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HP Envy Sleekbook 6 review: HP Envy Sleekbook 6

HP Envy Sleekbook 6 review: HP Envy Sleekbook 6

When is an ultrabook not an ultrabook? This new addition to the HP Envy line asks that very question, with two nearly identical models. One thin 15-inch HP Envy has an Intel Ivy Bridge CPU and is called an ultrabook, while this specific model, the 15-inch HP Envy 6 Sleekbook (the 6-1010us, specifically) is instead called a sleekbook, because it has an AMD CPU and a handful of other component differences.

The look and feel are very similar, and this is one of the thinnest 15-inch laptops you can find, in either the sleekbook or ultrabook versions. In fact, the AMD model reviewed here might even have an edge over the Intel one, because it costs just $599, versus a minimum of $799 for the HP Envy 15-inch with the official ultrabook tag.

You'll trade some performance for the cost savings, and AMD's latest chip family (the company calls it an APU rather than a CPU, which is an Accelerated Processing Unit, combining a CPU and GPU in one package) still don't measure up to Intel's third-generation Core i-series processors in power or efficiency. But, battery life was better than expected and the AMD A6 inside is more than capable of handling everyday online tasks.

Let's be honest. The "sleekbook" name is, to be generous, inelegant. Why not call it a skinnybook? Or a slimtop? Maybe those names didn't focus group test as well. Frankly, the term "ultrabook" has not exactly taken the world by storm, so I don't see a real reason to ape it. It's a needless distraction, or at least confusing to shoppers.

But don't let the awkward name put you off. This is one of the best-looking midsize laptops I've ever seen for $599. If you're shopping for that Intel name brand, or high power for gaming (or a high-res screen), this isn't for you, but for mainstream appeal at a budget price, it's a top contender.

Price as reviewed	$599
Processor	2.1GHz AMD A6-4455M APU
Memory	4GB, 667MHz DDR3
Hard drive	500GB 5,400rpm
Chipset	AMD 1410h
Graphics	AMD Radeon HD 7500G
Operating System	Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit)
Dimensions (WD)	14.7 x 10 inches
Height	0.78 inches
Screen size (diagonal)	15.6 inches
System weight / Weight with AC adapter	4.6/5.4 pounds
Category	Midsize

HP's Envy family has always (since its 2009 introduction, anyway) been the company's high-end line, with superior design, construction, and materials. I've previously compared them, loosely, with the MacBook Pro or Dell's XPS line, and most HP Envy models have gotten excellent reviews.

This new line, both the AMD and Intel models, take a serious risk by dropping the price and some of the high-end features. While it's great to see a $599 laptop with a brushed-metal look, Beats Audio sound, and a body that's 0.78 inch thick, it also potentially dilutes the Envy brand, which has been a rare high-end success story, refuting the idea that only Apple can sell an expensive laptop.

But, on the positive side, you get a very nicely designed laptop for the same price you might normally pay for a thick, plastic box. This configuration is nearly all black, with a brushed-metal lid and wrist rest, offset by a deep red/burgundy bottom panel. I showed the system off to several people, asking each one how much they thought it cost, and everyone was (pleasantly) surprised by the price.

That said, there are a few physical flaws. The long center hinge is anchored on the inside only, making the screen feel a bit wobbly. The hinge also creaked a bit, especially when holding the laptop in the air while opening or closing it. The metal finish is especially susceptible to fingerprints and smudges. Maybe an antismudge coating was one of the corners cut to keep the price down.

The keyboard and touch pad are very similar to what the other new HP Envy laptops offer. The island-style keyboard had a little flex in the center when typing, but that's typical of budget laptops. A bigger problem is that the keyboard is not backlit, and with black keys against a black keyboard tray, it can be hard to see in even moderately dim lighting conditions. This exact model is a fixed-configuration system, but HP also offers a configurable version (called the Sleekbook 6z-1000, with a silver interior, rather than black) that has a $25 backlit keyboard option.

The touch pad looks like the one on the new high-end Envy Spectre XT; both have a touch pad surrounded by an indented, slightly sunken perimeter. It's a cool look, but I'm not sure what practical impact it has, other than to help differentiate the touch-pad surface from the rest of the wrist rest.

The display has a 1,366x768-pixel native resolution, which is standard for budget or mainstream midsize laptops (and nearly all smaller ones). There's not much more you can ask for at $599, but that 1,366x768-pixel res is definitely starting to look dated on bigger 15-inch displays.

Despite the presence of a Beats Audio subsystem, which gives you an onscreen control panel for tweaking the sound, the built-in speakers are predictably wimpy. The Beats software did allow for a greater range of audio flexibility through headphones, however.

