*HP Envy 15 Owners Lounge! PART 1*

i seriously doubt that would be the case, but in the event it was the joke would be on them. they'd have to deal with an influx of returns imo.

 

And a terrible reputation hard to clean up.
I dont think their marketing guys can be that naive and promote it like that...the amount of laptops that will be returned if that is the case will make a disaster.

 

I doubt it. In this internet age, manufacturers can easily get away citing it's a typo/mistake. Time and again I have seen Amazon/BB/Fry's cancel orders for products that had a pricing mistake and get away with it. Mainly because cut-throat pricing and very slim profit margin and short life-span for a product.

 

A video is not a typo, unfortunately for them...and some many things they are "offering", we shall wait and see. Mine should ship the Monday, and I am each day more hesitant if I should go with it.

On others news, nobody knows where to find this in the UK? I want to play with it.

 

To put an end to this E2E squabble, this is from the description of the Envy on HP's site:


Fusion of art and science
Each ENVY 15 has been artfully sculpted with advanced materials and precision engineering. You get:

A strong but lightweight magnesium chassis (1.04" thick, up to 5.2 lb. 7)
An elegant metal-etched surface design
A frameless look with edge-to-edge protective display glass
Fluid controls: a click pad that integrates the button in the touchpad
Convenient one-touch and action keys on a full-size keyboard
Reduced glare in the dark via low-luminance indicators on the keys

http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/s...odexp/hhoslp/psg/notebooks/ENVY/ENVY15_series

 

Many states have laws against false advertising, which vary by state. The main federal laws governing false advertising are the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Act and the Lanham Act. Under the FTC Act, false advertising includes advertisements that make representations that the advertiser has no reasonable basis to believe, even if the representations turn out to be true. Only the Federal Trade Commission can enforce the FTC Act.
Private parties, such as consumers or competitors, can file a complaint for false advertising under the Lanham Act. To establish a violation under the Lanham Act, consumers and competitors must prove the following: (1) the advertiser made false statements of fact about its product; (2) the false advertisements actually deceived or had the capacity to deceive a substantial segment of the target population; (3) the deception was material; (4) the falsely advertised product was sold in interstate commerce; and (5) the party bringing the lawsuit (plaintiff) was injured as a result of the deception. Injury is construed as a likelihood of injury, rather than actual injury.

These laws are applicable to the US as a whole, many states have their own additional laws which cover false advertising, and there are also similar laws for pretty much every other country in the world.

There are also additional laws with regards to distance selling regulations, which would allow you to return the product for a full refund having found that it did not match the description provided.

 

we've cited this repeatedly... still no one is 100% sure anymore...

serg how do you know yours is shipping monday?

 

I think PCWorld has them in stock. If their website doesn't lie.

 

If it says it in B&W how can no one be sure!?!?!?!

 

Great.

Been said before.

The retail models I've seen have certainly featured a bezel around the display and does not look frameless at all. Basically we need to just end this now, because until we hear back from someone that has demo'd the model all of you are buying, or someone gets their machine, we simply do not know.

 

That is what HP claims about my order, and I have asked way too many times and that was the response "shipping on Monday" and as much as I am excited, those *insert all insults here* from Bing have not replied with the cashback thing!!!

There is no respect to consumers from Bing, but ok. And I dont get to use it till Dec 11/12 since I am in France.

 

i'm so jealous... mine just says shipping by 10/28, which is lame. i want this puppy before my nephew and niece arrive (as i will have to put this lappy away for the duration of the visit). If they get their paws on this lappy, they'll tear it to shreds....

 

there is an intriguing review on the best buy site:

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=9556394&st=HP+Envy&lp=2&type=product&cp=1&id=1218123849552#tabbed-customerreviews

what puzzles me - it's how is no one cares about the battery life?
after all it should be a "highly portable powerhouse"

 

PC World definitely does have them in stock; that was one of the stores I saw them in.

