*HP Envy 15 Owners Lounge! PART 1*

Hi there, and welcome to the *OFFICIAL: HP Envy 15 Owners Lounge!*

I see that you have confirmed what I posted earlier today. Thank you!
It is now proven that the memory definition problem was due to the GPU being able to use system RAM too

 

USB 3.0 WILL NOT BE OUT until next year (at earliest). Just wanted to put that question to rest.

 

no offense, but your post is completely opinion, but you state it in a 'matter a fact' context. Until people get their units, you can't definitively make the E2E claim. We see in the manual there are three different panels, which surely goes against your claims.

as for usb3.0 i agree. intel came out yesterday and said their chipsets won't even support it until 2011!

 

I am planning on purchasing the 15 this week and E2E does matter a lot to me, so if I receive the computer and 1) it doesn't have E2E as I was assured it does 2) burns my bollocks off or 3) just doesn't "feel" sturdy, then I'll return it lickety-split.

Edit: I wholeheartedly promise to post high-res, definitive, well angled pictures upon opening.

 

Yes, it doesn't fit. My optimistic side says that perhaps the manual is out-of-date, yet they needed to get it out there to have "something" for service/support.

My pessimistic side reminds me that HP tech support has the same info (as I mentioned a few posts back, after I called) that there is only 1 HD bay. And like Serg said, there's not much room left to put it in, the layout would have to be different as well.

Only time will tell. I wish HP would hurry up and ship them out!

 

Has anyone spoken to a sales rep and asked how the claim of "deep" bass can be achieved or how the "Beats" branded audio (on all Envy models) is "enhanced" as compared to any other laptop?

 

Well, one can dream on, but if you were Best Buy, the biggest reseller for HP laptops in the country, wouldn't you be really upset if a major component of the lot you are selling was clearly inferior at the same price?

Even the pictures from Microsoft store showed the same non-E2E screens. They might bring on the better screens later but this batch (whether from BB or HP direct) of E15s doesn't have E2E if I understand a bit of business.

 

BB deals with vendors exclusively to tailor their needs etc. By putting in a less expensive panel, Best Buy increases margins, and let's face facts, the mainstream isn't going to notice the differences like we (enthusiasts) would.

 

I agree with you completely, look at Asus and the G51 series, the exact same laptop, with lower res, lower CPU, underclocked GPU, and different painting design compared to those you would get on GenTechPC and XoticPC.

 

Don't BestBuy and Microsoft have to make profit off of this laptop also? They could easily request a few things to be different that aren't major players in the specs of there laptop. Haven't you noticed that Microsoft and BestBuy do not claim to have the Edge to Edge display but hp.com does? You would think that the makers of the laptop would know their laptop better than anyone. So far, on the Envy 15 support page there are 4 different models listed, who knows what all is different about them.

EDIT: My point is the same as smckdwn989's .

 

Best Buy has to make some sort of money from their sales. How would they be achieving this if they are charging the same price for their items, when you can get it directly from HP for the same price with the same config?? Again, I post the example of the Asus G51 version at Best Buy which was far inferior to the "regular" edition Asus was selling through their online retailers. The one in retail did not have a high def screen, and no bluetooth, and I believe was slightly underclocked. (I may be wrong). It is quite possible to have different machines, both HP and Best Buy need to make money. Hp has to give some benefit from ordering directly from them. (Watch, they are all non "frameless" designs )

 

So you guys haven't given up on E2E screens Ok, we'll see in few days. Like I said earlier, I'd be happy proven wrong on this, but I highly doubt it

I have seen changes in specs, but they were quite clear like different GPUs and hard drives or even CPU speed. Anywho, we'll see.

 

i am feeling quite disgrunteled with HP. this has to be the most confusing launch in laptop history. does anyone know how to contact engadget or gizmodo? maybe if we explain this crazy confusion they can use their resouces to find out whats going on. and then they could write an article about it. well its just a suggestion.

 

What matters to me is the dual HDDs.
The E2E is sacrificiable (spelling?) but the Dual HDDs is something me wants/likes/needs...

 

That's a good suggestion, try contacting them at http://www.engadget.com/contact/comment/

 

Same here. Without dual HDD envy is a piecie of crap to me. And I know quite a few people who will not buy it for the same reason.

 

The reason BB would purchase the bezel-screen from HP is that it is cheaper to produce, so when you sell the laptop you can throw in the external OD for the same price.