	HP Envy Sleekbook 6-1010us	Average for category [midsize]
Video	HDMI	VGA plus HDMI or DisplayPort
Audio	Stereo speakers, headphone/microphone jacks	Stereo speakers, headphone/microphone jacks
Data	2 USB 3.0, SD card reader	2 USB 2.0, 2 USB 3.0, SD card reader, eSATA
Networking	Ethernet, 802.11n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth	Ethernet, 802.11n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, optional mobile broadband
Optical drive	None	DVD burner

It's always interesting to see what corners get cut in a budget laptop. In this case, the trade-offs seem smart, with the standard VGA video output getting dropped, but USB 3.0 and Bluetooth staying. It's sometimes hard to fit an Ethernet jack into a slim laptop, and the jack here is the type with a little folding door to fit a Cat5 cable, as seen occasionally on ultraportable laptops.

The big question mark here is the AMD A6 processor. Is it worth giving up that familiar Intel sticker to save a few hundred dollars? It doesn't help that the latest generation of Intel Ivy Bridge processors is excellent, with better performance and power efficiency than even last year's Sandy Bridge models.

From our benchmark results, it's clear the A6 isn't as fast as Intel's mainstream Core i5 CPU, especially when it comes to multitasking. To be fair, AMD isn't claiming that it is a direct performance match. That said, you should think about what type of tasks you use a laptop for. If it's the same as the vast majority of users, that's surfing the Web, e-mail, social networking, and streaming online video.

In anecdotal hands-on use, this laptop, despite the slower processor, is perfectly fine for any of that, even with a standard 5,400rpm hard drive instead of an SSD, and with 4GB of 667Mhz RAM. The fact is, most laptops are very overpowered, considering the relatively simple things we ask them to do.

AMD's A6 is a combination of a CPU and GPU (the company calls it an APU, a bit of made-up marketing speak). The AMD Radeon HD 7500G isn't the same as getting a high-end discrete Nvidia (or even AMD) card, but it's better than traditional integrated graphics. In our Street Fighter IV test, at 1,366x768 resolution, we got a fair 26.7 frames per second. Depending on what you're playing, it's similar to moderately better than Intel's current-gen HD 4000 integrated graphics. Fine for casual gaming, but you'll have to keep the settings turned down for most current A-list games.

Going in, I was a little concerned about the potential battery life on this laptop, as AMD systems have traditionally not been as strong in this area as their Intel counterparts. But, this latest generation of A-series CPUs seems to have made some improvements in this area. The HP Envy 6-1010us ran for 5 hours and 41 minutes on our video playback battery drain test, which is very impressive for a 15-inch midsize laptop.

HP includes a one-year parts-and-labor warranty (although I've seen other, more expensive, Envy laptops start with a two-year plan). Warranty upgrades are confusing, with discounts that don't show up until you've added a specific plan and laptop to your shopping cart. I was able to add a three-year extended warranty, including on-site service and accidental damage protection, for $230, after an arbitrary $99 "discount."

HP's service and support tools are perfectly navigable, and product manuals and software and driver downloads were easy to find. The 24-7 toll-free number can be tricky to spot, however. It's 800-474-6836.

The HP Envy 6-1010us is best described as a pleasant surprise. Would it be a great $899 laptop? Not really, but for $599, it's a great midsize laptop for those willing to trade a little performance for some sharp looks.

System configurations:

HP Envy 6-1010US
Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit) w/ SP1; 1.4GHz AMD A6-4455MM APU; 4GB DDR3 SDRAM 667MHz; 512MB ATI Mobility Radeon HD 7500G; 500GB Hitachi 5,400rpm

Toshiba Satellite P755D-S5172
Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit) w/ SP1; 1.4GHz AMD Quad-Core A8-3520M APU; 6GB DDR3 SDRAM 1333MHz; 512MB ATI Mobility Radeon HD 6620G; 640GB Toshiba 5,400rpm

Gateway NV55S05u
Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit) w/ SP1; 1.5GHz AMD Quad-Core A8-3500M APU; 6GB DDR3 SDRAM 1333MHz; 512MB AMD Mobility Radeon HD 6620G; 640GB Toshiba 5,400rpm

Samsung Series 9 NP900X4B-A02
Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit) w/ SP1; 1.6GHz Intel Core i5-2467M; 4GB DDR3 SDRAM 1333MHz; 64MB (Shared) Intel HD 3000; 128GB Samsung Solid State Drive

Acer Aspire Timeline Ultra M3-581TG
Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit) w/ SP1; 1.7GHz Intel Core i7 2637M; 4GB DDR3 SDRAM 1333MHz; 1GB NVIDIA's GeForce GT 640M / 128MB (Dedicated) Intel HD 3000; 256GB LITEONIT Solid State Drive

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