Discount HP Envy 4-1130us 14-Inch Ultrabook (Black)

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $849.99
Sale Price: $729.87
Today's Bonus: 14% Off

Screen: My last laptop was a late 2011 macbook pro. Other reviews are saying that the screen is bad and some are saying it's good. Compared to the screen on the macbook it's worse. The screen isn't terrible but it isn't going to win any awards.

Keyboard: The keyboard layout is similar to the mac. The keys light up but don't change intensity. The backspace key doesn't quite fit right. Depending on the angle you type at you may notice it when typing.

Processing: I don't know why other reviews say this laptop is only for light workloads. This i5 processor in this laptop is fully capable of heavy workloads. It can run super pi 1 mb faster than an AMD FX-8320 desktop processor. On more realistic tests its about the same as the mobile AMD A10 processors. Power usage however is much lower for the i5 compared to either processor.

Graphics: The integrated graphics in the Ivy-Bridge processors is amazing. Its no graphics card but for the efficiency its perfect.

Sound: The beats audio isn't meant to blow you away. The main benefit is the sound card driver for beats audio is not the speakers itself. With beats audio the sound quality with headphones is great!

Build/Design: This laptop is built really well. HP did a great job on the design. It's small and lightweight while not feeling cheap or sacrificing on battery. (Actually battery life is around 5-6 hours depending on usage and after removing all of HP's bloatware) The black aluminum looks really cool as long as it's clean. This thing attracts shows smudges and lint more than anything I've ever seen.

To help the washed out look of the screen try the following:

1. Right click on the desktop

2. Select "Graphics Properties"

3. Display/Color Enhancement

4. Use the sliders to change:

a. Brightness 10

b. Contrast 45

c. Gamma 0.8

d. Saturation 5

5. Apply

This does reduce overall brightness but you will get much darker blacks and a wider range of color differences. Gradients appear much better and text is much more clear.

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The fit/finish of the laptop is amazing. Very solid, reminds me of my Macbook Pro. Has all the ports I was looking for including gigabit Ethernet. (Excluded on the XPS 13 and why I choose HP) Boot times are the fastest I've seen in any laptop thanks to Windows 8 and the hybrid SSD drive. 10 seconds and your ready to launch applications.

So why only 3 stars? The Screen.... After you get over the lovely fit/finish and start the laptop your greeted to a screen with noticeable back-light bleed. Blacks appear grey and the viewing angle is extremely limited. This screen belongs on a $350 Black Friday special not an "Envy". If you can keep your angle just right the screen looks decent but having used far better screens on laptops 3-4 years older I was very disappointed. It's also worth noting the only thing inspired by the "Beats" logo is the paint. Expect below average sound from the built in speakers.

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This is a very elegant and very useful for those who don't need a computer that performs heavy tasks and uses heavy programs. Windows 8 is complicated but it's matter of time for you to get used to it. This windows is really fast, actually when you turn it on it takes only 10-11 seconds to get ready for start using the computer. I agree with the other customer that says that there's no problem with the screen; despite it is a glossy screen the colors are so vivid and you can see it perfectly from any angle, it's quality is great not cheap as others said. The price was worth it, I would recommend it highly for students and people who needs it for light tasks. It's weigh is ridiculously light and I like the soft color red base it has. The beats audio is impressive for an audio system of a computer, it also has the option of configurate the audio for a best hearing experience. There's a concern I have is the response of the touch pad because not always senses when you click to open something or when clicking a button but you will get used to click a little more harder for it to response. In the other features I am more than happy with this computer. Also I don't like very much that it catches fingerprints very fast but this doesn't affect the real functionality of a computer.

To conclude, this computer has a great outer design, great beats audio, really light weigh and it's incredibly fast at everything. It has a few flaws but it doesn't affect the computer's performance. I recommend it!

Honest reviews on HP Envy 4-1130us 14-Inch Ultrabook (Black)

I've searched for a couple of months, to find another slim and light laptop with equivalent power and options as this model, and nothing has equaled or surpassed this Envy 4 1130us. In short, it's the best value machine at this price point.

Just look up the Win 7 version of this model, here on Amazon (Envy 4 1030us), and you'll find that it is an identical machine, only with 2 gigs less ram, and it sells for $100+ more.

So let's get to the important facts about this machine.

POWER & SPEED.

The combination of the Intel i5's power and the SSD and 500 gig hard drive RAID array, along with the much improved Windows 8 mass storage controllers, makes this machine blistering fast. Bear in mind that just like any other brand or model of new laptop, it has to be tweaked to perform as it should (tweaking will have to be covered later or this review will be a mile long).

