The new look is quite difference from that of premature Envys. Made of atomic number 13 and Mg, in a dark gunmetal grey with a black nucleotide, the original Invidia laptops computer had a insidious figure of imprinted squares covering the radiocarpal joint relaxation and the back of the chapeau, making an overall singular signature. The new translation has more of a two-tone intention, with a black hat and keyboard counterpointed against a silver tray.

One important detail is that, after corroborating with Beats, HP has embedded a new aluminum analog volume dial that can adjust audio levels. The ENVY 15 and ENVY 17, with 15.6 inch and 17.3 inch LCD screens, respectively, are also available with Radiance Full HD Infinity displays, which offers higher resolution, richer color, better brightness and wider viewing angles than traditional notebook displays.

The ENVY 15 shares a lot of design DNA with the rest of the line, and that means lots of metal and secondary utility as a blunt weapon. The typical high-class build quality is present in full force, with a new black-on-grey color scheme that’s accented with some red Beats trim. It would be almost impossible to forget the inspirations from Apple’s Macbook Pro line that defined the early ENVY models, but the latest seems to be finding a bit of its own identity. A depressed keyboard section and an analog audio dial inset into the body make for some unique and functional touches.

The Envy 15 also mount the same basic configuration dell’Envy 15 and is different in the 17.3-inch TN panel screen that features Full HD, 750 GB hard drive, 6-cell HP Envy 15 battery with 91 Wh more than 9 hours, an additional USB 3.0 ports and DisplayPort output further. Envy 17 3D, the basic version, add three-dimensional technology, active 3D glasses, the other 2 GB of RAM and Blu-ray.

There are a few things I noticed in the 1st generation preventing me to make the purchase. First, there was very limited on what you can configure to add/remove, as the result the price remain fairly high averages around $1999.00 brand new. Second, by having larger 45nm Intel Quad Core i7 processor in there, they didn't provide proper cooling systems. As the result, heat at the palm rest area and underneath was the number one complaint. A lot of reviews you find out there today with lower rating are from the initial HP Envy 15 (1st generation).

The Envy 15 competes with a tiny fast of absolute 15″ portables that embody a Samsung Series 7 Chronos we only looked at, a MacBook Pro and HP Envy 15 power adapter. Inside, it bears an annoying similarity to a MacBook Pro, nonetheless outward it’s disctinctly Envy. The tip and bottom lids are matte “nero” black, and a lines are really identical to a initial Envy. The appurtenance has an aluminum surrounding that doesn’t censor fingerprints well, and a magnesium amalgamate frame. Build peculiarity is standard high finish Envy, and it weighs a docile 5.8 lbs. (our digital scale totalled it as 5.5 lbs.).

The redesigned HP Envy 15 offers solid performance, excellent audio, and a bright full HD display in a beautifully made chassis. The Envy 15 is the medium-sized member of the crew, with a 15.6-inch screen and the same overhauled design you’ll find across the Envy lineup. Delightfully, too, it marks the return of HP’s eye-popping Radiance display, and also comes with a generous two-year warranty and full copies of Photoshop Elements and Premiere Elements.

HP ENVY 15 provides an impressive hard disk capacity of 1-TB (5400 rpm), giving you endless space to store all your applications, document files, media files and games. Graphics are quite impressive. It has a AMD Radeon HD 7690M (1 GB GDDR5 dedicated) Graphics Card making resolution really amazing.  HD videos and high resolution games can be really enjoyed on this laptop.

Featuring beats audio, on the side of this computer there is an inbuild jog dial, not distracting from the overall design of this notebook. The HP ENVY 15 comes with a backlit keyboard with very nice build quality. The touchpad can be disabled with a double-tap in the right corner, a very nice feature indeed if you want to play games without being distracted from accidentally touching the pad with your heel of hand.

