HP Green-eyed xiv Impressions

The Green-eyed xiv is dressed to impress with an aluminum lid and base. The top is a darker gun metallic color and features a micro etched pattern across the surface with a cogitating HP logo. The front bezel of the computer has 2 speaker ports and SD / MMC card slot.

The right side features power and hard drive action LEDs, eSATA and USB ports, a Kensington lock slot, an Ethernet jack, exhaust vents and a ability receptacle. The traditional VGA output has been replaced past the more modern HDMI / Mini Display port, something to notation if you plan to connect the Envy to an external display.

The dorsum of the system just has a centrally-located exhaust port which becomes somewhat obstructed when the hat is opened. On the left side of the notebook is a slot-loading optical drive, two USB 2.0 ports and headphone and mic jacks.


The sleeky brandish looks great fifty-fifty when information technology's off. The bezel fits the screen size nicely and doesn't await or experience cheap. HP has placed their TrueVision Hard disk webcam in a higher place the screen with dual microphones likewise every bit a tiny LED low-cal.

The keyboard is total size and features isle-fashion keys, all of which are backlit. The overall key layout makes sense, something nosotros don't e'er see with notebooks. The keyboard itself isn't mushy or overly flexible and feels very solid, matching the rest of the system. There are no media keys or other distracting buttons above the keyboard; only a single power button with a small LED indicator.

The touchpad and mouse click buttons have been integrated into a single unit of measurement, something I'yard not entirely crazy virtually. The touchpad itself is very big and sits flush with the palm rest. We will go into more detail about the touchpad afterward in our evaluation.

On the bottom of the Green-eyed are 4 anti-slip pads that, in all authenticity, aren't too grippy. Dissimilar almost notebooks, the battery on the Green-eyed is hidden under an access panel that also houses the difficult drive and Windows activation key sticker. The bombardment is easily removable, but a scrap more difficult to access than usual.

The bombardment is an eight-cell unit rated at 3,750 mAh. For an extra $200, HP offers an external 6-cell slim battery that attaches to a connector in the eye of the Envy. This auxiliary battery supplements the internal unit for those who need more juice on the go. You take to dig a bit deeper to find the memory expansion slots. Our review unit shipped with two 2GB DIMMS just yous tin configure an Envy with upwardly to 8GB of system retention.