Review: HP Pavilion dm4-1101ea – this is still a Great Ultraportable Laptop
The HP Pavilion dm4-1101ea falls into the same ultra portable category as the Asus in this group test, and will certainly suit regular travelers after a highly portable companion. But unfortunately it falls a little short in some key areas.
The 14-inch screen is great and makes digesting data, be it for work or your own entertainment, a pleasure. We were especially impressed by the brightness of the display, which counteracts the glossy, reflective coating well. Color reproduction also impresses and will suit those looking to view photos and other multimedia. However, we found the lid didn’t open far back past the vertical, so finding a viewing angle in tight spaces, such as on a train, could be a problem.
Build quality is good and the hard plastics used will protect the laptop’s internal components well. The design features a pinkish tinge, which may alienate some buyers, and lined patterns run across both the palmrest and lid, giving the laptop a unique look and feel- great if you want to stand out from the crowd.
The keyboard didn’t quite live up to our expectations. Isolation-style keys are used, but the board is incredibly flexible and regular typists will miss the snappy actions offered by many of the other laptops in this group test, most noticeably the excellent Asus and Lenovo. The touchpad is also a source of irritation. The whole pad is touch sensitive and this causes problems when you’re trying to click the buttons and scroll simultaneously, as the presence of two fingers on the touch pad at the same time causes the cursor to act erratically.
The Intel Core is processor produces decent performance and those looking to take office work with them on the move will have no problems running any number of applications concurrently. Graphically the HP isn’t the most powerful machine, however, and while basic photo editing is possible, anything more resource intensive will quickly struggle. The 320GBhard drive offers the joint least storage in this group test, along with the Samsung, but spins at a very fast 7200rpm, increasing the speed the processor has access to your data.
The DVD optical drive is also a bonus in such a small machine and those looking to burn discs or simply watch movies on the move will be pleased by its presence. A nice touch is the inclusion of a fingerprint reader for the added security of your data. The Pavilion dm4-1101ea is a good ultraportable, but a few usability issues, such as the touchpad, could spoil the experience for you, so make sure you try before you buy.
Specification
- PROCESSOR INTEL 2.4GHZ CORE i5 450M
- MEMORY 4096MB DDR3 SDRAM
- STORAGE 320GB(7200RPM)
- OPTICAL DRIVE TRI-FORMAT DVDDL
- SCREEN SIZE AND TYPE 14-INCH SUPER-TFT
- DISPLAY RESOLUTION 1366×768 (WXGA)
- GRAPHICS CARD INTEL GMA HD
- DIMENSIONS 338 X240 X34MM
- WEIGHT 2KG
- WIRELESS LAN 802.11N
- ETHERNET GIGABIT
- USB PORTS 3
- FIREWIRE NO
- OPERATING SYSTEM WINDOWS 7 HOME PREMIUM
- STANDARD WARRANTY 1YR RTB P&L
The HP Pavilion dm4-1101ea falls into the same ultra portable category as the Asus in this group test, and will certainly suit regular travelers after a highly portable companion. But unfortunately it falls a little short in some key areas.
The 14-inch screen is great and makes digesting data, be it for work or your own entertainment, a pleasure. We were especially impressed by the brightness of the display, which counteracts the glossy, reflective coating well. Color reproduction also impresses and will suit those looking to view photos and other multimedia. However, we found the lid didn’t open far back past the vertical, so finding a viewing angle in tight spaces, such as on a train, could be a problem.
Build quality is good and the hard plastics used will protect the laptop’s internal components well. The design features a pinkish tinge, which may alienate some buyers, and lined patterns run across both the palmrest and lid, giving the laptop a unique look and feel- great if you want to stand out from the crowd.
The keyboard didn’t quite live up to our expectations. Isolation-style keys are used, but the board is incredibly flexible and regular typists will miss the snappy actions offered by many of the other laptops in this group test, most noticeably the excellent Asus and Lenovo. The touchpad is also a source of irritation. The whole pad is touch sensitive and this causes problems when you’re trying to click the buttons and scroll simultaneously, as the presence of two fingers on the touch pad at the same time causes the cursor to act erratically.
The Intel Core is processor produces decent performance and those looking to take office work with them on the move will have no problems running any number of applications concurrently. Graphically the HP isn’t the most powerful machine, however, and while basic photo editing is possible, anything more resource intensive will quickly struggle. The 320GBhard drive offers the joint least storage in this group test, along with the Samsung, but spins at a very fast 7200rpm, increasing the speed the processor has access to your data.
The DVD optical drive is also a bonus in such a small machine and those looking to burn discs or simply watch movies on the move will be pleased by its presence. A nice touch is the inclusion of a fingerprint reader for the added security of your data. The Pavilion dm4-1101ea is a good ultraportable, but a few usability issues, such as the touchpad, could spoil the experience for you, so make sure you try before you buy.
Specification
- PROCESSOR INTEL 2.4GHZ CORE i5 450M
- MEMORY 4096MB DDR3 SDRAM
- STORAGE 320GB(7200RPM)
- OPTICAL DRIVE TRI-FORMAT DVDDL
- SCREEN SIZE AND TYPE 14-INCH SUPER-TFT
- DISPLAY RESOLUTION 1366×768 (WXGA)
- GRAPHICS CARD INTEL GMA HD
- DIMENSIONS 338 X240 X34MM
- WEIGHT 2KG
- WIRELESS LAN 802.11N
- ETHERNET GIGABIT
- USB PORTS 3
- FIREWIRE NO
- OPERATING SYSTEM WINDOWS 7 HOME PREMIUM
- STANDARD WARRANTY 1YR RTB P&L