 

I contacted Engadget with our questions/concerns and asked them to investigate it. Hopefully they'll respond to me/us.

 

Thanks for that. I guess we shall see.

 

Me too. Especially because there is no OD.

 

BTW - when I contacted Engadget I included a link to the forum, so maybe this site will get a big nod from the big "E."

 

Are you guys sure about that?

The one I ordered actually contained 2 X 250 GB drives out of the factory; which was confirmed later on.

 

I posted my concerns about the accessability of the HDD drives i the previous thread. And by judging of the service manual, its clear that your cant replace the HDD without peeling apart the case (eg. remove the rubber pads, and unscrewing the buttom from the top).

This is quite a blow to the people counting on replacing the HDD. At least in my country it violates the User agreement in such a way that your Warrenty arent valid any more.

EDIT:
Also by looking in the service manual, the pictures at least, clearly shows a non E2E screen when describing how to peel apart the screen. This is also a bad sign, even though HP Support has stated that models brought through HP.com has a E2E screen. And lets face it, the info given by phones supporters isnt something you should trust your life with.

 

Is there a dedicated Envy Phone Support number yet?

 

I have contacted Engadget as well, and gave the link for this thread especially, I am looking forward for their response.

Here is the message I sent:

 

That should definitely get a response Serg - props to you for being so methodical! lol

 

Good job, I hope they can dig further than us.

 

UPDATE: I have contacted NotebookCheck for confirmation too, and I am pending response from another news website (I dont think they will help us much, but it is worth it) called Electronista.

Will search for more people to write to and ask. I will keep you posted.

 

Any would E2E matter. Isn't it just costmetic? 15" is 15", no?

 

for me, it was a big reason I ordered. i figured if i am paying upwards of 2000 for a laptop, i want it to look as good as it performs...

 

Well, presumably it would be the difference between glass and "non-glare". The non-glare model I saw in BB really was that, I liked it.

What is the advantage of glass from edge to edge? That's never quite been clear to me.

Edit: ...or do they call it "reduced glare"? I forget...

 

Guys - check out what is apparently specs attached to the FCC filing for the Envy 15 at https://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/prod/oet/forms/blobs/retrieve.cgi?attachment_id=1175448&native_or_pdf=pdf.

Could be pre-production vs. mass production changes, but I'm not convinced that those diagrams support an E2E theory...

(This FCC filing and manufacture materials were discussed a while ago at http://www.wirelessgoodness.com/?p=637.)

 

No major advantage other than aesthetic. Just a fad. Actually it can have disadvantages - plenty of people have reported that bits of dust have appeared on the underside of the glass panel. Impossible to clean without dissasembling, which will just introduce more dust.

 

what the heck is going on up in this threak?!

what a mess.

i was hoping for great things from this lappy.. i can't wait until someone gets one in their hands and can get all these conundrums sorted out.

i hope hp didn't drop the ball on this in regards to the details.

i've been waiting forever for some pc manufacturer to build something as tank-like and beautiful as a mbp and with the really great screen. with top notch internals. and since mbp seems so overpriced (even when people say 'oh but for the $$ you will get all this great service and software and support' with the mac) the pc version could really come out a lot cheaper. doesn't seem like it was that simple by the looks of this envy machine.

 

Hi there! And welcome to the NBR Forums.

Well, this thread has had some problems, since it appears there are different versions out there, a "lower" model sold by BB and a "premium" model that is sold by HP, and since nobody has seen the second, and there are no actual confirmation on the real specs (tons of conflicting reports and pics that do not help) most of us are back and forth trying to discover the Envy's Secret (and that sounded like a bad TV show hahaha).

Overall reports say that BQ is superb, that it is worth it, but the E2E matter has tons of people worried. I find myself worried on the Dual HDD matter...

If you have any questions regarding this, post them, and we will try to help you however we can...

 

@serg i think we need to express to engadget that HP screwed up and/or left out alot of data on a laptop that people have already began to order. i think they will only investigate if there is a story there they can put on their website. let them know that HP is the one causing all this confusion

the dual hard drives is the only thing for me at this point that is a big deal. the other things are minor. i will feel extremely misled about this product if there is only one bay.

 

Will do. As soon as I get a reply from them, I will address all these problems.

I did contact NotebookCheck too, they did a hands-on/fast review on this laptop, and I am waiting for a reply from them. I will let them know that the problems are being caused by "their official website and manuals online, plus sales reps and differences in models with no documentation nor confirmation" how does that sound? Juicy enough?

