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Computerworld - While ultrabooks -- those light, stylish computers that use Intel's Ivy Bridge processors -- are getting most of the attention these days, HP has stepped in with a less expensive alternative. The HP Envy Sleekbook 6-1010us offers an AMD processor and a larger display than most ultrabooks at a lower price.
The Envy Sleekbook 6-1010us has a smoothly rounded design that is 0.8-in. thick in front and 0.9-in. thick in back. At 14.6 x 9.9 in. x 0.8 in. and weighing 4.5 lb., the Envy Sleekbook is larger and more than a pound heavier than Fujitsu's Lifebook U772 ultrabook with such as Fujitsu Lifebook S6200 Battery , Fujitsu FPCBP80 Battery , Fujitsu Lifebook S6220 Battery , Fujitsu Lifebook S2020 Battery , Fujitsu FPCBP64 Battery , Fujitsu Lifebook S6120 Battery , Fujitsu N5485 Battery , Fujitsu Lifebook T4000 Battery , Fujitsu Lifebook T4020 Battery , Fujitsu FPCBP121 Battery , Fujitsu FPCBP37 Battery , Fujitsu FPCBP152 Battery , but it offers the luxury of a 15.6-in. screen. If you add the power cord, it has a total travel weight of 5 lb. and just about fits on an airliner's tray table.
HP Envy Sleekbook 6-1010usThe Envy's black aluminum lid and base are complemented by its rubberized red plastic bottom -- a welcome change in a world dominated by dull silver systems. Unfortunately, the black-on-black keyboard area will likely prove hard to use at night without a light, and the surface picks up fingerprints faster than an episode of Sherlock. HP offers a backlit keyboard option for $25.
The system uses an AMD A6-4455M dual-core processor with 1MB of built-in cache that operates at roughly the same voltage range and power as Intel's latest Core i3 chips. The A6-4455M runs at 2.1GHz, but can sprint briefly to 2.4GHz when needed. That's faster than many Ivy Bridge chips; however, the A6 is produced using AMD's 32nanometer (nm) semiconductor process technology compared to the 22nm technology Intel uses for Ivy Bridge chips. (The smaller process technology translates to lower power use and faster speeds.) AMD is planning on moving to 22nm technology next year.
The A6 processor comes with AMD's Radeon HD 7500G graphics processor, which has 256 individual processing pipelines and 512MB of dedicated memory; it can grab up to 1.5GB of system memory for total available video memory of 2GB. The Envy 6's 15.6-in. 1366-x-768-resolution display is worthy of the processor -- it's sharp and bright, a welcome relief from smaller ultrabook screens.
The Envy Sleekbook also gives good video: Above the display is a webcam that can capture up to 1280 x 720 video, and it offers a dual-microphone array for good audio capture.
The review unit came with 4GB of RAM; it can hold up to 8GB. It's a good idea to decide how much memory you want before buying: As with ultrabooks, nothing on the Envy is user upgradable or serviceable.
The system has a 5,400rpm 500GB hard drive; you can also opt for a 7,200rpm 320GB hard drive, but there is no SSD option. As with the ultrabooks, there isn't room for a DVD drive.
The audio is surprisingly good for such a lightweight system. It uses AMD's high-end audio hardware as well as the popular Beats audio enhancements. I felt that it sounded like a much bigger system. That said, I prefer the volume thumbwheel that's on HP's Envy 17 gaming notebook rather than the Envy 6's keyboard-based volume control.
The Envy Sleekbook offers a good assortment of connections, including two USB 3.0 ports and one USB 2.0 port, along with HDMI and audio jacks. There's no VGA connector, although HP offers an HDMI-to-VGA adapter for $40. In addition to 802.11n Wi-Fi networking and Bluetooth, the Envy has a fold-open Ethernet port.