HP Pavilion dm4-1050ea
A well-constructed and powerful ultraportable, but with flawed usability…
As laptop components continue to shrink in size, we’re seeing more laptops that fit in the ‘ultraportable’ bracket – machines under 2kg in weight. The HP Pavilion dm4-105oea just scrapes into this category, despite a solid chassis and powerful processor, and only a dodgy touchpad detracts from an excellent all-round laptop.
An attractive brushed aluminium finish is decorated with a subtle lined pattern and proves tough in all areas except around the DVD drive, where we noticed some slight flex. You can easily slip the slim and light chassis into a bag and carry it all day, and the 335 minutes of battery life is well above average for the specification.
Images are crisp on the sharp 14-inch display. A glossy Super-TFT screen coating has been used, which proves highly reflective and greatly limits outdoors use.but it delivers a truly vibrant picture.
Performance is also strong, thanks to the Intel Core i5 processor. There’s more than enough power for multi-tasking with a number of intensive applications.
Graphics are provided by a GPU integrated into the processor. While these are less powerful than dedicated graphics cards, we’ve been impressed by Intel’s integrated graphics of late. Basic multimedia tasks such as photo editing and watching HD video work well, and you can even play older games.
An excellent isolation-style keyboard is in place, with keys poking through individual holes cut in the chassis. The well-sized keys and the gaps between them are perfect for touch-typing, and it’s a comfortable board to type on for extended periods.
Unfortunately. the touchpad is one of the worst we’ve used in recent times. The mouse buttons have been integrated into the pad, so resting your thumb on them makes the cursor go crazy, and simply pressing them occasionally causes the cursor to skip across the screen.
Impressive features
Features are more impressive than usability, with a high-speed 32oGB harddrive and 5-in-1 memory card reader in place. HP has also included a fingerprint scanner for added security.
VGA and HDMI connections allow an external display to be hooked up, while one of the three USB ports doubles up as an eSATA port for fast data transfer with external hard drives. Networking is also the fastest currently available, with 8o2.11n Wi-Fi and Gigabit Ethernet on board.
The Pavilion dm4-1050ea is a powerful ultra portable that excels in most areas.The annoying touchpad lets it down, but this is still a well-built machine that is recommended for its portability and performance.
Specs Detail
- PROCESSOR INTEL 2.26GHZ CORE i5 430M
- MEMORY 3072MB DDR3 SDRAM
- HARD DRIVE 320GB (7200RPM)
- OPTICAL DRIVE TRI-FORMAT DVD DL
- SCREEN SIZE AND TYPE 14-INCH SUPER-TFT
- DISPLAY RESOLUTION 1366 X 768 (WXGA)
- GRAPHICS CARD INTEL GMA HD
- DIMENSIONS 338 X 213 X 32MM
- WEIGHT 2KG
- WIRELESS LAN 802.11N
- ETHERNET GIGABIT
- USB PORTS 3
- FIREWIRE NO
- OPERATING SYSTEM WINDOWS 7 HOME PREMIUM
- STANDARD WARRANTY 1 YR C&R P&L
Price £649
A well-constructed and powerful ultraportable, but with flawed usability…
As laptop components continue to shrink in size, we’re seeing more laptops that fit in the ‘ultraportable’ bracket – machines under 2kg in weight. The HP Pavilion dm4-105oea just scrapes into this category, despite a solid chassis and powerful processor, and only a dodgy touchpad detracts from an excellent all-round laptop.
An attractive brushed aluminium finish is decorated with a subtle lined pattern and proves tough in all areas except around the DVD drive, where we noticed some slight flex. You can easily slip the slim and light chassis into a bag and carry it all day, and the 335 minutes of battery life is well above average for the specification.
Images are crisp on the sharp 14-inch display. A glossy Super-TFT screen coating has been used, which proves highly reflective and greatly limits outdoors use.but it delivers a truly vibrant picture.
Performance is also strong, thanks to the Intel Core i5 processor. There’s more than enough power for multi-tasking with a number of intensive applications.
Graphics are provided by a GPU integrated into the processor. While these are less powerful than dedicated graphics cards, we’ve been impressed by Intel’s integrated graphics of late. Basic multimedia tasks such as photo editing and watching HD video work well, and you can even play older games.
An excellent isolation-style keyboard is in place, with keys poking through individual holes cut in the chassis. The well-sized keys and the gaps between them are perfect for touch-typing, and it’s a comfortable board to type on for extended periods.
Unfortunately. the touchpad is one of the worst we’ve used in recent times. The mouse buttons have been integrated into the pad, so resting your thumb on them makes the cursor go crazy, and simply pressing them occasionally causes the cursor to skip across the screen.
Impressive features
Features are more impressive than usability, with a high-speed 32oGB harddrive and 5-in-1 memory card reader in place. HP has also included a fingerprint scanner for added security.
VGA and HDMI connections allow an external display to be hooked up, while one of the three USB ports doubles up as an eSATA port for fast data transfer with external hard drives. Networking is also the fastest currently available, with 8o2.11n Wi-Fi and Gigabit Ethernet on board.
The Pavilion dm4-1050ea is a powerful ultra portable that excels in most areas.The annoying touchpad lets it down, but this is still a well-built machine that is recommended for its portability and performance.
Specs Detail
- PROCESSOR INTEL 2.26GHZ CORE i5 430M
- MEMORY 3072MB DDR3 SDRAM
- HARD DRIVE 320GB (7200RPM)
- OPTICAL DRIVE TRI-FORMAT DVD DL
- SCREEN SIZE AND TYPE 14-INCH SUPER-TFT
- DISPLAY RESOLUTION 1366 X 768 (WXGA)
- GRAPHICS CARD INTEL GMA HD
- DIMENSIONS 338 X 213 X 32MM
- WEIGHT 2KG
- WIRELESS LAN 802.11N
- ETHERNET GIGABIT
- USB PORTS 3
- FIREWIRE NO
- OPERATING SYSTEM WINDOWS 7 HOME PREMIUM
- STANDARD WARRANTY 1 YR C&R P&L
Price £649
