Favorable:
* Sharp, anti-glare screen
* Hybrid hard drive speeds up boot times noticeably
* Unique red-backlit keyboard
* Impressive battery life, given the specs
* Beats Audio provides better-than-average sound
Unfavorable:
* Premium HP Envy lineup is only $150 more
* Lid is a fingerprint haven
* Terrible speaker placement
* Tight USB ports
* On/Off Wi-Fi button easily pressed by accident
Introduction:
As a college student, my main justifications for selling off my previous computer was for better portability and battery life. Lugging my thick, weighty Dell around campus wasn't very fun, and although it got the job done, I ultimately decided a different laptop would serve my current needs much better. My initial goal was to end up with a thin and light or possibly an ultraportable. A Toshiba Portege r835 or Asus Zenbook perhaps. So, how in the world did I end up with the HP dm4-3090se? The short answer: The formerly mentioned machines simply didn't have the features I longed for. The longer, more descriptive answer: I can't wrap it all into one sentence, but keep reading and I promise I'll tell you!
Specifications:
I'll keep this section short and sweet since Amazon has the specs readily available on this webpage. This computer came with an i5-2450M @ 2.5 GHz and Turbo Boost Technology of up to 3.1 GHz. 500GB 7200RPM Hard drive with a 20GB mSATA drive*. 6GB of RAM. 14-inch anti-glare (matte) screen with a maximum resolution of 1600 x 900. Red-backlit keyboard, no number pad included. 3 USB Ports ( Two 3.0 and One 2.0), HDMI Port, Ethernet Port, Card Reader, Beats Audio with Subwoofer. In other words, this laptop is loaded.
*HP has recently increased the mSATA capacity from 20GB to 32GB. My machine came with a 32GB.
Unboxing and Initial Impressions:
I bought this laptop off Amazon and it arrived a couple of days later by UPS. Upon opening the box, I was greeted with the power cord, battery, setup instructions, a packet featuring advertisements for HP's many accessories and Norton Anti-Virus, and the laptop itself nicely placed in a cloth sleeve. There is some widespread confusion about whether there is a Beats Audio headphone included and I can say with certainty that there are no headphones, of any kind, included with this computer. It would have been nice, but HP isn't feeling quite that generous.
I pressed the power button, located in the top, left corner, expecting a somewhat slow boot time. Any brand new Windows-based computer has to go through the dreaded "Preparing Windows for first time use" screen before use. From my experience, this can take up to three minutes! So it goes without saying that I was completely taken aback at how fast the setup was. I can't give you a specific time length, but it was asking what I wanted to name the computer in well under a minute. And thanks to the hybrid hard drive, boot up times are always between 10-15 seconds.
Design and Features:
As this is the Beats Audio Special Edition of the current dm4 lineup, the user is graced with a nearly all black finish. A major plus, for me anyways, is the matte black covering most areas. This cuts down the reflections and annoying glares that come being outside in the sunlight or in a classroom full of florescent lights. The top lid is all black, save the now iconic Beats symbol placed in the very center. Open the notebook up and you are greeted with even more black. In fact, the keyboard, trackpad, and palm rests are graced in a mute, matte black finish . It makes for one very cool-looking laptop, to say the least.
The screen is gorgeous! The first thing everyone should know, is that this is a matte screen. Simply put, the horrendous reflections brought on by glossy screens are a thing of the past! I know glossy has had its fair share of user backlash, and it still stumps me as to why computer manufacturers continue to put these screens on the majority of machines. This screen also features a resolution of 1600x900, also a rarity in the 14-inch laptop world. Text will be smaller, but less pixilated and much sharper.
The next thing I went for was the keyboard. It has a red-backlight! Keep in mind, this feature can be turned off or on by pressing F5. Some users may be turned off by the color, and I admit that it probably isn't for everyone. It isn't blinding bright, but at the same time it isn't particularly mute. For me, it is just right. And to top it off, typing is a breeze!