 

Have you checked the screen? Is it that fracking 768p or 1080p?

 

Couldn't tell for the one they had - they lock the screens up and everything looks the same resolution I guess because they want their presentations to look the same.

However, this shop in Oxford I went to had one on display, which was definitely 1366x768 - it was the one I actually could play with properly.

 

Serg, how much did it cost to ship it to France?

 

That doesn't end anything - that site can say it comes with a built in low volume moonshine dispenser, but if it doesn't have it, then its a lie. We still need a real, definitive, corroborated answer to this question.

 

I am not. That is the reason I have to wait. I shipped it to a relative in Boston and I must wait till she goes to the UK on Dec!!

Sorry but I wont be able to give a good and in-depth review of this anytime soon.

 

I will visit some shops in UK that has it next week. And if they will tell me that 1080p is mission impossible I will call HP and say something profound about their mothers, where they should go and what to do with themselves and where to shove their marketing strategy.

 

^Hahaha. Do it for all of us in Europe.

 

have you guys taken a look at the BB envy 15 model's pics?

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage...ductId=1218123849552&viewtype=angleView&h=387

I'm no expert on the issue... but that doesn't look like E2E glass.

Those pics of it make the laptop look very plain.

 

Just to catch everyone up on this thread... It is worthless.

It's all speculation until someone gets the damn thing in their hands that is reputable and knows what they are talking about technically.

I worked for HP for 10 years and left on my own free will... I believe in their products, but not on the legal technical writers (or how they treat their employees, for that matter). They are idiots, plain and simple. I can get the same tech specs on a 2K laptop that I can get with a $1 Million XP 24K. Truly, No one knows the products until they have them in hand.

With that in mind, why don't we stop criticizing until the laptop is delivered. You're scaring off a lot of potential owners at this point- which is fine, if we make it known it is just speculation.

 

That is part of the problem, since HP.com states an E2E screen, but these are not. And most people want to know what is going on.

 

Stop worrying about the glass screen. Every piece of information from HP says what we ordered is glass. The Best Buy unit not being glass has nothing to do with it.

 

This is a very valid point. Will update the OP with the clarification that we are now speculating about the laptop. I agree with you. +rep

 

I spoke to an HP rep at the Win7 launch event in Stockholm today, and got a personal look at the Envy15 as well.

Nice machine, definitely. They had a preproduction sample (labeled so on the bottom), nice bright 1080 screen, no cover glass, US keyboard. The rep said it was flown in from the US. They also had an Envy 13 with the superbright screen - I'm still blinded... paisley patterns on my retina...

The rep said they expect to receive the first batch next week. He seemed really surprised to hear that the HP Sweden website lists 1366x768 screen only - we both agreed that that would be missing the point of the Core i7 and performance graphics.

 

I really appreciate all the info (and speculation!) on this thread; thanks for helping me so much to make my decision. I'm ordering from HP direct in a few minutes!

New info from my trip to BB this morning (third visit in three days). These are pretty minor points, but wanted to give back something, and also wondering if anyone has any relevant info:

Might you happen to know if there’s any way to toggle the “fn” key behavior? It now operates so that if you want to dim/brighten the screen, you just hit the key labeled f4/dim or f5/brighten (not sure if I got the numbers right, but the point is you hit that key on the top row w/o needing to press the fn key) and they perform that function. If you instead want an actual f5, say, for a browser refresh, you must first tap the fn key, then hit f5/brighten. I really wish there was a way to toggle that behavior so that the special functions required the fn key (as I recall most keyboards work) and the f# regular behavior would not require the fn key, but I couldn’t find a way. It becomes particularly bad with something like alt-f4 which I use all the time to close windows/apps. On this keyboard you must do simultaneously fn+alt+f4 which pretty much takes two hands! I use these f# keys with programmer's editor and in other cases that I can't even recall until I do it, so it's somewhat important to me and may be to others.

