Also on board is a high definition webcam which can do 720p HD recording. Using the bundled ArcSoft Webcam Companion software, this webcam can record smooth and crisp videos that look quite nice. We should mention though that this is not a Skype-certified webcam so during video calls the video resolution will be limited at 640 x 480 pixels.

HP ProBook 4530s (Source: hp-laptops.org)

One of the available configurations of the HP ProBook 4530s comes with a second-gen Intel Core i5-2410M processor clocked at 2.30 GHz. It has 4GB of DDR3 memory and a fast 500GB hard drive that rotates at a speed of 7,200 rpm. Thanks to this speedy hard drive, the laptop is capable of booting Windows 7 Professional in less than one minute, which is a few seconds quicker in comparison to other similar laptops.

The graphics department is handled by the integrated Intel HD 3000 chip with shared system memory which allows the notebook to score about 3,600 points in 3DMark06, which is approximately 300 points less than the average in this segment. The laptop is capable of running World of Warcraft with the effects set at Good at 28 fps, which is a decent result for a notebook that has only an integrated GPU.

HP ProBook 4530s (Source: computershopper.com)

This laptop comes with the HP QuickWeb 3.0 feature which will launch the notebook in a simple and functional interface for allowing the user to get online. This can be activated by pressing the dedicated key which is located above the numpad. Once you press this button you’ll get access to information like time, weather, stocks, calculator and news headlines. Also on board is a 60-day trial of Norton Internet Security 2011 and Microsoft Office Started 2010 (ad-supported). We should also mention that the hard drive benefits from the HP 3D DriveGuard tool which will park the HDD when it detects a sudden motion.

With the standard six-cell battery, the HP ProBook 4530s is capable of lasting almost five hours in LAPTOP Battery Test which consists of doing Internet surfing from a wireless network. There’s also an extended nine-cell battery available which will set you back an extra $59.

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We like that it comes with a sturdy lid and along with the interior these two are made from brushed aluminum with a bunch of attractive metallic gray accents. Its screen is surrounded by a dark black plastic bezel and it swings open on its silver hinges.  Across the deck running above the black keyboard is the long perforated metal speaker grille, while the laptop’s underside is manufactured from a black plastic. We should also mention that the keyboard along with the number pad are spill-resistant, just like in the more expensive EliteBook notebooks from HP.

HP ProBook 4530s (Source: adpres.ro)

The HP ProBook 4530s measures 14.8 x 10.1 x 1.1 inches and tips the scales at 5.6 pounds which isn’t light enough to carry it around on short trips but it’s compact enough to move it from one room to the other. We appreciate that it has a spacious keyboard which consists of chiclet-style keys that have a black finish and are a little bit concave. These keys have a deep travel and click softly, providing a more than comfortable feedback.

Underneath this great keyboard is the touchpad from Synaptics which measures 3.6 x 2.1 inches and has been installed below the G and H keys. As you would expect, it supports a wide array of multitouch gestures, including pinch-to-zoom, three-finger swiping and two-finger scrolling, just to name a few. It comes with two discrete left and right mouse buttons that provide a good feedback, without being too stiff.

HP ProBook 4530s (Source: gadget.ro)

HP has fitted the ProBook 4530s with a 15.6-inch LED-backlit screen that has a native resolution of 1,366 x 768 pixels (720p) and it wears a matte coating so you will not have to think about reflections, making it a laptop suitable to use in a bright office. The viewing angles are quite limited but this is understandable given the laptop’s price tag.

Those speakers sitting above the keyboard that we’ve mentioned earlier can provide enough oomph to fill a medium-sized room. The audio is enhanced by the SRS Labs Premium Sound processing which comes with preset equalizer settings for music and movies. Obviously, since we’re talking about a laptop, the bass is barely noticeable.

Tomorrow we’ll have a look at the ports and features of the HP ProBook 4530s, along with talking about the hardware components, webcam and the battery department where we find the 6-cell battery (9-cell battery optional, costs $59).