The Beats Audio provides a very loud and clear sound. I primarily listen to hip-hop and R&B and noticed right off the bat how natural the sound was. There is a subwoofer as well, lending a hand on the low end. Given this combination, music sounds full and without noticeable distortion. It's a shame, however, that HP placed the speakers on the very front, at an angle. This often muffles the sound, especially if you have the notebook in your lap or on the bed.
Drawbacks:
First off, there is no dedicated graphics card, only the industry standard Intel HD 3000. This particular con varies on severity, depending on intended use. The causal user probably won't notice the difference, but for you gamers and video editors out there, consider a different laptop.
The lid cover, and even the keys, attract fingerprints heavily. Being black, fingerprints tend to show up more than usual.
The USB ports are quite tight. Attempting to inject and deject my USB flash drive was a job in itself. It took two hands, one to hold the computer in place, the other to pull the device from the port.
The Wi-Fi switch is in a terrible location. The F12 key serves as an automatic on/off switch of your wireless card and accidentally pressing it during a download or Skype conversation can have tumultuous effects on one's sanity.
What Makes This Laptop Worth the Purchase (Conclusion):
See, I promised if you kept reading I would tell you why I chose the dm4-3090se! The current going price of this laptop is around $830, and if you are still reading this review, you obviously want to be as informed as possible before making such a purchase. I don't blame you. After hours of debating, I ultimately chose this machine for the following reasons:
* The i5 Sandy Bridge Processor. Dual core @ 2.5 GHz
* 6GB Random Access Memory (RAM)
* The screen. A matte finish and 1600x900 resolution. This was the deciding factor in my purchase.
* Hybrid Hard Drive
* Red-backlit keyboard
* Beats Audio
* USB 3.0
* HDMI
Laptops with comparable specs are normally in the "premium" category and beyond the $1000 price point, such as the HP Envy line. Granted, for only $150 more you can have an Envy with an all metal finish and a slot-loading optical drive. But you also get a standard resolution (1366x768) glossy screen and an added pound of weight to carry. So for me, the screen was what set this laptop apart from the competition. People often overlook this pivotal feature, assuming all laptops are glossy and reflective with a single resolution. But the screen is what you will be looking at, possibly for hours, and if you aren't happy with the screen, how can you be truly happy with the laptop?
Savvy shoppers tend to be weary of HP and the company's shaky reputation. This will unfortunately deter many prospective buyers who would be perfectly happy with this computer if they gave it a chance. Initial usage is impressive, with the few complaints being quite trivial. If the previously mentioned specifications fits your needs, I urge you to seriously consider this laptop. It is truly unlike any other notebook currently on the market and is a true miracle for the anti-glare, pro-matte screen consumer.
EDIT:
For readers obsessed with numbers, here is the most recent Windows Experience Index:
Processor 7.0
Memory (RAM) 7.4
Graphics 5.9
Gaming Graphics 6.3
Primary Hard Disk 5.9
EDIT: After reading comments by Zvika and OJMH, I installed Intel's Rapid Storage Technology driver, restarted the computer, and was able to see the true capacity of my mSATA drive. It is in fact 32GB! I have edited this review to reflect that. I don't know what drive is 20GB under the System Properties menu, but like Reinaldo mentioned, the mSATA is not visible by this method. So I believe this drive works as a cache, which is the true reason for such a fast start-up. Either way, this systems performance is more than adequate and I am still happy with it! Thanks to Reinaldo, OJMH, and Zvika for the clarification.
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I am not a tech person, so all the numbers and specs don't mean much to me (although I do know it has plenty of storage and a good processor). The ease of use and my preferences are what I know and what I can comment on. I have only had this computer a day, but here are my inital feelings about this product. I could not find reviews anywhere on this particular stock model so was really sort of blind going into the purchase.
I haven't found anything yet that I do not like about it. It is lightweight (about 4 punds) with a 14 inch screen(kind of small, but if you make the fonts a bit bigger it is not bad). It came with a thin little sleeve that I probably won't ever use.