The keys sure are pretty, not less than. Like other laptops within the Envy lineup, the Envy 15 has a backlight underneath each individual key, taking into account a brighter glow than what you will find on most other laptops. If you’d rather save your HP PR08 battery power, you might press F5 to deactivate this selection, within which case only that function button will glow white — a helpful reminder of the way to show it back on again.

Someone I know in my life had a car with a license plate saying "I am not speeding, I am just flying low". With the HP Envy 15, that is what this laptop will do. It doesn't look like a monstrous laptop similar to Alienware m17x, but it can really dish out some pretty good result.

At 15.6 inches all the way through its metal frame, the laptop isn’t the smallest around, but it isn’t really trying to be. That large frame gets you a 2.4Ghz Core i5 processor, 6GB of RAM, a 1GB AMD Radeon 7690m graphics card and a 500GB traditional hard drive. That should be enough computing power to handle just about anything you can throw at it short of marathon HD encoding sessions. You’ll also get a slot-loading DVD drive, an increasingly rare commodity even in medium-sized laptops, and a user-accessible HP Envy 15 battery bay.

The click-pad-style touching pad was large — slenderly longer and squatter than you’d find on a MacBook. Basic multitouch motions are corroborated, but still not as smooth as the finger-control action in OS X. Particularly crossing is the two-finger roll, as basic a touch-pad motion if there always was one. Few, if any, Windows laptops computer do this intimately, but the Enviousness line has always been specially stuttery with that motion.

Just don’t plan on watching the extended version of Lord of the Rings. Though HP claims up to a 9 hour HP laptop battery  life, I was never able to get more than 3 hours and 45 minutes while doing basic WiFi Internet browsing with the screen at about half brightness. The “power saver” mode seems to do a little better, and I dare say with conservative use and a few tricks (like disabling the petty Aero effects in Windows) you might stretch it as high as five. It’s a disappointing statistic in a laptop of this size and weight, and you’ll probably feel the need to stash the large HP Envy 15 AC adapter in your bag for anything more than coffee shop surfing session.

The setup I've gotten for my HP Envy is a glossy 1920 x 1080 HD resolution 15.6" LCD. HP Envy 15 also comes in a matte / non-glossy finish with the same resolution, and a lower resolution. Of the 3, I believe this to be the best one as it is also the brightest. I do a lot of Adobe Photoshop editing with pictures and this LCD is sharper and more crisp than my Dell 21" desktop LCD. I believe it is approx 300 nit, if I recall correctly from reading somewhere. Please message me if that is incorrect. I have not use the HDMI slot and hook it up to my LCD TV yet, so I can not comment how is the quality watching playback. Beside, there is no internal DVD/BluRay Slot Drive.

The HP Envy 15 is heavier than other laptops in its class, and in exchange for toting that extra heft, you’re rewarded with middling Dell XPS L401x battery life. The keyboard’s alright, but we did type in a deliberate strategy to ensure it recognized our every press. Most significantly, though, the laptop’s saddled with a finicky, stiff touchpad — a nuisance sufficiently big to decelerate all of your workflow. A shame, since that is an otherwise speedy machine. As a result of these shortcomings, the Envy 15 doesn’t best the MacBook Pro, though it admirably undercuts its lofty $1,800 starting price. All told, the Envy 15 offers some compelling features for the cash, but before you pull the trigger we’d suggest you furthermore may inspect the Dell XPS 15z, that’s lighter with a comfier keyboard / trackpad, in addition the long-lasting Samsung Series 7 Chronos. In the event you do opt for the Envy 15, we are hoping you will have an exquisite stationary setup in mind: you will need an outlet within sight and likewise, a mouse.

Specifiations of the new HP ENVY 15:

  • Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
  • Intel Core i5-2430M
  • AMD Radeon graphics
  • 500GB 7200RPM hard disc
  • Beats Audio
  • DVD+/-RW
  • backlit keyboard
  • 6GB DDR3 SDRAM
  • 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi with Bluetooth 4.0 and WI-Di