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HP EliteBook 8540p (Source: notebookreview.com)

Underneath this keyboard is a touchpad from Synaptics that has a moderate size and manages to be easy to use, without any noticeable amount of lag. We like that it has a quick refresh rate which makes it very responsive while the mildly textured surface adopts a matte finish, providing a suitable amount of finger resistance. There’s also a pointing stick interface available which is also quite responsive and you shouldn’t encounter any issues while using it. You will notice that HP has decided to install a middle mouse button which you can use for opening links as new tabs or you can close tabs faster as you won’t have to open the context menu first.

The HP EliteBook 8540p comes with two USB 3.0 ports, three USB 2.0 ports, eSATA, FireWire 400, VGA out, DisplayPort, as well as the regular audio connections. Also on board are an SDHC card slot, ExpressCard/54 slot and a smart card reader.

As far as the software bundled with this laptop, we should mention the company’s Power Assistant for tweaking the various power configurations. This application can also show you the power usage in watts and you can also analyze a graph in order to see the cost per day. In addition, you’re also able to figure out the carbon footprint bases on the CO2 output. Also on board is SkyRoom which is a video conferencing software that allows users of this software to communicate with video and audio, along with sharing desktops which is a useful feature when collaborating for a project.

HP EliteBook 8540p (Source: notebookreview.com)

This business notebook is powered by an Intel Core i5-520M processor running at 2.40 GHz while the graphics power is provided by the dedicated Nvidia NVS 5100m that has 1GB of VRAM. HP also offered this model with a more powerful Intel Core i7-720QM. As standard, the laptop was sold with a 7,200 rpm but for more money it was available with either a 160GB or a 256GB solid state drive (SSD).

The battery installed in this EliteBook 8540p is capable of lasting for a little over five hours in Windows 7 with the Balanced profile activated, the screen brightness set at 70% and the Wi-Fi connection turned on.

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A first-gen Intel Core i5-520M processor working at 2.40 GHz with 2GB of DDR3 memory clocked at 1,333 MHz (up to 16GB supported). In the storage department it has a 320GB SATA HDD rotating at 7,200 rpm while the GPU is a dedicated Nvidia NVS 5100M with 1GB of DDR3 memory. The laptop comes with an Intel Ultimate-N 6300 AGN WiFi card, Bluetooth, 1GB Ethernet and modem. It has a large eight-cell 73WHr battery and runs on Windows 7 Professional (32-bit version).

HP EliteBook 8540p (Source: notebookreview.com)

The HP EliteBook 8540p measures 14.7 x 9.90 x 1.28 inches and it tips the scales at 6 lbs and 7.9 oz. While most of today’s business notebooks look pretty much boring, this model has a stylish and attractive brushed metal exterior which makes it look a little bit more sophisticated. Its metal cladding makes the design eye-catching and it also does a great job at repelling fingerprints and smudges. We also appreciate that the manufacturer decided to install matching silver trim pieces around the hinges of the screen.

Thanks to its great alloy chassis, the HP EliteBook 8540p feels rock solid with minimal signs of flex. The laptop’s thin brushed metal panels benefit from a great support underneath while the keyboard will only show minor flex when you apply hard pressure on it. In addition, the bottom of the notebook is also solid which is nice to hear since most of today’s laptop manufacturers don’t pay that much attention to the rear of a notebook.

HP EliteBook 8540p (Source: notebookreview.com)

It comes with a 15.6-inch HD+ display that has excellent color saturation, deep blacks and above average contrast. The backlight brightness is suitable for viewing the display in a bright office but it’s still not enough for outdoor use. As for the viewing angles, these are better than the average but still narrower when compared to IPS or PVA panels. You should know that the horizontal viewing angles are way better than the vertical ones.

The speakers of the EliteBook 8540p are not that good when compared to what most of consumer notebooks have, but if we have a look at several other business laptops, these speakers are not so bad after all. However, for listening to music or watching a movie, we’d recommend either using some external speakers or plugging in a pair of headphones to get a better audio quality as the speakers provide a tinny and flat sound.

