*HP dm4t (1XXX series) Owners Lounge!*

that's great news, i hope you're right. Soon that "order in production" will be "order shipped" hopefully

 

mine is "Order in production" too! if they really are "in production" then it shouldn't take more than a few days before it's ready to be shipped, right? right?!?!?

 

I am so bored that I am checking the order status page every couple of hours.

 

u too? hahah.. i keep hoping to see a change in the status.

 

Mine's in production now as well.

 

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!

Order in production

 

Dang....I am going to have to wait longer because I got it through Costco.

It's hard to judge by just internet comments but I think there was a real need for a powerful, portable, reasonable laptop. The closest things that fit the bill were the asus, the toshiba 505, the sony vaio CW series and the old dv4i. None of them seem close to this in terms of features and design.

 

It is just that 14'' has been the forgotten screen size. There are 13.3'' notebooks, and smaller, with power and battery life and 15.6'' ones as well. The market for 14'' was basically untapped and that is the perfect size for me.

 

The review for the dm4 is up at laptopmag.com. They didn't like the touchpad but the review is good overall. Check it out.. Now I want the laptop to get here sooner!

 

The review definitely made me feel more confident about my purchase. The only thing laptopmag had to complain about was the lack of discrete graphics (mine will have this) and the trackpad, which I don't care about too much as long as it's at least somewhat usable.

 

I never noticed the color on there, I thought it was silver. That's the only part I'm disappointed about. I got the i7 processor, discrete graphics, and i bought an ssd so in terms of performance mine will be much better than the unit they reviewed.

 

I don't understand why the only things they didn't like were the touchpad and lack of gaming performance but they only gave it 3.5/5 stars. They had to of known that the Intel HD graphics weren't going to perform all that well and it even performed above the category average. The 5450 will likely score around 4000-4500 3dMarks.

They are basically taking off 1.5 stars because they don't like the touchpad. The review also seems kind of rushed.

I am very happy to hear that it stays cool, at least externally, and about the battery life because I got the 9 cell so I can probably expect at least 7 hours.

 

Yes I agree, 3.5 ranking for finicky mainly trackpad, plus bloatware to slow down boot time which is expected, and also they disliked graphics performance when they reviewed a system without the discrete graphics.. the comments itself is positive overall in terms of performance, cooling system, looks/design, and functionality. I'm definitely happy with the purchase and can't wait for it to arrive.. waiting... still waiting...

 

Honestly, the overall star rating doesn't mean much to me - it seems a bit arbitrary. What matters more is the specific items they discuss - design, dimensions, performance, battery, etc. Their comments about the heat production reassured me immensely, and their overall positivity towards the design and build is also telling. Specs alone can't account for those areas, so it was great to see that the DM4 held up well.

As for the touchpad, if it is finicky I bet there will be modifications to the settings or driver updates that can be made. I will look forward to reading other sites' reviews also, but mainly out of curiosity now that I know the heat control/build quality are solid.

 

I'm waiting on this. Need to hear opinions on the LCD quality. I know most laptops are "meh" as far as LCD quality, but IMO HP has been particularly terrible recently. (Along with Asus.)

Sony Vaios and Macbooks seem to have the best screens as far as "mainstream" laptops. So if I'm going to spend over $800 on the DM4 it needs to have a comparable display. Really, really hope it does. This looks like the perfect laptop.

 

Torn between the dm4t and the asus u30jc. Anyone have any thoughts? Long battery life is very important to me. I found that the asus ul's were creaky and flexish.

 

I considered the asus u30jc awhile back but it was on backorder. If battery life is that important to you, the asus would be the better choice , claims up to 7-8 hours. But if you can live with a high capacity 9 cell battery on a laptop, the dm4 can live up to 12 hours (or so hp claims), but standard, the dm4 is only about 5 hours. Not sure if the asus has a higher cell battery and what the life would be. There are several reviews on the u30jc out which you should check out to get a better idea of the laptop. The u30jc has nvidia graphics which is good for gaming if you're into that. The design and build isn't bad, aluminum lid and aluminum palm rest, the rest is plastic. For a thin and light, it's a bit thicker and heavier.

I decided the dm4 over the u30jc basically because of the metal finish, it's thinner and lighter, i liked the overall design, i don't play games so i didn't need the discrete nvidia graphics that comes with the base model (the dm4 has graphics option if you want it), good battery life (claims up to 6.5 hours on standard 6 cell battery, but 5 hours found in laptopmag.com review testing), and the cost was too appealing, lower base price plus hp bing discount, I saved alot of money. HP is bringing out something new with these new updates on their laptops and it excited me enough to buy it and see it for myself.

But definitely check out the reviews on the u30jc and the dm4 and get a better idea of what's more appealing to you. If it's just battery life, then the u30jc is the better choice. it is a very solid laptop, it got great reviews. You really can't go wrong with either of them.