Setup was easy. Just follow a series of prompts and voila! The registration was complete, I was connected to wifi, my fingerprints were taken, and I set up user accounts/passwords. The screen was nice and bright upon login and the colors where vivid, and it booted up swiftly. I am not a big gamer, but the graphics look just fine to me. I don't think there is alot of junk on it that I do not want and will need to delete.
It processes nice and fast and I was able to do multiple tasks at once with no delay. I am tranfering all of my files from my old computer with Carbonite and that is taking forever (more than 12 hours so far), but I think that is to be expected with such a large tranfser from the "cloud". The good thing about this is that you can still use the computer while the process is taking place.
I have downloaded and transfered my itunes purchases to it easily and listened to some songs. The volume goes up nice and loud (very different than my old Dell)and you can customize the audio. I played around with it and got it customized to my preferences and am pleased with the sound.
It comes with a starter version of Word and Excel 2010. I am not sure as to what extent you can use these because I bought the Office Professional software with everything (Word and Excel plus powerpoint and others). I bought through my company at a discounted price, but you can buy and download online for around $120 I think.
I really like the fingerprint reader that you can use to remember your passwords for online websites. It's a pain to remember them all, but this will do it for you! It was easy to set up and to use. The first time you log into a website it will ask you if you want the reader to remember the password. Click yes and that's it! Next time you want to log in you just swipe your finger across the sensor(from top to bottom towards your body).
I also really like the backlit keyboard. It types really well, feels nice to type on, and should not get dirt under the keys due to it's design. The keyboard was not initially lit up, and I looked forever under control panel trying to figure out how to turn it on before I finally googled it. There is actually a key on the keyboard that will turn it off and on...it has three little boxes and a flash looking icon above the first one. It is somewhere around the 3 or 4 key (I am not on this computer typing this review). There is not a seperate number keyboard on the right hand side like my old one had, and that I may sort of miss.
It was easy to customize various features like backgrounds, sounds, clicker and touch pad options, sleep options, etc. Also easy to customize your web browser and favorites, etc. The computer features some sort of cooling device that keeps it from overheating. I can not comment yet as to battery life because I have had to keep it plugged in for my Carbonite transfer.
I briefly tried the webcam, and it is okay. Nothing spectacular in my opinion, but I also don't video chat much. The picture was nice and clear.
I bought the Square Trade Warranty through Amazon and have been pleased so far with the ease of setting that up. Both the computer and the warranty are cheaper on Amazon than the HP website so I saved a ton of money! For the price and performance of my new computer, so far I am thrilled! Plus, with Amazon you can return it within 30 days if you don't like it! I called Square trade and you can also get a refund for the warranty if you return it.
For an average user that uses laptops for web browsing, word processing/creating documents, social media, etc. this computer is great. It has met my expectations and I look forward to having some fun with it!
UPDATE: I finally have all files on my computer and have found in a few instances there has been a lag, but nothing way serious. The backlit keyboard key is the functon 5 key. Also, the function 12 key turns on and off your capabilities to use the internet so if you loose your internet and are seriously confused like I was, this key was probably hit on accident. My computer did not come with any paperwork or a users manual, so I am figuring all these little things out on my own.
I started researching the capablity this computer has to display wirelessly on the tv and you have to buy an adapter Netgear PUSH2TV HD PTV2000 which is 90 bucks here on Amazon so I may hold off on that for a bit. Reviews seems to be mixed, but if it works would be way cool.
I also thought I read something about it being able to play Bluray movies, but when I tried it would not work :( Normal dvds worked just fine though.
I installed a free trial of Paintshop Pro x4 from the Corel website and think I wil purchase the full version for photo editing. I am a beginner at it, but this program seems to be user friendly and intuitive.
