HP Envy Spectre XT
The HP Envy Spectre XT ultrabook starts at just $999, but it lacks the Gorilla Glass design found on the earlier Spectre model.
- Author of the award-winning, NY Times-reviewed nonfiction book The Tetris Effect; Longtime consumer technology expert for CBS Mornings
Of all the new laptops recently announced by Hewlett-Packard, the highlight was arguably the new Envy Spectre XT (although the midprice Pavilion m6 is also very interesting). This is a premium ultrabook, meant to be the flagship for HP's Envy line, and we got a chance to play around with an early unit briefly.
The 14.5-millimeter-thick Spectre XT looks and feels a lot like other ultrabooks we've seen, including Dell's XPS 13, HP's own Folio 13, and even Apple's MacBook Air. Like those models, it sports a 13.3-inch screen. Its body tapers slightly toward the front and the lid has a brushed-metal finish that ties it into the overall look of both Envy and Pavilion laptops from HP.
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The system felt light, but not radically so, at what HP says is 3.07 pounds. Some ultrabooks are a few ounces heavier because of platter or hybrid hard drives, but this one sticks to a solid-state drive (SSD) only, starting at 128GB. Ports and connections sometimes get short shrift in ultrabooks, but here you'll find an Ethernet jack and HDMI, along with standard stuff such as a USB 3.0 port. Like most HP laptops, and the entire Envy line, the Spectre XT has a Beats Audio sound system, and four (tiny) speakers.
Other premium features include a backlit keyboard (which should be standard for all ultrabooks by now, but sadly isn't), and full versions of Adobe Photoshop Elements 10 and Adobe Premiere Elements 10.
Having written previously about the dilution of the ultrabook term across different products, here we're seeing the dilution of the Spectre brand itself. The original HP Envy Spectre was an imposing 14-inch slab, with the back of the lid and wrist rest covered in glass. This new Spectre shares little of that design, and while the design is perfectly fine, it's also a bit generic.
The HP Envy Spectre XT is expected to become available in the U.S. on June 8 (allowing for third-generation Intel Core i-series processors), starting at $999.