Which notebook will work for all your business?

What is with the current trend of putting the trackpad off-center on laptops? I realize it's centered below the spacebar, but it still looks awkward for a right-handed user. Maybe it's just me. Does anyone else think it's odd?

kmurphy4000 wrote:What is with the current trend of putting the trackpad off-center on laptops? I realize it's centered below the spacebar, but it still looks awkward for a right-handed user. Maybe it's just me. Does anyone else think it's odd?

As a right handed user, I feel your pain. Where would it go though?

The 8760w says core i7-2630qm in the title but 2430qm in the description.

I'm about 99.9% certain that the 13.3" ultrabook is the HP Folio 13, which I can say is a good laptop. I got one back in February for $750 after rebate, and it has served me admirably since then. It's not going to play crysis on high details, but it can play Diablo 3 on low details without any problems (probably around 40 FPS or so). More than enough power for anything I'd want to be doing on a laptop. There are newer ultrabooks out, I believe, that have the Intel HD4000 integrated graphics chip which is better, but the 3000 that is in this is *such* a leap forward from all the previous integrated graphics chips that you're not really held back that much unless you really want something like this to be a dedicated gaming machine. For anything else, it's more than enough.

Form factor and weight are great, and the battery life is fantastic (5-6 hours if I'm doing taxing stuff on it, around 7-8 if I'm not).

In other words, I would recommend it to anyone looking for an ultrabook.

kmurphy4000 wrote:What is with the current trend of putting the trackpad off-center on laptops? I realize it's centered below the spacebar, but it still looks awkward for a right-handed user. Maybe it's just me. Does anyone else think it's odd?

I think it's probably more annoying for left-handed users actually; it doesn't make a difference to me when I'm using my index finger or anything, but occasionally I'll use my thumb, and having it set off to the left actually helps me do that without moving my right hand too much.

kmurphy4000 wrote:What is with the current trend of putting the trackpad off-center on laptops? I realize it's centered below the spacebar, but it still looks awkward for a right-handed user. Maybe it's just me. Does anyone else think it's odd?

I actually prefer that quite a bit. It places the trackpad between your hands when you're typing, which makes it much easier to avoid hitting the pad with your palm.

Using laptops with the pad centered on the laptop body I've often been frustrated when my right palm brushes against the pad and causes unintentional clicks or mouse movements.

HP's laptops really don't cut it IMO when you compare them to other business-grade machines - namely, Lenovo's ThinkPad series and Dell's Latitude series.

I have an HP EliteBook 8440 for work, and we also have some of the new 8460s that we're piloting. I have a Dell Latitude E6410 as my main personal laptop.

The HPs are just not built well. The keyboard feels cheap, the bottom plastics feel cheap (especially when compared against the Latitude, which has an all-metal bottom), and it just doesn't feel as sturdy as Lenovo or Dell's offerings.

This is probably a good price for the specs, especially considering that less than $700 gets you a machine with discrete graphics. I'd still recommend holding out for a good Dell or Lenovo deal.

Just my three or so cents...

I've had HP laptops since I was 16 y/o and have bought them again and again. They last a good 3-4 years or more. Anyone needing a laptop, buy an HP. I use mine non-stop and the only repair that I've ever needed is to replaced the battery which is very cheap to do on Amazon or other sites.

HP 13.3" Folio 13-1029wm Ultrabook 2nd gen i3, 128GB SSD, 4GB RAM is $498 at Walmart. Main difference I see is the processor. There is still the same crappy resolution on both machines. I'm still not in for one though, even at that price. Must have a better resolution. This is 2012, not 2002.


http://www.walmart.com/ip/HP-13.3-Folio-Ultrabook-Laptop-PC-with-Intel-Core-i3-2367M-Processor-and-Windows-7-Home-Premium-Option/19898315?dest=9999999997&sourceid=04268051211602786413&veh=aff&wmlspartner=lw9MynSeamY

jawlz wrote:I think it's probably more annoying for left-handed users actually; it doesn't make a difference to me when I'm using my index finger or anything, but occasionally I'll use my thumb, and having it set off to the left actually helps me do that without moving my right hand too much.

Kasona wrote:I actually prefer that quite a bit. It places the trackpad between your hands when you're typing, which makes it much easier to avoid hitting the pad with your palm.