UPDATE: So I am stil loving my computer...I have had to call HP customer support because for some reason my fingerprint reader stopped working. At first I was annoyed because the rep was foreign (although I could understand him okay) and there is just a lack of communication when dealng with outsourced technical communications in general (or so my history has proved). Also, the script type of communication I get when working with outsourced companies aggravates me as well. Kinda felt at first like it was ME being an idiot and not the computer. Yes, I have restared my computer. The light's not blinking at all...I KNOW IT"S NOT WORKING!!!
Once the couple of routine steps were completed and they reached the same conclusion I had a long time ago (the reader is not working), I was a bit more impressed with the service. He did not seem to be reading straight from a script which I have encountered in the past. I allowed him remote access to the computer and he uninstalled the reader and then re-installed it and it worked! Something I probably could have done myself with less hassles, but like I said I am not all that tech savy and don't want to mess anything up. Afterwards, I was forwarded to a supervisor to rate my experience and to make sure my problem was solved. I felt for sure I would try to be sold on some warranty or give them more money, but no! It was really in fact just a quality service check which only took a minute and I was happy to oblidge.
Best Deals for HP dm4-3090se (14.0-Inch Screen) Laptop
I've had this laptop for over a week now and each day I find something new to appreciate about it. It's about as close to perfect as any computer I've had, and I've had quite a few.
I use this machine mainly for Microsoft Office (which you much buy separately), for Adobe files and for the internet, but in my job I am often required to have numerous spreadsheets, word documents and power point presentations open at the same time, as well as some challenging Adobe documents. This computer can handle those jobs and have numerous browsers open in say IE and Chrome and Opera simultaneously (I am forced to use my multiple screen desktop for some jobs though, of course). But considering the abilities of this laptop I feel I have a full office in a 4 pound package. The power of the I5 processor and the speed of the hard drive and SSD is evident.
The screen resolution of this laptop is nothing short of amazing. I've watched Hulu on this machine and wow! I swear it looks like a 3D picture. The screen is readable in most light situations including sunlight (though it's a little more difficult in the brightest sunlight). I also really like the way you can adjust the brightness of the screen very easily through the F2 and F3 keys.
Other points: The lighted keyboard is great. It's amazing how much easier it is to use this keyboard than those on prior laptops. The computer also never heats up and that makes a huge difference when using it for long times. Bootup time seems almost instant. The speakers are outstanding. Unlike some other reviewers I did not find a problem with the touch pad. The fingerprint security system works perfectly for me. And finally, the battery life makes it seem like you can use this computer for indefinite periods without recharging. And another feature I did not anticipate is that it recharges so quickly.
My only complaint, and it's minor, is that one of the flaps on the bottom has a slight imperfection. It "almost" fits but does not totally snap into place. It's minor enough that I don't think it worthy of bringing the rating down from five stars. This machine has a lot going for it.
I'm glad I did the research before buying and I'm very happy with my choice. I looked at CNET, at reviews here, at specs, took a look at numerous other machines and from what I saw the price to performance beats anything else out there.
