HP via Engadget: The major updates to HP’s Envy 13 and Envy 15 are the new prices. The Envy 15 starts at US$1299.99, $400 cheaper, and includes: 2.4GHz Core i5-520M CPU, 4GB DDR3 RAM, ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5830 with a huge 1GB of VRAM, and Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit. The Envy 13 starts at $1499.99, $300 cheaper, and includes: 1.6GHz Core 2 Duo SL9300, ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4330 with 512MB VRAM and a 4-cell battery.
Since HP’s Envy notebooks look strikingly similar to Apple’s MacBook Pro notebooks, I believe a quick comparison is warranted. The 13-inch MacBook Pro starts at just $1199 but lacks a discrete GPU but a much faster 2.26GHz Core 2 Duo CPU and lasts for a rated 7 hours. If a powerful CPU is in need the MacBook Pro is the better choice. On the other hand, if graphics is more important the Envy 13 should have significantly better performance.
The Envy 15 with its $1299.99 starting price is actually quite a bit more competitive to the 15-inch MacBook Pro, which lags in CPU power with a 2.53GHz Core 2 Duo (the Core i5 on the Envy 15 should spank it easily). The 15-inch MacBook Pro also lacks a discrete GPU but is $400 more expensive starting at $1699.00. With a similar look but much more powerful hardware the Envy 15 beats the MacBook Pro in price by a very wide margin. This was just a quick comparison and I realize it is an ‘apples’-to-oranges comparison but with the lower prices HP has made its Envy line significantly more competitive, especially the Envy 15.
Engadget: Pixel Qi has a brilliant LCD technology that allows you to completely turn off the backlight and use it in reflective mode. Benefits? Low power consumption compared to other LCDs and much faster response times compared to E Ink. Yes, Pixel Qi’s 3Qi LCD technology is perfect for portable devices that require long battery life and excellent response. But one thing must change.
In most every review of some tablet or another the biggest disappointment is the viewing angle. This tells me that there is no one that has really thought through what type of experience a portable reading device should provide. If a user cannot see text in portrait mode compared to when it is landscape the product is a complete failure. Even the iPhone isn’t perfect though the 3.5-inch is quite a bit better than almost all other mobile phones (smartphones, superphones, etc.) at most angles. Pixel Qi has the same problem: viewing angles are terrible. So, why is it terrible?
TN. Twisted Nematic. That’s the type of LCD that is cheapest to manufacturer. And in this case you do get what you pay for: terrible viewing angles. Nearly all notebook PCs make use of TN-type LCDs and nearly all of them have terrible viewing angles. LCD monitors except for those that use PVA and IPS panels suck too. Same thing applies to TVs. If Pixel Qi wants to succeed in providing a solid viewing/reading experience on its 3Qi LCDs, I strongly recommend the company working with either Samsung (PVA) or LG Display (IPS). My preference, if you have been reading this blog long enough, is without question IPS. Just look at how beautiful Apple’s new 27-inch iMac is. Simply gorgeous! Combine 3Qi and IPS and you’ve got a one-two punch that would knock out any thing out there right now.
Pixel Qi grafted a 3Qi LCD into a Lenovo IdeaPad S10 and showcased it during CES 2010. Next to a Kindle the 3Qi LCD looks quite nice with the backlight off. Just imagine not having to wait a second to turn the page when reading, being able to playback video, and doing pretty much what you’d expect to do on a regular LCD without having to worry about battery life if you want to hunker down and finish off the last 100 pages of Outliers. BTW, I’m rereading this excellent book!
- Back-lit Keyboard
- SSD
- Dynamic Hybrid Graphics System
- 13.1-inch 16:9 Wide HD Display
- Carbon Fiber / Aluminum Chasis
- 3G Mobile Broadband
The back-lit keyboard and SSD are probably standard features found in higher-end notebook PCs. 3G mobile broadband is thankfully via Verizon Wireless, which means you will not have to worry about whether you will be able to connect during CES 2011. Other connectivity options include: Gigabit Ethernet, WiFi ABGN and Bluetooth. The carbon fiber and aluminum chassis sounds high-tech but I think unibody is higher-tech: combine unibody and carbon fiber and now you’ve got my interest.