 

Basically the reasons I went with the the dm4 is because I prefer a 14'' over 13.3'', I like ATI more than Nvidia, and it was a lot cheaper with BCB.

If you have the money, though, you can't go wrong with the U30JC.

 

Does anybody here know if it's possibly to use bing cashback with the student discount?

 

Nope. That was the first thing I asked HP when I saw the 25% BCB.

 

I wonder if it's actually pink-ish like the laptopmag gallery shows?

 

It does look that way but on the videos I have seen and on the HP website it looks to be a shade of silver.

 

It's probably just the reflection of something in the room? If you search for 'hp dm4t' on youtube you can see a vid of the laptop. It's metallic.

YouTube - HP Pavilion dm4 dv5 dv6 dv7 hands-on

Another question about the Bing cashback, it says 10% off for me, but you all have 25%, is this a promotion that is over now or am I not doing this right? Also are you allowed to apply a coupon code for the laptop and still get the bing cashback? How can you be sure that you will receive the cash back? Sorry about all the questions I've never used it before.

Thanks for those kind enough to answer.

 

You missed the 25% a couple of days ago and you are not doing anything wrong if you are seeing 10% now, that is how much it is. Applying coupons or any discounts will void the cashback and you will receive the cashback as long as you go through Bing with cookies enabled.

I am not sure about whether or not this will work but after I placed my first order and called to cancel it because I wanted to make some changes the first thing the rep did was offer me an $80 credit but I wasn't sure if it would void my BCB so I turned it down. If you want to take the risk you can place your order and then call them to cancel and try and get the price lowered even more.

 

How do you know for sure that the bing cashback thing has actually gone through? When I go to the shopping cart page should there be some bing symbol or popup? Thanks for you help!

 

Steps I used,

(using Internet Explorer with default security settings)
Go to Bing
Sign in to your Windows Live/Bing account
Go to Bing shopping and then stores and click on HP Direct
Put in your email, verification code
Customize your notebook and checkout

You should receive your BCB email within the next 5-10 minutes.

 

Hey all,

What kind of 3dmark06 score would a dm4t get with a 5450? I am looking for a laptop and it needs to be able to do some gaming.

Thanks

 

It should be around 4500, maybe slightly more.

 

From Notebookcheck.com:

The 4570 gets 6755 in 3DMark 05.

 

Want to buy the new HP dm4t .. BUT, when I went to buy it last night the 25% Bing CashBack had changed to the current 10%.

Does anyone know if HP periodically runs a 25% Bing CashBack special?

Thoughts on that? thx

 

They don't schedule it but it seems to happen every couple of months

 

I have owned a new HP TM2t and, no matter what shade people (especially male people!) try to ascribe to it, in the right light the tint is PINK, but very subdued, and in most lights it appears silver with a very slight bronze-ish tint. Varies quite a bit by light source. Personal opinion: though the metallic finishes are nicer than the shiny plastics that preceded them, the pinkish tinge and the fussy engraving patterns are, well, fussy and inappropriately ornate for a computer. Still looks fine, though, especially if not viewing within 2 ft of machine.

 

FWIW, I have spent time with both machines and concur 100% with the conclusions in the above review.

However, just to confuse you ( ) there are a few other factors to consider:

1) The Hp does have a nicer screen, though same resolution.

2) Asus has a two year wtty and 1 yr accidental damage coverage, no extra charge, HP is 1 yr and have to pay for accidental damage.

3) Hp gives you 21 days to return a machine, even if there's nothing wrong with it, for no restocking fee and they even pay return shipping. There may be an online retailer who will do the same for Asus, but hard to find one. Try Buydig or J&R Music

4) Both mfrs have reputation for uneven build quality and will likely not surprise you pleasantly in that regard. The new HP line appears to be a more solid design, but I was shipped one with very large gaps between screen and it's metal back plate, irreparable, as the aluminum was formed defectively.

5) You can buy HP direct, but Asus must be through reseller.

6) HP has eSata and Asus does not. (HP dropped ExpressCard slot - d--n you, HP! But Asus doesn't have either).

7) the dm4 has better sound, but only by a modest margin.

8) the HP has an accelerometer to protect HD (allegedly) in the event of a drop; Asus doesn't (but they wtty the machine if you drop it!)

(Wow, didn't realize there were so many differentiators until I listed them!)

9) You can CTO order the HP, not the Asus, but many Asus resellers do "aftermarket" customizations of everything from cpu (maybe not in this model due to graphics switching) to HDD/SSD, optical drive, etc.

10) You can get accessories (extra batteies, ac adaptors, etc, at 50% off when you order with a PC order at HP.com, not so with Asus, but aftermarket parts may be just as cheap.

11) If you are not in a hurry, HP frequently offers coupons for $200-$450 off. You have to watch their Bing Cash Back daily, even many times a day; it can vary from 8% to 25%. Note: the best deals are the large, stackable coupons, better even than 25% BCB, and they can't be combined. To my knowledge, the best you can do with Asus is use a retailer that gets BCB, probably in the 5-10% range.