That upper-left-corner of touchpad on/off toggle has been reported to work inconsistently. I confirmed that. But since it takes so long (maybe 3 seconds) when it's behaving correctly, I think some of the reports of inconsistent behavior could be specious. Nonetheless, I saw it behave inconsistently when I was being careful. The manual says to stay still on the upper left corner of the touchpad it with light touch for two seconds to toggle and it did that just fine for a while (though it felt like it needed a bit longer than two full seconds), but then I could not get it to budge doing exactly the same thing! Finally I had luck with this: continue using a light touch and remaining still, but touching it with half my pointer finger tip on the pad, and half on the metal to the left. I'm not sure if that will always work or I just hit a good patch but it worked fine for five or so toggles in a row. Odd...I'm a little worried that this switch may not hold up, but that’s life. I'm going to call my trick"E2E touch placement" just to make everyone crazy!

Thanks,

Larry

 

http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/proddetail.asp?sku_id=0665000FS10131418&logon=&langid=EN#

The Envy 13 is available for sale on the Canadian Futureshop Website for any interested canucks. I'm still going to hold out to see the Envy 15 before buying, but i'm going to go check out the 13 which is supposed to be at the local futureshop (oxymoron?).

 

Hi there Larry, and thanks for the information. As of now, we are all hoping that the Synaptics drivers to be updated/fixed. So that might not be a problem in the future.

As for the FN key. I am not sure about HP's BIOS, but the Dell Studio 15 has the same configuration, and via the BIOS there is an option that allows you to invert that to regular F1 F2 F3 F4 functions over the multimedia ones.

Hope this helps

 

Serg,

Great news on both counts. How do you get to the BIOS setup on the Envy 15? I tried and couldn't figure it out, and no one at BB new either. (Maybe this is a standard thing, but I have a several-year-old laptop and I've always seen them offer something on the screen as you boot to say how to get to it.)

If anyone is going to BB, maybe they could check (and save me a 4th trip!) though maybe I'll go; it's in walking distance!

Thanks,

Larry

 

Not sure if this laptop is now available in the UAE as it still says "coming soon" on the UAE HP Web site, but these are the specs of the laptop as it will be released here:

http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/me/e...-3995709-3995710-3995710-3995936-4043511.html

 

The preproduction sample I saw today, while nice, was clearly not an IPS screen.

In fact, no laptops in production today feature anything but TN screens (with the exception of specialty displays like outdoor tablets). The last (only?) IPS laptop display was IBM's FlexView display that was last seen on Lenovo T60p models. Those are now out of production since May 2007. FlexView displays are truly amazing WRT viewing angles, but the backlighting is CCFL with fading and color gamut problems like all other CCFL panels.

Almost all TN screens have 6 bits per channel D/A converters. This allows for 262,144 colors. Most do some dithering tricks (spatial or time-based) to simulate more tonal values. This allows for 253^3 = approx 16.2 million colors. True 8-bit allows for 256^3 = 16.7 million colors. so if you see "16.2 million colors" or just "millions of colors" then you're probably looking at a 6-bit panel.

One panel is documented to use 8-bit D/A converters, this panel is used in Dell M6400 Covet and HP 8730w DreamColor workstations.

BTW I noticed in the linked Envy 15 service manual that the backlighting is RGB LED, not white LED.

 

After a restart or power on from off while the computer is showing the post screen (DOS like screen with memory count, CPU, memory, and other hardware information) the manual says to use 'ESC' and a little menu will show in the corner; press 'ESC' again or 'F10' to confirm you want to enter the BIOS setup.

This may be locked on the display model at BB.

 

It really doest look that good in person, after seeing it a few times at Bestbuy. A bit disappointed at the design actually. Love the 1" though.

 

If it is RGB LED that'd make me happy, but at this point we might find the manual saying anything...

 

I called and talked to HP tech support for a long time. We compared various web sites and the service manual, and also compared with various (pre-production) Envy 15 laptops he could physically check on his end.

