Is it worth it to buy the Envy 14 Now?

After lurking for an absurd amount of time here, I've discovered a lot about the Envy 14.

The most discussed revision of the E14 has:

• An underclocked, lower-binned GPU (5650 Mobile), worse than the ones found on HP's lower-range models
• No option for the popular Radiance screen @ 1600x900p60
• No dedicated VGA out - only HDMI and mini-DisplayPort (adapters/gender-benders needed for more connectivity)
• A wonky trackpad which may or may not be 'fixed' with some user configs.

However, HP had a $400 off sale (I was unfortunately unable to take advantage of it), which might mean that HP might be trying to clear stock. Cleared stock could mean a new revision or refresh of the Envy, which could mean a few things:

• Return of the Radiance screen
• Return of the VGA out port?
• New CPU options?
• Proper Radeon 5650s?

Not sure what HP's gunning for here, but I'm not entirely sure if it's worth it to buy one of these things right now. I mean, with no Radiance and a GPU that isn't guaranteed an overclock to normal frequencies, it doesn't seem like it's worth it to plop down $1500 for the Envy I want. Should I wait? Should I go for a Radiance Envy with an i5 off of eBay or something? I'd like to have an i7 and a spare battery, but if the system as a whole isn't worth the money at this point, I may as well go for the eBay models.

Also, does anyone know if HP's included a way to check the battery status while the laptop's powered down/sleeping? Like what Apple does on the MBPs and Dell does with their batteries? (Granted, Apple did it on the batteries of their MBPs in the past, but I'm rambling here).

 

My guess is none of those things will be revised in the near future. At most, you may see the return of the Radiance display within a couple months. But to me, this is simply a sale that HP is throwing in now that their sales for the Envy 14 have slowed.

 

I see it as a way for them to clear out the second generations before coming out with another.

 

All right, what if I invested in a refurbished Radience-era Envy 14 from the HP Outlet? Worst case scenario I see there is that I get the old hardware and HP refreshes the line in a month or so. They wouldn't refresh the line sooner than that, would they? If they did, I could just return the refurb Envy and buy a new one, couldn't I?

 

I doubt it's a clear out to make preparation for a fully refreshed model - HP just released new pre-configured units less than two months ago to retail stores... its possible that they're refreshing the GPU in them with the new AMD 6000 series but I cant see the rest being changed at this point.