Using laptops with the pad centered on the laptop body I've often been frustrated when my right palm brushes against the pad and causes unintentional clicks or mouse movements.

Thanks for your input, guys and/or gals!

I guess the reason it seems so weird to me is I've never had a laptop with a number pad. So on my laptop, the spacebar and trackpad are both centered. I guess it makes sense that it should be aligned under the spacebar to avoid accidental clicks.

I've seen other laptops advertised elsewhere that say the Win7 machine can be upgraded to Win8 for something like $15. Does that apply here? Is that a MSFT thing? Or a machine mfr thing?

dougdarby wrote:I've seen other laptops advertised elsewhere that say the Win7 machine can be upgraded to Win8 for something like $15. Does that apply here? Is that a MSFT thing? Or a machine mfr thing?

It's a MSFT thing, and from what I've heard they're not really even checking to verify it's a recently purchased PC either. Contact them and you should be good to go.

shifuimam wrote:
This is probably a good price for the specs, especially considering that less than $700 gets you a machine with discrete graphics. I'd still recommend holding out for a good Dell or Lenovo deal.

I disagree with your comparison somewhat, and have found the EliteBooks to be very well built (though the ProBooks, a little less so), but even if it's valid, you're likely comparing the wrong things for a Woot! audience. It's likely that many of the people coming by here may be comparing these to run-of-the-mill consumer class laptops from Dell, HP, etc. Compared to those, these are vastly superior in build quality. The difference between other busisness models will tend to be smaller than the big jump from consumer class.

I borrowed a family member's 8560w for a while last month and it was very solid with zero play in the hinges, etc, and the (backlit) keyboard was fine; perhaps even above average actually. The bottom cover was also metal and could be taken off to access the 3rd and 4th DIMM slots, SSD, and so forth without needing tools.

On a side note, I still have an old nc6000 around that must be going on 9 years old by now and still works, but it has an IDE hard drive and came with XP so eventually it's not going to be very useful anymore.

I have one of these HP 8560p notebook computers... this is a great laptop...and a LOT less than I paid new... fast and surprisingly good battery life...

prdamrican wrote:I have one of these HP 8560p notebook computers... this is a great laptop...and a LOT less than I paid new... fast and surprisingly good battery life...

I disagree, I have this HP 8560p laptop for work. While I'm sure this is less than my company paid for it, it is not a great laptop. it's ridiculously heavy I fly a lot and I bought a hard case so I could check this thing because I didn't want to carry it around. The display resolution is a paltry 1440x900... while few could make the case for a high resolution display in a work laptop the fact that they put a screen in this that is the same as the one in the $700 laptop I purchased in 2007 is just sad.

Beyond that it's just average.. sure is has an i7... woohoo (said slowly with a frown) the battery is what I expected, which I guess counts as good since they usually aren't as good as they claim... I get a solid 3 hours out of the stock battery and depending on what I'm doing can get over 4 hours. It has a modem and serial.... :-| (I actually use the serial port for work, oddly enough there are still things things around that need good old dos!)

It comes with Win7 Pro, which means you can download and run a free virtual machine of WinXP (it's call "windows xp mode"), so that's a bonus if you still have a lot of old software you don't want to get rid of or can't afford to upgrade.

That's pretty much all I have to say about it.

I'd rather buy a desktop than ever buy an HP product. They break easily, have bad customer service, and are just overall terrible products!

kmurphy4000 wrote:What is with the current trend of putting the trackpad off-center on laptops? I realize it's centered below the spacebar, but it still looks awkward for a right-handed user. Maybe it's just me. Does anyone else think it's odd?

The point isn't that it's centered under the spacebar - it's centered under the alpha keyboard. It appears to be pushed to the left because of the numeric keypad on the right. But if you put your hands in touch typing position then you should find both your left and right thumbs wind up in the center of the trackpad.

bookofjoshua wrote:I disagree, I have this HP 8560p laptop for work. While I'm sure this is less than my company paid for it, it is not a great laptop. it's ridiculously heavy I fly a lot and I bought a hard case so I could check this thing because I didn't want to carry it around. The display resolution is a paltry 1440x900... while few could make the case for a high resolution display in a work laptop the fact that they put a screen in this that is the same as the one in the $700 laptop I purchased in 2007 is just sad.