1. Two internal HDD?

-> Lot of confusion. They don't know for sure. They don't have final hardware on their end either so they can't double-check. There should be room for two HDD.

2. Is it shipped with one 500 GB or two 250 GB hard drives?

-> Also a lot of confusion. "Help me decide" link on their product spec page says two 250 GB.

3. Is the screen edge-to-edge?

-> Pre-production does not have edge-to-edge. All stores have pre-production laptops. Even boxed laptops for sale in the stores may be pre-production. Anything ordered before launch day was pre-production.

Final hardware should have edge-to-edge glass, as described on the HP web site. My order from HP.com should be final hardware.

4. GPU memory, GDDR3 or DDR3?

-> More confusion.

5. Is the USB 3.0 or 2.0?

-> Should be what the manual says. Two USB 3.0/2.0 ports, one USB 2.0/eSATA port.


He said I could open up my laptop when I receive it and check the hardware inside. As long as I don't damage anything I can still return it for a full refund if it doesn't have what I expected.

In the end, there can be a lot of differences between pre-production and final hardware. We'll have to dissect the laptop ourselves when we get it.

 

I'm beginning to think that the USB 3.0 designation was talking about the 3Amps of power, power that each USB 2.0 port supplies. I'm pretty sure there's not going to be actual USB 3.0 ports on the envy 15 especially after just reading about how intel is putting off implementing the spec.

 

Here is the HDD answer.

Its only one and here is no room for two. To get to the HDD you have to remove the battery, exp. RAM then remove the top panel (keyboard). You then see all the insides in one shot from the cooling to the other RAM slots to and also the HDD.

 

This happened with the HDX18 as well when it was launched last year. I forget what the concern was over, but people were in an uproar. People need to cool their jets a little. if it's not what HP says it is, just return it.

 

After justing seeing the Envy 15 at a local Best Buy I will be canceling my order. I'm not even interested in how the HP direct version differs from the Best Buy version, no amount of E2E glass can make up for the drawbacks...sad, but true.

My initial (and final) impressions...these are just my observations, please don't be offended if YOU like the laptop

The slice battery was initially attached, when I first picked up the laptop I thought HOLY COW that's heavy and didn't notice the slice battery at first. It covers the entire bottom and angles up on the sides to meet the laptop giving it a nice profile. The laptop is almost a different laptop without that extra weight and thickness.

While I'm on the topic of the slice battery, the attachment of it to the laptop is a joke. It unattached itself at least 4 times while is was handling the laptop. I made sure I attached it correctly and slid the locking mechanism to ensure it was locked in, but it doesn't take much sideways force apparently to disengage it. Seemed really cheap to me.

Heat. Well, warmth really. I changed the power profile to max performance and played with it for several minutes. Never notice a change in temp, never got hot, but it's warm for sure. I handled several other laptops while there and the HP was the only one that was warm. Annoyingly so I'm afraid. With the slice battery on you wont' notice the bottom heat the with your palms on the rest constantly you will.

The keyboard is a mixed bag. I liked the clicky nature of it, but all of the keys look the same in the sense that they are spaced evenly. That makes the function keys the the special keys on the left blend in too much. The weird layout of the page up and down keys along the right was odd also.

The Touchpad was also a mixed bag. I actually like using it, very responsive, the buttons click, worked great. Unfortunately it's not centered under the keyboard. With my hands in normal typing position my right palm covered almost half the touch pad causing it to move the mouse constantly while trying to type. I don't get that, why not center it??

The speakers also seem odd that they face outward left/right. I played a video on it but couldn't really hear the sound. I tried turning up the volume but with the special keys there was no visual feedback you are doing anything.

The display was okay. Colors were great. I personally thought it was plenty bright. Unfortunately the screen doesn't adjust back far enough. I'm going to predict a lot of broken hinges. I actually had to hunch down to get a good viewing angle. The display was set to medium text size (125% I think) by default so it didn't look quite right for that resolution. I found the screen unremarkable and I was hoping that would be a standout feature.