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HP has fitted this model with Altec Lansing speakers that sit on the front and manage to get quite loud. These speakers take advantage of the Dolby technology and provide a high quality sound, without being tinny as most laptop speakers are.

HP Pavilion dv5t (Source: computershopper.com)

Let’s move on and talk about the ports and connectivity features, beginning with the inclusion of three USB 2.0 ports. One of these ports also works as an eSATA port for performing high speed transfers. Video connectivity is covered by the inclusion of VGA and HDMI ports. Other goodies include a 5-in-1 memory card reader, headphone and microphone jacks, as well as an Ethernet jack. There’s also a VGA webcam available but it’s nothing to write home about due to its low maximum resolution of just 640 x 480 pixels. Although during a video chat the image is quite bright, the color reproduction is far from being accurate while across the picture there’s a noticeable bluish tint and also a lot of noise.

One of the available configurations of the HP Pavilion dv5t came with a first-gen Intel Core i5-430M processor clocked at 2.26 GHz with 4GB of DDR3 RAM and a 500GB SATA HDD rotating at a speed of 7,200 rpm. With these components, the laptop is capable of scoring about 5,700 points in PCMark Vantage while in 3DMark06 it will score only about 1,900 points due to the integrated Intel GMA HD graphics chip. As a consequence, this isn’t a notebook for doing serious gaming as the integrated GPU can only handle some light gaming and full HD video streaming.

HP Pavilion dv5t (Source: computershopper.com)

The manufacturer sold this Pavilion dv5t with several programs such as Microsoft Office Home and Student 2007, Norton Internet Security, as well as an array of CyberLink programs like LabelPrint, DVD Suite, Power2Go, PhotoNow and PowerDirector. What you’ll most likely remove is the MSN toolbar which isn’t really useful at all so it will probably go away immediately.

HP installed a standard six-cell battery that offers enough juice to run for about four and a half hours in LAPTOP Battery Test which isn’t really a great performance since there are other laptops in this segment that last longer but if you won’t be using it too far from a power outlet this isn’t really a significant drawback.

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It manages to look a lot like the company’s premium Envy models while staying on a budget. To keep the price tag down HP decided to use plastic instead of metal, but even so it manages to look and feel quite solid while the metallic print on top makes you think that this Pavilion dv5 is made from metal.

HP Pavilion dv5t (Source: computershopper.com)

A champagne hue was used for the palm rest and the chassis, while the keyboard adopts a black finish. We are dealing with an island-style keyboard with plenty of space (also black) between the keys. Underneath this roomy keyboard is where HP has installed a big touchpad that measures 3.9 x 2.6 inches. This touchpad also works as a large clickable mouse button as it isn’t a regular touchpad with left and right mouse buttons. There are no dedicated multimedia keys since these have been built into the keyboard top row, while above there’s just one button for powering on the laptop.

The HP Pavilion dv5t tips the scales at 5.2 pounds which is the average size for a laptop of this size. We should mention that it was the first notebook to be fitted with a 14.5-inch screen which made it easier to carry around than the regular laptops with a 15.6-inch display. However, it is 1.2 inches thick which is a little bit more than the usual laptop, but we still like how it looks.

HP Pavilion dv5t (Source: computershopper.com)

HP has installed on the dv5t a chiclet-style, backlit keyboard which not only looks very nice but it also offers a high level of comfort. It consist of soft keys that feel nice when you touch them, but we do have to mention that the right Shift key has been shrunken but you probably won’t notice this while you are typing.

As most of you know, HP and touchpads haven’t been getting along that well in the last few years and this is the case with the one on this Pavilion dv5t as it’s quite frustrating to use, being sluggish for no apparent reason from time to time, while sometimes it’s overly sensitive. The good part is that it offers support for multitouch gestures but even so we were disappointed with the quality of this touchpad. Fortunately, this issue has been mostly solved in recent HP laptops.

