Windows 8 is scarcely two months away, and brings with it an entirely new approach to navigating around our PCs. But we aren't all going to run out and buy tablets; the Spectre XT TouchSmart offers another approach, taking familiar hardware — in this case, the premium Spectre XT — and adding a multitouch display. Our first impressions of the 13.3-inch Spectre XT were pleasant, and the TouchSmart variant retains the comfortable keyboard, while adding an accurate glass trackpad that handles Windows 8's multitouch gestures amicably. The new model also sports a 15.6-inch projective capacitive touchscreen — hence the TouchSmart moniker. A multi-touch IPS display is a boon for Windows 8, and gestures worked rather smoothly during our time tapping at the screen. The edge-to-edge glass is also an attractive touch, though fingerprints remain a concern. Viewing angles were fairly generous, and while we did notice some problems with reflections when standing off to the side, the screen held up rather well in spite of the venue's aggressive fluorescent lighting.
The Spectre XT's attractive aluminum body makes a return, though touch-support and the larger screen adds a bit of girth. The XT TouchSmart is .7-inches thick (17.9mm) and weighs 4.7 pounds — a few millimeters thicker, and just shy of two pounds heavier than the Spectre XT. The XT Touchsmart also adds a Thunderbolt port (HP's first laptop to include one) and includes USB 3.0 sockets and a full-sized HDMI port. The PC will be powered by Intel Ivy Bridge processors, and pairs traditional hard drives with mSATA SSDs. Also bundled in to the deal are Adobe Photoshop Elements and Adobe Premiere Elements, which could be an appreciable value add for the budding auteur. The Envy Spectre XT TouchSmart will start shipping in December, and will start at $1,399.
HP has also announced the Envy TouchSmart Ultrabook 4, though there are decidedly fewer details. There's no price or release date, but we do know that it weighs 4.7 pounds, and is .9-inches (23mm) thick. It will also offer an optional AMD graphics card, though there's no word on what model.
Comments
Can’t wait to try these at a local MSFT store.
By Adriel Mingo on 08.30.12 12:10am
1400 dollars. No thanks.
By hammersend on 08.30.12 1:10am
Looks like a Macbook Pro.
By Ebony & Ivory on 08.30.12 1:54am
but can it run Crysis?
By Marko on 08.30.12 4:13am
also, it used be an adventurer like a macbook pro, but it took an arrow to the knee
By Marko on 08.30.12 4:14am
and last but not least, if it has a 1366×768 screen I am not getting it!
By Marko on 08.30.12 4:15am
Its Full HD (1080p)
By SigiSigi on 09.02.12 11:38am
Except the big hinges are ghastly ugly. Like big Frankenstein bolts.
By stubble on 08.30.12 7:33pm
Hp, I’m impressed and it takes a lot for you to impress me
By arch3r on 08.30.12 12:13am
Hopefully the trackpad isn’t death
By arch3r on 08.30.12 12:13am
last one was said to feel like the MBP
By King Jamaican on 08.30.12 12:19am
It doesn’t.
By RandySquirrels on 08.30.12 12:38am
do you have one by any chance? just wondering.
By King Jamaican on 08.30.12 12:56am
How do you know it doesn’t?
By SuperLDClark on 08.30.12 12:48pm
An HP MacBook Pro for pretty much the same price? NO GRACIAS.
By mpaxeman on 08.30.12 12:14am
1,399 != 1,799;
By brian.aarhus on 08.30.12 1:14am
Those 2 prices are pretty much the same market. I realize they might not be identical, but, there’s a lot of overlap. If you are spending $1,399 on a laptop you are already willing to part company with a lot of money so $1,799 isn’t too far off.
By albooher on 08.30.12 1:30am
$400 or 22% cheaper. It does matter.
By B_Sack on 08.30.12 1:56am
And it’s touchscreen. Those things aren’t cheap. if Apple ever came out with a touchscreen, it’d be at least $2000. And they’d be copying Windows.
By wicketr on 08.30.12 11:11am
No… Apple would be the first to do it right, therefore they would end up being the first to do it. /s
By ian.aldrighetti on 08.30.12 11:46am
How does the machine physically handle the screen being tapped and swiped?
Does it sit firmly on the table, or does the screen bounce or the whole thing generally wobble?
By gregorian on 08.30.12 12:15am
That icon above Netflix, say it aint so! PLEASE!
By Sherp on 08.30.12 12:18am
I don’t recognize it. What is it?
By Richard Simpson on 08.30.12 12:27am
Symantec….preloaded :(
By backporchprophet on 08.30.12 12:36am
The more things change…
By hammersend on 08.30.12 1:11am