Beyond that it's just average.. sure is has an i7... woohoo (said slowly with a frown) the battery is what I expected, which I guess counts as good since they usually aren't as good as they claim... I get a solid 3 hours out of the stock battery and depending on what I'm doing can get over 4 hours. It has a modem and serial.... :-| (I actually use the serial port for work, oddly enough there are still things things around that need good old dos!)

It comes with Win7 Pro, which means you can download and run a free virtual machine of WinXP (it's call "windows xp mode"), so that's a bonus if you still have a lot of old software you don't want to get rid of or can't afford to upgrade.

That's pretty much all I have to say about it.

Not trying to pick a fight but I think you have made a mistake, I have worked with several of these and they are great laptops. You have made the same mistake many non-business buyers have with the HP business line. You need to read more than the model number to know what you have. The model number just tells you the class of device, and HP releases a range of laptops with varying specs/prices within each model. In this case the model number just tells you HP's idea for intended use and general build quality; you need to read the number after the model number to know the specs. For instance with the HP EliteBook 8560p XU063UT you can mostly ignore the 8560p and search for XU063UT to really know what you are getting. The 8560p came with 3 or 4 different resolution displays including a very usable 1920 x 1080. Personally for most people 1440x900 is good enough for a 15inch display which is probably what you company was thinking when the saved a few bucks buying your laptop. As far as weight, if you read directly from HP's web site the "HP EliteBook 8560p Notebook PC is designed to meet tough military standards." Which means it's not going to be terribly light. And as far as battery life, many of the EliteBook line have desktop class processors not the weaker mobile CPUs, they are intended as desktop replacements; which means only 3 or so hours of battery life. Reading between the lines your company may have had issues with damaged laptops while in transit in the past, complaints about performance, and wanted something durable yet affordable. Really your complaints should be with your company, the laptop model you got is exactly what it was designed and advertised to be.

I have found most of the HP laptops to be reliable. They do seem to have walking pointers though, I don't even bother trying to fix them anymore, they work 90% of the time and walk around the rest. Not a problem if you perfer the touchpad to the stick. The only model I have disliked was the NC6000 - HD failures, I know that is minor and easily fixed but people get really upset over thier data. I am told the NC6120 had docking issues (mine never did) and we had some low end ones with broadcom wireless that would never stay connected but all these model were several years ago. The machines are easy to work on/upgrade. My current machine is an Elitebook 8540p, it is about 2.5 years old and has not had a single problem. I get 4+ hours off the battery, I think when it was new I was getting close to 6? really can't remember. My last two laptops have required no warentee work at all and are still running the one is 6 + years old.

I have an EliteBook 2560p for work. I think it's a pretty nice piece. I'm not connoisseur of laptops, but this is the most solidly built laptop I've used. It puts my wife's Toshiba consumer model to absolute shame in build quality. The Toshiba feels like a toy in comparison.

I don't do any gaming, nor anything graphics intensive, so I'm not bothered by any deficiency in graphics, if there is one. I wouldn't even know. I want good multitasking speed and good battery life. This computer definitely passes those tests for me. The battery life is outstanding. I usually use the extended battery which gives me 8-10 hours, but i get 6+ with the standard battery. Far superior to my previous laptop which only got 4 hours when the battery was new.

A quick check of system properties tells me it's an i5 2540M 2.6GHz, 4GB RAM.

kmartind wrote:I disagree with your comparison somewhat, and have found the EliteBooks to be very well built (though the ProBooks, a little less so), but even if it's valid, you're likely comparing the wrong things for a Woot! audience. It's likely that many of the people coming by here may be comparing these to run-of-the-mill consumer class laptops from Dell, HP, etc. Compared to those, these are vastly superior in build quality. The difference between other busisness models will tend to be smaller than the big jump from consumer class.

I borrowed a family member's 8560w for a while last month and it was very solid with zero play in the hinges, etc, and the (backlit) keyboard was fine; perhaps even above average actually. The bottom cover was also metal and could be taken off to access the 3rd and 4th DIMM slots, SSD, and so forth without needing tools.

On a side note, I still have an old nc6000 around that must be going on 9 years old by now and still works, but it has an IDE hard drive and came with XP so eventually it's not going to be very useful anymore.