You can decide whether you want the faster NVIDIA GeForce 9300M GS GPU with almost 2TB (yup, that’s 2010MB!) to do the working or the underpowered Intel’s GMA 4500MHD by sliding the triangular button up (Speed) or down (Stamina) but why? Just shove it to the right (Auto) and let Sony decide for you via its Dynamic Hybrid Graphics System. I’m fairly certain this does not require a logout/login procedure. Listening Apple?
I am rethinking display specs. Generally speaking the higher the total number of pixels the better, in my opinion. LED backlight is better than CCFL backlight for a number of reasons including instant-on, longevity, durability, and thinness. I prefer a 16:10 aspect ratio over 16:9 on my PC-related displays since I’d rather have more vertical pixels than less. But the most important element of a display is how it looks.
There are some objective specifications that point to a better-looking display but they aren’t definitive. For instance, viewing angles. The wider the display the better. Unfortunately most notebook PC display specifications will not state the viewing angles. And I know why: they are all dismal, with very few exceptions. It would be an awesome day when IPS returns to notebook LCDs.
A high contrast ratio is another spec that points to a good display but because of marketing folks this number is rendered almost useless. Instead of a single contrast ratio number I would like to see the contrast ratio at different viewing angles as that would tell me how the display is really performing. I don’t want to see contrast ratio quickly fall as I move away from center.
Most TVs and monitors have a color gamut of 72% NTSC and I would like to see that on notebook LCDs. Currently most notebook LCDs are around the 40% range while some brands have moved to 72% in their higher-end models.
The new VAIO Z sports a 13.1-inch LCD using LED backlight technology and a 1600 x 900 pixel format (16:9 aspect ratio). Starting at US$1799.99 I would assume the display would be of top quality, but unfortunately the specs do not tell me anything about how good the display really looks. (Full specifications can be found here.)
Engadget: Joshua Topolsky got a hold of the Nexus One and posted up a video of his initial experience:
- It is fast.
- Pictures look “pretty decent” coming out of the 5MP camera.
- Thinner than the iPhone.
- Much better design and feel compared to the Droid.
- More responsive and accurate keyboard.
One thing I must mention again is the 3.7-inch AMOLED display on the Nexus One. I haven’t seen it with my own eyes but I believe it will be significantly better than the iPhone’s 3.5-inch LCD. If you are not inclined to unlock your iPhone and move on over to T-Mobile because of your experience with AT&T in your area, the Nexus One looks to be one very good option.
Engadget’s Joshua Topolsky reviewed the revamped Pre Plus from Palm. Allow me to get straight to the points:
- Home button removed and replaced with a thin LED slit.
- Clickier keys but still not clicky enough.
- Stronger hinge for the sliding mechanism; now wants to slide shut a bit easier.
- Keyboard loses orange number keys and has a monochromatic color scheme: harder to find the digits.
- Precarious feeling the cheap plastic MicroUSB door cover will break.
- Storage doubled to 16GB; RAM doubled too.
- Less prevalent card kill warnings.
- Audio is described as “shrilly, almost painful mid-rangey tones”.
- Coming in February: webOS v1.4 (Record and edit video, Flash plugin)
- Verizon Navigator: Good, but not great.
- Mobile Hotspot app: WiFi hotspot allowing up to five connections for $40 per month and a 5GB monthly limit. You go over the limit and you’re hosed: $0.05/MB.
The Pre Plus still isn’t faster. Palm promises speed and better battery life in the next update. Overall Joshua likes the webOS platform:
- … a truly elegant and revolutionary smartphone platform…
- … a tremendous mobile operating system which allows you to handle lots of little tasks at once…
- Android and the iPhone OS may have their killer features, but neither one of them can handle multitasking like the Pre…
- This is a powerful and creative mobile OS with tons of potential…
Personally, Android is not ready for the general public. Android is for early adopters that like to tinker with their gadgets. I’m an early adopter but I’m not a tinkerer so Android is out for me. The iPhone 3GS is probably my ideal smartphone but AT&T ruins it. The Palm Pre Plus coupled with Verizon is quite compelling. I’d rather have a bigger display and a lot more pixels instead of a slide-out keyboard. The reason might be different than others: I need to type Korean and a virtual keyboard makes it infinitely easier. A physical keyboard just like the one found on the Pre Plus that can change into different languages would be really cool and better than a virtual one. My AT&T contract will expire right before Apple announces something on the 27th. In addition to the iPad, I hope Apple announces an updated iPhone that I can take to any carrier.