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HP Pavilion g6x (Source: 3gksa.com)

At the heart of the HP Pavilion g6x is a first-gen Intel Core i3-380M processor running at 2.53 GHz, along with 4GB of DDR3 RAM and a modest 500GB hard drive rotating at a speed of 5,400 rpm. With these hardware components, the laptop is capable of scoring 5,384 points in PCMark Vantage which is on par with many of the models in this segment.

The laptop needs more than 70 seconds in order to boot Windows 7 Home Premium which is quite a lot compared to some of its competitors, meaning that the hard drive is kind of slow, a fact more obvious when you do file transfer.

Remember that this isn’t a laptop built to do heavy gaming since it has an integrated Intel HD graphics chip which allows the HP Pavilion g6x to score only about 1,800 points in 3DMark, a lot less than the average score in the mainstream notebook segment. As a consequence, the laptop runs World of Warcraft in autodetect mode at an unplayable 15 FPS so if you want more gaming power you’d better opt for a model that comes with a dedicated video card.

HP Pavilion g6x (Source: 4.bp.blogspot.com)

When this laptop went on sale, it came pre-loaded with a decent amount of software, including the company’s CloudDrive which offered 2GB of online data storage for free. On that hard drive is the HP CoolSense software which is capable of altering the speeds of the fan in order to match the performance scheme of the laptop. Also on board you are going to find a software called HP Power Manager that lets you select from the available power plans or you can create a custom one yourself. HP Support Assistant is also there for reporting or diagnosing a problem. In addition, there’s also the HP MovieStore which essentially is a portal to the well known Roxio Now digital video service.

The laptop comes as standard with a 6-cell lithium-ion battery that can last for about four and a half hours during LAPTOP Battery Test which will do uninterrupted web surfing over a wireless network. This is a good result coming from a mainstream laptop but we’ve seen better in this segment.

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HP Pavilion g6x (Source: img1.findthebest.com)

It comes with an appealing charcoal gray color finish while the shiny lid does a good job at keeping away fingerprints, while the chassis feels sturdy and the tapered edges are very smooth. Open the laptop and you’ll see the dark gray frame for the deck and the screen, while the wrist rest has a lighter hue, just like the recessed keyboard. Sitting above the keyboard is the power button that has an oval shape and features a subtle light.

The HP Pavilion g6x measures 14.7 x 9.7 x 1.4 inches and it weighs 5.2 pounds so it is quite compact and light given the size of the screen, meaning that you should be able to carry it with you occasionally or from one room to the other. Although nowadays most of the laptops come with island-style keyboards, the g6x features a more traditional configuration of the keyboard. This isn’t really a bad thing since the keyboard manages to be quite comfortable since the keys have a terraced shape while the feedback is solid. You will most likely like that HP has decided to reverse the function keys so you’ll be able to modify volume, brightness as well as the other settings without the necessity of hitting the Fn key first.

HP Pavilion g6x (Source: static.ubid.com)

We were a bit disappointed to notice that the touchpad is not centered but at least it’s wide and has a textured surface. It is a Synaptics touchpad that measures 3.5 x 2 inches and provides a decent cursor control. However, compared to some laptops it takes a bit more effort for doing multitouch gestures such as pinch-to-zoom. In the touchpad’s top left corner is an indented dimple which if you tap twice it will turn on/off the touchpad, a feature which we’d like to see more on laptops nowadays. It’s a large touchpad but it’s not one of the best we’ve seen.

HP installed a 15.6-inch LED-backlit display that has a native resolution of 1,366 x 768 pixels. We’re dealing with a screen that gets fairly bright and can provide pleasant colors. On the laptop’s front edge are the stereo speakers which take advantage of the SRS Labs technology and are probably the best we have seen on a laptop in this price segment. With the SRS Premium Sound utility you are able to tweak the audio settings, a software that has a bunch of presets as well as an equalizer.

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Above the screen there’s a 0.3 megapixel TrueVision HD webcam which can take still photos and videos at a maximum resolution of 1,280 x 800 pixels. It comes bundled with the CyberLink YouCam BE software and it manages to take sharp photos but most of them are a little bit on the dark side.