I repair and tweak computers, day in day out and this is the fastest one I've had my hands on, except a Windows 7, $1,300 Dell XPS laptop that had an Intel i7 and a big SSD. I don't have it next to me to compare, but that would be the only machine that may have equaled or surpassed this one for performance.

SCREEN.

The screen is fine. Those who are complaining about it are expecting more than you can get at this price point. If you'd like the image to be even crisper and sharper, there are a few adjustments that can be made. (I may add those details as a PS at the end)

CONSTRUCTION.

Those who complained about poor construction, must have received defective models. The construction of this model is nothing less than superb. The only complaint is that fingerprints stick to it and it means that you'll have to wipe it down everyday, with a damp cotton cloth. The brushed aluminum build is fantastic and makes for a very solid machine.

KEYBOARD.

Everybody has an opinion as to what constitutes the perfect keyboard, so all I can say is that it is clearly a superior keyboard and that having the backlit feature is huge, for those folks who are not real typists, and need to see the keys to be able to type properly.

TOUCHPAD.

If you understand that this touchpad is set to work as if it were part of a touchscreen, thus scrolling up becomes down and vice versa, then you'll quickly get used to it and will soon agree that it is one of the very best on the market.

WINDOWS 8,

For those who don't already know it, Win 8 can be made to look and function just like 7, by downloading Start Menu 8 from iobit, then disabling all the charms bars and hot corners. It's only natural that I/you/we would want it to work like 7, as this model doesn't have a touchscreen, so why in the world would we want to use Win 8's new touchscreen interface (often known as Metro apps). Other than some graphics differences, it's so identical to Win 7 after the tweak mentioned above, that to the untrained eye, you wouldn't even know that it wasn't a Win 7 machine.

BATTERY LIFE.

It's simply amazing. Right now, I'm at 84% remaining battery power and the time estimate is at 5 hours and 14 minutes. I could turn down the brightness, to squeeze out some more, but it is already good for 6 hours plus, set the way it is (don't forget that this machine is well tweaked, so brand new out of the box, the battery life won't be quite as good).

HEAT.

It can produce a minor amount of heat at the back where the air exhausts. Laying the sides on each one of my legs, is 100% comfortable on battery. If you have it plugged in and it's charging, it will get warmer and may be a wee bit uncomfortable.

This laptop must NOT be used on material like cloth, a bed, a towel, etc, that can block the air intake from the bottom. If you need to use it in such a location, prop it up a bit with something.

WIFI.

I have never seen a laptop with better reception, nor one that can download as fast. If I go to a given website to download a file with any of my other computers, they download at approx. half the speed than this one does. I haven't investigated why this is, but suffice to say that it is better than what is normally included in a laptop.

All the features have been mentioned, so there's no reason to go over them again.

It's a simple mathematical equation. Does this machine give you more than similar ones at this price point? YES!

Is it super fast? Darn right it is!

Is the battery life good? It's superb!

How good is the Wifi? Beyond your expectations!

Is it well built? It's fantastic!

Is it a good looking machine? It's as handsome a laptop as I have ever seen!

Would it satisfy any normal user? Absolutely!

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Here are the settings that make for a sharper image on this laptop.

I found them somewhere on the internet and noted them down, then both my friend and I used them on our Ultrabooks (we both have the same machine) and we both feel that the results are excellent.

You may or may not agree and if they don't suit you, you can reset them back to their default settings.

Right click on the desktop and select "Graphics Properties".

In the subsequent window, select "Advanced Mode" then hit OK.

In the next windows, select "Color Enhancement", then set the Brightness to -20. the Contrast to 51 and the Gamma to 0.9 and leave the other two untouched.

You will find that the brightness is slightly diminished, but that the image is much more "real".

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for HP Envy 4-1130us 14-Inch Ultrabook (Black)

Everything is good except the screen. I'll not comment on other features because all of them function so far so good.

I have a HP G7 which screen has resolution 1600x900. So comparing with this (1366 x 768) I feel the Ultrabook is not better or even worse than the G7 regarding the screen. This Ultrabook is beautiful but the screen is disappointing. Currently $750 ultrabook is not as cheap as the others with better config but at the same price level.

The previous reviewer said the screen looks bleeding (too much red). It is true but the color can be calibrated (Personalize->Display->Calibrate Color). The color should have been calibrated properly when come out of factory. As he said the view angle is bad. I believe HP chose the cheapest screen on the market.

Update:

Comparing to other same kind of ultrabooks this design is attractive. Very good look&feel on real product.

What I disagree with the previous reviewer is that the beats audio is impressive. It is loud and has deep base although it is not a professional audio system which you cannot expect on a laptop.

The keyboard and touch panel are quite good quiet and responsive.