The textured pattern was uneventful, almost a non-issue. Not very obvious in person like the pictures we've seen, but I don't think it adds to the classiness of the machine, it just makes it look busy.

Overall build quality was okay, but to be honest, it felt cheaper than it should have...a lot cheaper. I walked over a picked up a Dell Studio 17 and it just felt much better than the HP. Yes it's thin and all (without the slice battery) but it doesn't feel like a top end machine.

With the lid closed and pressing down with your finger in the middle of the lid, there's a little bit of flex, more than what I would expect.

The bottom of the machine is the nicest part, it's this dull off-white color, very clean minimalistic looking bottom.

I have to say I'm thoroughly dissapointed. I had my bing cash back and was ready to ditch my Thinkpad. Oh well.....

 

So if I understand correctly, at least dozen people had envy 15 in their hands literally, but it's still not clear if there are 2 HDD bays and what size? Is it just me or this whole situation is idiotic?

 

Yep, They're having performance issues with USB 3.0, so it's been put off.

 

It feels like so many people are canceling their orders after getting a firsthand look at them. I'm really hoping I don't have the same reaction once mine actually gets into my hands. On a side note did anyone get a order shipped notification yet?

 

The answer to the USB 3.0 question is an absolute no brainer. Its no. USB 2.0 only.

 

I cancelled mine due to the keyboard more than anything else. I just don't think that is going to change between the retail and direct notebooks.

 

Check the previous posts before you ask the same question.

The HDD is 2.5" form factor also. Hence 500GB.

This is 100% verified and another thing that I find to be total crap is that the HDD in the Envy 15 is concidered to NOT Customer Replaceable according to the ordering system.

 

I enjoyed reading your impressions, kevroc. I was a little surprised by your conclusion, however; I read the post twice and I can't quite figure out what was "thoroughly disappointing"... (Although the slice problem does sound bad; I'm glad I held off ordering that...)

 

Source? 10 chars

 

I was at the local Microcenter today and I couldn't believe it, but they had an Envy 13" sitting there. Cool! I've been eying the 13" since I saw it over at Engadget..

So, I played with it for a bit and here are my impressions:

The good:

1) It "looks" cool. I kind of like the etching that's on it. It's kind of an "off silver" color, maybe champagne?

2) The screen seemed pretty good. Colors were vibrant and the screen was sufficiently bright.

3) Didn't seem too hot. It was definitely warm, but nothing out of the ordinary.

4) It's pretty solid, the screen has a little bit of flex in it, but not too much. Definitely less than the usual plastic encased laptop.

The bad:

1) It took me about 30 seconds for the track-pad to anger me. For the most part, you have to deliberately *CLICK* the button for it to register. Even though you press the button and you *feel* it click and you *hear* it click it doesn't register. I had to really think about pushing harder than normal on the track pad button to consistently get a good result.

2) I was surprised at how much it weighed - even without the battery. It's still pretty light though.

The ugly

1) I think there is a *major* issue with the power adapter plugs. For one, it's very cheap looking. It's your typical barrel plug, but very thin and very shallow (think mid-1990's a/c adapter for your Walkman). This prevents it from latching properly to the laptop. When you plug it in there is very little feedback that it's actually plugged in and it doesn't take much effort to pull the plug out.

Also, the unit at Microcenter wouldn't power on anymore. They had the battery out and running solely on A/C. Either the cord end had a loose connection or the jack was faulty in the laptop. They had it running and it powered off as soon as I picked it up. After some wiggling I got it to power up, but then it would power off with the slightest movement. Eventually, it wouldn't power on anymore and the salesman couldn't get it going either.

Considering that this particular laptop hasn't been on display for very long I think it's kind of alarming to see this happen. Seems like a design issue to me?

Riley