HP's Folio thirteen, the primary of the new merchandise line designed to appeal to both mainstream and organization users, is not the thinnest or lightest Ultrabook close to. But unless you happen to be a fanatic about this kind of factors, it's going to almost certainly fill your needs much better than its thinner and lighter opponents. It provides superb performance and laptop battery existence, a fetchingly minimalist style, and a typing expertise that thinner units cannot match.
Our $899 (as of February twenty, 2012) consumer configuration in the Folio 13 revolves around an Intel Core i5-2467M, 4GB of 1333 MHz DDR3, along with a performance-enhancing 128GB Samsung solid-state push. The exhibit is flawlessly backlit and crisp, at 13.3 inches with a resolution of 1366 by 768. The $999 enterprise edition adds features this kind of like a TPM (Trusted System Module) for protection, a cleaner computer software image, and Windows seven Expert rather than Windows seven Home Quality.
The Folio 13's WorldBench 6 rating of 118 is good for the Core i5-based device, and in casual make use of the unit feels quite snappy. The integrated Intel High definition 3000 graphics contribute to weak gaming frame rates, which top out in the lower 30s at 800 by 600 resolution with lower top quality options. Video clip, on the other hand, is sleek as silk, even if taking part in 1080p information. The battery lasts a nutritious 6 hrs, 46 minutes. In case you want more time, even though, you are going to must locate a energy plug: The Folio thirteen will not have a very user-replaceable battery.
The Folio thirteen comes with 1 USB two.0 port and one particular USB 3.0 port. Even though equally are black, the USB three.0 port is marked beneath with the SuperSpeed USB brand. An individual HDMI port is available to accommodate exterior shows, and there's an SD slot for loading pictures and this kind of. A mobile-device-style mini-jack that mixes headphones and mic into a one plug handles audio enter and output. The microphone next for the 1280-by-1024-resolution webcam also accepts audio enter. Connectivity is top-notch with gigabit ethernet, 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth three.0 on board.
The Folio 13's keyboard features a good feel, mainly because the keys can journey farther than on ultrathin laptops, but there is certainly minor flex on the device like a entire, which contributes to a much more steady typing system. The single-piece touchpad is interesting, also, but resistance--to dragging also to clicking--is a tad higher than on most laptops. The Folio thirteen travels at four lbs . like the AC adapter, as versus a median of 3.seven pounds for your Ultrabooks PCWorld has reviewed.
HP displays a pull-quote (from one more publication) about the Folio 13's World wide web page that calls the Folio 13's audio "fantastic". Listening with the headphones, one might conceivably make that argument. But the speakers? No way. Audio by means of them is loud but more than a tad muddy. Superlatives such as "fantastic" ought to be reserved for laptops including the Toshiba Qosmio X775 3D, that has a subwoofer that can reproduce bass tones sans the headphones. Nonetheless, the Folio 13's audio can be a cut above the terrible seem you will get from the speakers on most Ultrabooks.
In stark distinction for the Folio 13's minimalist outward style will be the hectic Windows seven Home Quality desktop you experience whenever you initial boot up. Shortcuts to eBay, HP Game titles (Wild Tangent), RaRa songs, Zya music, and HP downloads--as well like a quantity of a lot more staid HP utilities and Microsoft Place of work 2010 Starter Edition--look gaudy in distinction towards the stylish externals. HP's qualifications images will not match the unit's look specifically well possibly.
The Folio 13 is actually a solid work from HP that, as an alternative of blindly shedding capabilities and usability during the name of thin-and-light, strikes an inexpensive harmony. It's almost certainly a tad expensive for many shoppers, but which includes a solid-state push constantly drives up a laptop's cost. This design really should undoubtedly be with your short list of Ultrabooks to take into consideration.
