Hands-on review: HP Envy 15

By Kevin Lee

The HP Envy line is a series of laptops with a long history. It’s a line of notebook well known to students for its sharp design and respectable components. Now into its 15th year anniversary since its introduction in 2009, HP is taking the Envy 15 to a new thinner and more premium direction.

Last year’s model already helped to slim down the all-too-puffy 15-inch laptop, and now HP has gone even further by completely removing the optical drive and dedicated graphics from all configurations. While some users might find these reductions to be regressive, the new Envy also gains a much more vibrant screen, sharper design and a higher $779 (about £545, AU$1,024) starting price.

Design

The first thing you really notice about the new HP Envy 15 is how much lighter and thinner its new all-aluminum shell is now. Measuring in at 4.4 pounds (2kg) while measuring in at only 0.75-inches (1.9cm), last year’s model seems almost fat by comparison, sitting at 5 pounds while measuring 2.37cm thick.

Of course, to get here HP had to strip out the optical drive entirely. Last year, users had the option of …read more

Source:: techradar.com – PC and Mac