i7, 4830HD (first laptop to use it), the fast DDR3 RAM with 4 slots, a native WUXGA (US exclusive so far) and that the screen is quite good, those I have seen.

If you want something similar to this laptop, my best suggestion is to wait for either Arrandale to come out on Jan 7 2010, or to wait for the Envy to get worked out with some time. As of now, the Envy has some known issues, but they are being worked around, and as there is no competitor for this laptop, I see no better one than the Envy 15.

 

How many pixels each time and how many do you need for HP to replace the whole laptop? I am going to try and find out on the HP website.

 

http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsuppor...c=us&objectID=c00288895&jumpid=reg_R1002_USEN

 

With the latest BIOS and other updates, are there still issues when installing a clean copy of Windows 7 from scratch? Does the power and fan management work properly now in that case?

 

The 1080i screen is only not available in Europe, everyone else gets it, even down in Australia!

btw my delivery has finally been confirmed for the this thursday

 

Congratulations thebranded. Keep us posted on how it goes.

I will have mine on friday, and I cant wait anymore

 

I am quite excited as well, my notebook is expected to arrive this Thursday as well. I ordered the HP envy 15 beats edition because I DJ on the side. I got 40% BCB on it so for me, I think this system is much worth everything. I had to fight with Bing for a little while, but they came through. I ordered the envy on Thanksgiving with the 820QM and LoJack. I bought some DDR3 Ram so I may do a guide how to upgrade Ram in the Envy. I am so stoked

 

40% BCB??? How did you manage that?

 

Twas 13 nights before Christmas, when all through Sergs house
not a creature was stirring, except his Logitech G5 mouse;
The installation discs were stacked by the desk with care,
in the hopes that his Envy 15 soon would be there;
'The Serg' was nestled all snug in his bed,
While visions of 4 hyper threaded cores danced in his head;

..... you get the picture

 

STOP! Its not fair... This week is going to be painfully slow...and I have to take the train to Paris to get it... so I will lay my hands on it on the night..sigh (the review will come shortly after lol)

 

My method for the 40% BCB were a bit unorthodox to say the least.

If you send me a pm I can tell you how, but I believe the offer has expired.

I enjoyed that holiday rhyme about serg by the way. I cannot wait for the review. I have been reading this forum over the past few weeks. I believe it is the number one source for HP Envy related material on the web. I just wanted to applaud all the information assembled on this forum. I personally was trying to read as many reviews and get as much information on the envy as I can.

 

Well, this forum is a great place for information.

Though I would love to know how you did that, I went with 25%...but 40%?!?! Wow, hats off!

Stay tuned, reviews and experiences are coming all the time here, and people is very friendly.

BTW, welcome to the NBR Forums!

 

What MBP is that? I thought Apple didn't have any Core i7 notebooks at all?

 

The 3.06GHz C2D with 4GB RAM and 500GB HDD.

 

probally the closest MBP would be the 8gb version (add another $750USD) to the price.

Plus your still getting a 1440-by-900 screen.

But you do get a battery life of 7hr's plus a built in dvd

btw shipping for my Envy is Wednesday now

 

But that's not a Core i7 machine - it doesn't relate to the Envy 15 at all.

There are a ton of C2D machines to compare with the MBP, but Envy 15 is not one of them. They're different hardware generations and I think that's a hard line that shouldn't be crossed if you're comparing equivalent computers.

 

The comparisons are valid because both represent the current top-of-the-line of the manifacturers and cost about the same. What's under the hood is immaterial.