Here's hoping the additional knowledge may have hit a "deal maker" or deal breaker for you to make your decision easier. Sorry if I did no more than complicate your decision! Remember, as jtttran so correctly summarized: both are excellent machines and you truly cannot go wrong with either choice. For me, I will not buy a laptop computer from any mfr without a trial period to return for no restocking fee even if there is nothing "broken," just because the combination of overall build quality and "feel" don't please me. I recommend you do the same. For the Asus, it will take some shopping around, but I believe J&R, BuyDig and CompUsa will all do that. Amazon and Newegg will NOT.

Good luck!

 

You have seen the dm4t in person?

I don't want to get everyone's hopes up but I ordered the day of the release, and so did a lot of the rest of you, and I fully expect mine to ship within the 3-4 days.

 

If I am in no hurry, should I just wait like a month before getting this to see if there are better deals again?

Also, I do occassionally game, very occasionally, should I get the discrete graphics card? or just stick with the intel, is the intel able to play some games well?

 

If you can wait, do so. The deal disappear and then return without notice. You gotta watch.

 

my espresso sleeve and warranty came in today.. i just wish i had a laptop to use them with =(

 

That really depends on what kind of games. Got any specific ones in mind?
I'd wait for a coupon and get the discrete. I've seen coupons of $200+ off pretty frequently, once every 3 weeks or so, each time a different amount.

 

so in the right light it looks like this?

http://www.infectious.com/product_image/image/2384/miss_kika_hail_rainbow_laptop_hero.jpg

 

I don't think that the pink is as harsh in the dm4, but it's close. Less fluorescence I would say.

 

I looked at my order status on HP, and it says "item shipped." Anyone else get that? The tracking info isnt up yet though, so I'm guessing it was just shipped today.

 

Heck yeah! Same here, no tracking info yet but it has been shipped.

 

Order shipped with tracking number. Told you guys

 

Wow I didn't expect it to say shipped for another week! I hope they send them all with fast shipping because I was cheap and got standard. Regardless this was certainly a nice surprise from hp

 

Shipped!

 

Hi everyone, I'm also going to be the proud parent of a dm4t, in no small part thanks to the wisdom I gleaned from your pages.

Here are the specs of my order:

• Operating system Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
• Processor Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-430M Dual Core processor (2.26GHz, 3MB L2 Cache) with Turbo Boost up to 2.53GHz
• Memory 4GB DDR3 System Memory (2 Dimm)
• Hard drive 320GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive with HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection
• Graphics card 512MB ATI Mobility Radeon(TM) HD 5450 switchable graphics
• Display 14.0" diagonal High-Definition HP BrightView LED Display (1366 x 768) -For HP Mobile Broadband WWAN
• Primary optical drive SuperMulti 8X DVD+/-R/RW with Double Layer Support
• Personalization HP TrueVision Webcam + Fingerprint Reader + Digital Microphone
• Networking Intel Wireless-N Card with Bluetooth
• Keyboard Full-size island-style keyboard
• Primary battery 6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (standard)
• Productivity software Microsoft(R) Works 9.0
  
• HP Care Pack Services 2-year HP Care Pack House Call Service with Accidental Damage Protection for HP Pavilion Laptop PC

I was able to get all this for just $992.43, after HP's instant rebates and the 10% Bing cashback (not mutually exclusive). Breakdown below

Gross HP Direct Prices
$1,079.99 dm4t
$229.99 Care Pack
Gross Total = $1,309.98
------
After Discounts:
$929.99 (notebook had an instant $150 rebate)
$172.49 (services were 25% off)
------
Net Total = $1,102.48
-minus 10% Bing cashback = $992.23!

Note: I've omitted taxes in this breakdown, since they vary by state and yours might be different from mine. Standard shipping was free (which is the usual, I think).

I'm pretty happy because it came down to a 24.3% discount. It's not 25% and it wasn't as straightforward to figure out, but I'll take it!

EDIT: Actually, come to think of it, looks like your earlier purchases may have also had some rebates built into the prices. There's not enough information in the posts for me to tell exactly. I might have to be a sport and wear a n00b hat for a little while.

 

^ i think there was an instant discount of $150 + 25% bing cashback.

i think i was able to get your configuration (minus warranty) for ~$770 after everything's said and done (taxes + bing)

 

Mine's still "In Production"....

 

Item shipped!

I used to work for an online company. Shipped most likely means they have slapped the shipping information on the box, scanned it in, and it will leave the facilities tomorrow. Most likely Fedex comes around 10:00 or so. We shall see.

Anyone know which state these will be shipping from? I'm sure some of us will receive our laptops before others. Whoever gets theirs first gets a cookie!

 

hey everyone! just wanted to share -- i got the $150 instant rebate, student discount AND bing cashback. the laptop, with the most basic config and before taxes and stuff was 680ish, and my cashback was 10%.