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HP unveils new Envy 15 and Envy 17 notebooks

Teaser
New Envy 15, 17 and 17 3D feature sleeker design, physical volume dial and more powerful hardware options

 HP’s popular Envy notebook line began back in 2009 with the Envy 13 and Envy 15, but over the past year HP has paid more attention to its Envy 14 and Envy 17/17 3D models. However, things appear to be changing, as HP is bringing back the Envy 15 with an all new design that also making its way to the Envy 17 and 17 3D.

Upon their release, the Envys were branded as MacBook lookalikes, and sadly the new design doesn’t do much to dispel that notion. The notebooks now feature the same silver scheme as Apple’s flagship computers, and a depressed keyboard as well. On the other hand, the laptops come with a black lid that matches nicely with the silver palmrests and a red border offers some nice contrast.  In addition, HP is updating the backlight on the chiclet keyboard, as the new models now feature individual LEDs for each key along with a proximity sensor that illuminates the keyboard as soon someone approaches.

One of the biggest selling points for the Envy notebooks was the optional high-res Radiance display, a feature that was discontinued for the Envy 14 after demand exceeded supply. Thankfully, the displays are now making a reappearance, as the 1920x1080 panels will now come optional for the 15.6” Envy 15 and standard for the 17.3” Envy 17 and 17 3D.

Of course, HP isn’t standing pat on the hardware, as the 3 models now come stock with a Core i5-2430M processor, 6GB of DDR3 RAM, a 7,200 RPM 500GB HDD and an unspecified 1GB AMD Radeon graphics card. Unfortunately, there is no word as to what the highest end machines can be customized with, but Quad-Core i7 CPUs will definitely be available. The battery life appears to have been improved as well, with promises of 9 hours of life for the Envy 15 and 9.5 hours for the Envy 17.

Though HP’s latest refresh is sure to draw even more comparisons to Apple’s MacBook Pros, the Radiance displays and upgraded hardware are most welcome. Just in time for the holidays, the new notebooks should ship on the 7th of December, with the Envy 15 starting at $1,099, the Envy  17 at $1,249 and the Envy 17 3D at $1,599. 

 

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> Notebook / Laptop Reviews and News > News > News Archive > Newsarchive 2011 11 > HP unveils new Envy 15 and Envy 17 notebooks
Omar Qudsi, 2011-11-19 (Update: 2012-05-26)