 

yea that sounds good. thanks serg. i would have done it myself but im at work and can only get on the computer for 3-4 minutes at a time

 

This is really driving me crazy - I hope Engadget responds to this, as there is a story in it for them and answers in it for us. If this doesn't have E2E, nor room for 2 HDD (not too much of a deal, but they do appear to have lied...) then I don't know what to get. There's nothing else out with as good as a portability to power ratio. ::Sigh::

 

just looking around on the HP Envy 15 site, i came across http://www.hp.com/united-states/campaigns/envy/discover_15.html

you can clearly see that the display they have pictured is edge to edge.

 

1. USB ports. The manual says they all support USB 3.0 and USB 2.0. Fully powered. 3 amps in total.

2. The chipset is PM57 ("Intel 5 series express chipsets PM57 platform controller hub (PCH) Peak-M")

3. My 8 GB CPU DDR3 RAM runs at 1066 MHz.

4. The 1 GB GPU DDR3 RAM runs at 1333 MHz.

5. The GPU can use CPU RAM as well up to a certain point, not just its own 1 GB. This is of course slower and should be avoided.


Speculations on my end:

6. It might be possible to install two HDD on top of each other in the single HDD slot. The picture in the manual has two lips going up on each side - looks like it would be for a 2nd HDD.

7. The 1.8" and 2.5" HDD goes into the same space. They just need different brackets, like how to install a 3.5" HDD into a 5.0" HDD slot on a desktop.

8. The GPU DD3 RAM may be configured as GDDR3, even though it's referred to as "DDR3". It's certainly not configured exactly like the CPU RAM, because of the different bandwidth, different wiring, different voltage, etc.

 

I agree, it is, but right now it seems like HP is risking being sued for mis-advertising in exchange for strong sales off the bat.

P.S. did anyone else notice the response rate of the LCD?
From the Envy site "Superb visuals: a wide symmetrical viewing angle and fast response time (8 ms)."

Isn't 8ms kinda slow in this day-and-age?

 

That is the whole problem.
HP posts E2E pics, but in BB there are not E2E and this is driving people crazy...

BTW, I am going to London tomorrow for vacations, does anybody know if I can find this laptop there? I want to play with it

 

I don't think there is much of a story here other than that hp may have rushed to make the Win 7 launch deadline and a bunch of diehard notebook geeks (myself included) are impatient to get the full details on a brand new product we ordered before it's actual release date.

If we are all patient I am sure our questions will soon be answered.

 

Hey Serg, I've been here lurking through both threads on the envy 15 since it was announced and I've read every post

I was thinking I would be a first-day orderer if everything sounded perfect with the machine but decided to wait when all the weird pricing and downgrade options was going on on hp's site.

And now with all the unknown about the screen quality and brightness and e2e glass; the hard drives/# of bays and sizes/ease of access for adding ssd; the graphics card ram and the question of a software fix to perfect the touchpad i have decided to let this all be answered before i decide if this is going to be as great as i had envisioned when i first heard it announced.

all the details really will make or break it for me.

the great things like the form factor and the core i7 can only bring it so far for picky buyers like us!

soon enough.. but it seems like hp could have anticipated that they should just give all the details to buyers! kind of crazy considering they are such a big company.. they should have plenty of people to do the work to make sure they get everything right.

 

Well TN panels are faster response than the better S-IPS. Maybe it's a S-IPS. That would vibe with the "Wide Viewing Angle" naming.

http://www.pchardwarehelp.com/guides/lcd-panel-types.php

Edit: BTW S-IPS panels are 24 bit vs 18 bit like TN

 

If it is an S-IPS I wont cancel ever.
IPS>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>TN
Just ask ZaZ or Dreamer. The IPS panel is far superior, better viewing angles and overall superior than a TN, but more expensive...

 

I saw those too, but those are just plastic pulltabs to more easily get the HD out of that confined area, they are just showing them lifted upward in the diagram, whereas they would normally lie flat. Note the text:

3. Remove the hard drive (3.)

If you look at the diagram, the number (3.) is associated to a pair of arrows and these pulltabs. i.e. showing, "lift here".

 

well this thing has already launched. there have been reviews of the 13 around for a couple of weeks now. Ive never seen a computer that was already on sale that you couldnt find definative answers for.

i dont think there are any actual laws against false advertisement.

 

I certainly hope HP isn't implying that their talk about "dual HDD" means "one internal + one external connected through the E-SATA port"............