I agree with kmartind I find the EliteBooks series to be very well build. You may be unfamiliar with their construction and that may be what is offsetting to you. The HP’s business laptops have a single internal metal support chassis which they build everything around. You can support the entire weight of the laptop from a single corner of the frame and it will not flex. Many other laptops are built like a protective shell around the electronics so the support is more obvious and flashy. But if you do the same thing you will hear creaking plastic and electronics. In my opinion the HPs while less flashy are more elegant, and very well built. The EliteBooks I have worked with stack up a notch higher than the Dells and similar to Livono. But in their high end business lines all three companies make great laptops and you usually can’t go wrong with any of them.

jimmygrec wrote:Not trying to pick a fight but I think you have made a mistake, I have worked with several of these and they are great laptops. You have made the same mistake many non-business buyers have with the HP business line. You need to read more than the model number to know what you have. The model number just tells you the class of device, and HP releases a range of laptops with varying specs/prices within each model. In this case the model number just tells you HP's idea for intended use and general build quality; you need to read the number after the model number to know the specs. For instance with the HP EliteBook 8560p XU063UT you can mostly ignore the 8560p and search for XU063UT to really know what you are getting. The 8560p came with 3 or 4 different resolution displays including a very usable 1920 x 1080. Personally for most people 1440x900 is good enough for a 15inch display which is probably what you company was thinking when the saved a few bucks buying your laptop. As far as weight, if you read directly from HP's web site the "HP EliteBook 8560p Notebook PC is designed to meet tough military standards." Which means it's not going to be terribly light. And as far as battery life, many of the EliteBook line have desktop class processors not the weaker mobile CPUs, they are intended as desktop replacements; which means only 3 or so hours of battery life. Reading between the lines your company may have had issues with damaged laptops while in transit in the past, complaints about performance, and wanted something durable yet affordable. Really your complaints should be with your company, the laptop model you got is exactly what it was designed and advertised to be.

No worries, I actually miss typed this has the same specs as mine 1600x900. It's not the same model, but same hardware. personally when I have a lot of windows open that I need to use resolution is a huge issue and I find it hard to believe they saved any money (HP) putting that lower res display in. I find it funny that this is supposed to meet mil-spec, I recall reading that now, except for the fact that it's heavy it's not a whole lot more sturdy than an all plastic laptop, I actually take really good care of it and it still has dents in the lid and yes it is in a padded hard case inside a large padded pelican case when I check it with my luggage. Most of the reason this laptop was picked was because it has a serial port we had a lot of issues with usb and pcmcia adapters, for some software reason I don't know of only native serial connections will work with some of our in house software. As for the battery it's just fine, until apple streamlined it's batteries getting 4 hours of battery on a laptop this size was unheard of, I was trying to say that the battery was good for being an "included" battery. the battery does as well as my 13" macbook, better sometimes.

I'm not impressed with it, considering it was just released at the end of last year as a new product, it should have been better. I suppose if I was getting it for a teenager I wouldn't mind it. Though I'm not convinced it's actually rugged, I think they just used less plastic and said "see it's tough now"!

jimmygrec wrote:I agree with kmartind I find the EliteBooks series to be very well build. You may be unfamiliar with their construction and that may be what is offsetting to you. The HP’s business laptops have a single internal metal support chassis which they build everything around. You can support the entire weight of the laptop from a single corner of the frame and it will not flex. Many other laptops are built like a protective shell around the electronics so the support is more obvious and flashy. But if you do the same thing you will hear creaking plastic and electronics. In my opinion the HPs while less flashy are more elegant, and very well built. The EliteBooks I have worked with stack up a notch higher than the Dells and similar to Livono. But in their high end business lines all three companies make great laptops and you usually can’t go wrong with any of them.

Mine flexed, not like a plastic one by far and less than my aluminum macbook, but it flexed (maybe that was just the outside case..). these discutions will just be like every other computer discussion though I imagine. One guy loves, the other guy hates it, etc, etc.... I don't think it's bad, I just think it's not worth the money, unless of course you want to buy them for your IT dept to deploy then by all means have at it.

But it's a laptop and it weights a ton, that alone makes me want to hate it, I have enough stuff to carry around when I'm mobile.