HP Pavilion Dm1-4010us (Source: worldnewelectronics.com)

At the heart of this ultraportable is a dual core AMD E-450 APU running at 1.66 GHz, managing to offer a significantly better performance than most of today’s netbooks but it still can’t match those premium ultraportables that cost a lot more money. This Pavilion dm1 model is capable of scoring 2,370 points in PCMark Vantage, which is slightly better than the previous version which had a E-350 APU clocked at 1.50 GHz.

It has been fitted with a 320GB hard drive rotating at 7,200 rpm which is capable of booting the 64-bit version of Windows 7 Premium in about one minute. In the graphics department it has an integrated AMD Radeon HD 6320 GPU which AMD says that it has the power of a dedicated video card. It is capable of scoring an impressive 2,650 points in 3DMark06 and can run World of Warcraft at native resolution with the graphics settings at Good at 34 FPS, which 10 FPS higher than the model it replace. If you turn the graphics settings all the way up, the frame rate drops to an unplayable 13 FPS.

The HP Pavilion dm1-4010us is equipped with a 6-cell lithium-ion battery which will last for approximately five and a half hours in LAPTOP Battery Test, which should be enough for a full day’s of work, but you might want to know that there are plenty of ultraportables on the market today which can last for at least one hour more.

HP Pavilion Dm1-4010us (Source: worldnewelectronics.com)

HP’s instant-on operating system known as QuickWeb is available on this model, taking just 15 seconds to reach the password screen and about two to three seconds to boot this operating system. You will have an easy access to web content via the widgets for CNN.com, weather and Twitter. In addition, the user is also able to access the photos saved on the hard drive, send items to a printer or even launch Skype. Bundled games include Plants vs. Zombies, Gun Bros. and Bejeweled 3.

Other software includes the company’s Recovery Manager, along with Zya Music Player which can be considered as a combination between an RPG and a music creation application. Also on board are Internet Explorer 9, Evernote, Adobe Reader X, Windows Live, Microsoft Office Starter, 60-day trial of Norton Internet Security, along with the aforementioned Skype.

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Once you open the laptop you’ll notice right away the same plastic black matte look found on the lid. It features a recessed black matte keyboard, while the top of the deck is sweeping up in a rather elegant incline. At the top of the deck you will have access to the buttons for the Quick Web launched and power.

HP Pavilion dm1-4010us (Source: notebookcheck.net)

The HP Pavilion dm1-4010us measures 11.5 x 8.5 x 0.3 – 1.3 inches and weighs 3.4 pounds and it should fit easily into a messenger bag or a regular backpack. This is a travel-friendly laptop that we would like to recommend to those of you that do a lot of typing since it has a superb island-style keyboard which extends from one edge to the other. It consists of medium-sized keys that are flat and are capable of providing a firm feedback, thus offering a pleasuring typing experience. You will most likely appreciate that HP has decided to reverse the function row keys which means that you’ll able to fiddle with the brightness of the screen of the audio volume without having to press the Fn key first.

While the aforementioned dm1z has an all-in-one clickpad which frankly we don’t really like, this dm1-4010us adopts a textured touchpad that packs two physical left and right mouse buttons that are a lot easier to use. This is a Synaptics touchpad that measures 3.3 x1.6 inches and has a textured finish which feels good while you drag your fingers on it. Multitouch gestures are performed nicely while the mouse buttons provide a springy feedback.

HP Pavilion dm1-4010us (Source: compaqlaptops.net)

HP has installed an 11.6-inch LED-backlit display that has a native resolution of 1,366 x 768 pixels. This is a vibrant display that shows vivid colors and it gets quite bright without washing out. The speakers found on this small laptop benefit from the Beats Audio technology. On the front lip of this Pavilion laptop sits the thin speaker strip which provides excellent audio quality. The user can fiddle with the settings by using the bundled Beats Audio control panel.

We end the first part by mentioning that the laptop comes with the company’s CoolSense temperature regulating software but it lacks some of the functionality found in earlier versions of the software since now the user can only toggle this function on or off.

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