Honest reviews on HP dm4-3090se (14.0-Inch Screen) Laptop
love my hp dm4-3090se. This laptop def turns heads at school when I pull it admist the sea of macbooks that every has. I did a lot of research on laptops and narrowed my choices to this or the envy 14 beats addition (which my friend has) he came over the other day and we compared the two laptops side by side and I def made the right choice for my needs
Screen Size:
first of dm4 is 14'' not all that noticable difference tho (I think 14'' is plenty of screen and wanted something smaller that would fit well into my backpack)
Screen Res:
The dm4 has 1600x900 antiglare led screen is really nice. After watching nba on league pass on this screen, I dont think I would go back to the lower resolution. It looks almost as good as my 1080p tv. The colors seem a bit washed out due to the antiglare screen but you might be able to adjust it, you get use to it. (could of done without the plastic around the screen though, one of the only downfalls with this laptop)
The envy 14 has a lower res screen but the display is just like on the macbook pro with the all glass screen (this looks better from an athstetics standpoint but I like my hd res better)
Wieght:
This laptop is about 4.5 lbs. which is about a pound lighter than the envy 14 (again better to carry for school)
Keyboard:
exactly the same red backlight keyboard (pretty sharp and unique if you ask me...love it)
Fingerprint reader:
nice to have and cool that you dont have to type in your id's and passwords over and over but not necessarily needed
processor
This computer has a 2nd gen i5 while the envy 14 has a first gen i7 (i didnt really need a 4 cores for web browsing and microsoft office but some people may like the extra power)
battery life:
Iv been getting around 6 hours (feels like more, I hardly charge my computer) while my friends envy 14 gets about 2 hours
hard drive:
I love the hybrid hard dirve. This thing soft boots out of sleep mode in a couple seconds and turns on from off in about 20-30 id say...plenty quick (520gb is plenty gb for me)
ram/memory:
6gb has been plenty for me. (i had 5 tabs open on google chrome while running excel, word, and powerpoint and it was plenty fast) I also stream nba league pass on nba.com which also has a nice picture with no lag
graphics card:
def adv envy 14 here. I know the dm4 has an entry level card but honestly i will never notice the difference (I use my xbox for games not my laptop)
sound:
At first I thought the speakers were just pretty good but once my friend adjusted them these are the best laptop speakers iv ever heard (but this is to be expected in the beats by dre edition laptop)
pros:
a lot of laptop for only $825
fast boot time
sound
high screen res
lightwieght
good battery life
cons:
fingerprint magnet
plastic around screen
I would def buy again and def recommend this laptop for someone like me who likes black and red and uses a laptop for internet and microsoft office for school rather than gaming. This laptop will def turn heads.
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This is a more tech savvy review.
I was between this laptop and a Dell XPS x14z ($823 versus $899 at the time of my purchase). Now that I received it and took a look at the details I'm very happy I picked this one. Yes, the XPS comes with more RAM and a bigger hard drive plus nvidia graphics and also spot a backlit keyboard, but this has it own charm.
The laptop comes with this mSATA unit as a cache using Smart Response Technology (SRT) in a RAID with the 500gb drive. It works pretty well. Very fast boot time and overall fast response of the system. The mSATA drive doesn't show on Windows since it exclusive for the cache.
I was lucky enough to get one of 32gb instead of 20gb. Now, a review from a very respected laptop website states that the mSATA is NOT user-accessible, this is wrong. The mSATA is right next to the RAM memory slots. Looks pretty easy to replace, but I have no idea on compatibility with others mSATA drives.
What's interesting is that it's possible to turn off the SRT SSD cache, leaving the mSATA drive as standalone. I already did this and it works wonderful. This allows you to have an SSD drive and a normal high capacity drive all in this 14 inch laptop.
After installing Windows and basic programs on the SSD, I have 5gb left. Now Windows boot up time is just 22 seconds, that's from the moment I press the power button to the desktop completely loaded.
The laptop comes with 6gb of RAM, mine has a 4gb DIMM and a 2gb DIMM, if you are looking to take it to 8gb then you will only need to replace the 2gb one.
Windows Experience Index after using the mSATA SSD as an standalone drive:
Processor --> 7.0
Memory (RAM) --> 7.3
Graphics --> 5.9
Gaming Graphics --> 6.2
Primary Hard Disk --> 7.6 (Yay!)
To close it up
Pros:
Hybrid hard drive using SRT technology
Possibility of turning off the SRT and having the benefict of a SSD drive and the big storage space of a normal HDD drive
Anti-glare screen with a great resolution
No ports on the back
Red-backlit keyboard
Runs very cool
Cons:
Touch pad could be better
Lid is a fingerprint magnet
Basic Intel graphics
You can get the HP Envy line for about $200 more, or the Dell for less than $100 more, but you won't get this high resolution screen and won't get the hybrid drive option, which in my opinion are the high point of this laptop and the ones that makes it unique.
Highly recommended.