I did just think that maybe the mil-spec document called for it to be weaponized, I'll have to find it and read up, that would explain why it's so heavy, you can kill with it!

Another thing to keep in mind is that with these lappies you get HP BUSINESS CLASS support.

Having dealt with consumer and business support, I would gladly pay the premium for these machines just for that "feature".

I had two problems with my laptop, a bad BIOS update (not sure what the HP engineers had tested that on, but it wasn't good) and a faulty hard drive. Being somewhat tech savvy, any time they asked me to try something, and I already had, they took it at face value.

"Try reflashing the BIOS."
I already tried that.
"Oh, OK."

They sent me a new laptop and then a new hard-drive without any fuss. I think any premium I might have payed for getting a ProBook was more than made up for in the hours of my life I didn't have to sit on the phone with "normal" customer support!

bookofjoshua wrote:No worries...

Ya, I don't quite know about "designed to meet tough military standards" maybe military desk jockey standards. In my opinion it's sturdy & well-built but not near Toughbook durable well-built. I think by durable they may mean the components don’t flex inside the laptop so day to day use, and short drops do not cause stress fractures on the circuit boards like it does on cheaper laptops. But the display, lid, and plastic that it does have are no more resistant to dents and scratches than any other laptop.

In my experience, Elitebooks have the worst trackpoints I've ever encountered. I'll take even a Tecra's over it. Feels loose, sloppy, and the nub doesn't seem secure to me.

madcow19 wrote:Another thing to keep in mind is that with these lappies you get HP BUSINESS CLASS support.

Having dealt with consumer and business support, I would gladly pay the premium for these machines just for that "feature".

I had two problems with my laptop, a bad BIOS update (not sure what the HP engineers had tested that on, but it wasn't good) and a faulty hard drive. Being somewhat tech savvy, any time they asked me to try something, and I already had, they took it at face value.

"Try reflashing the BIOS."
I already tried that.
"Oh, OK."

They sent me a new laptop and then a new hard-drive without any fuss. I think any premium I might have payed for getting a ProBook was more than made up for in the hours of my life I didn't have to sit on the phone with "normal" customer support!

This. HP's hardware warranty is awesome. If I have a problem, I just tell them the troubleshooting steps I already did and they'll either send out a replacement component or overnight a shipping box with an overnight label to send it to their tech center. If it has to get sent in, usually they'll overnight it out the same day they got it.

A HDD, they'll just overnight another drive to you as long as you say you can swap and image the OS yourself. For a problem with the motherboard, display, or case/shell, they'll have you send it in.

I've dealt with HP laptops exclusively for the past five years. The Lenovo ThinkPads were poorly constructed and really couldn't carry on IBM's legacy of well constructed hardware. Dells were worse in that they'd literally fall apart after 2-4 years. Maybe they've wised up and seen that business customer want a laptop that can take normal wear and tear and not fall apart.

BTW, the 8560p that I have does feel like the bottom is made of plastic, but when I remove the screwless full-bottom cover, it's made of metal.

I've owned many Dells, HPs, and Lenevos, and I can say with certainty that they are pretty much all the same. The only difference is how you want it to look.

Performance wise, you get what you pay for.

shifuimam wrote:HP's laptops really don't cut it IMO when you compare them to other business-grade machines - namely, Lenovo's ThinkPad series and Dell's Latitude series.

I have an HP EliteBook 8440 for work, and we also have some of the new 8460s that we're piloting. I have a Dell Latitude E6410 as my main personal laptop.

The HPs are just not built well. The keyboard feels cheap, the bottom plastics feel cheap (especially when compared against the Latitude, which has an all-metal bottom), and it just doesn't feel as sturdy as Lenovo or Dell's offerings.

This is probably a good price for the specs, especially considering that less than $700 gets you a machine with discrete graphics. I'd still recommend holding out for a good Dell or Lenovo deal.

Just my three or so cents...

I would have to say my opinion is exactly the opposite of yours. I have several 8440p w/i7 and they are SIGNIFICANTLY better built than the Latitude E6410 which has a cheap plastic chassis and much cheaperfeeling keyboard (not to mention it doesn't perform as well). And don't even get me started on what Lenovo has done to the Thinkpad. To others that try to compare HP Elitebooks to other HP laptops...don't.