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HP Folio 13 review

Our Rating :
Price when reviewed : £750
inc VAT

Built for business, but great for everyone else – it’s not perfect, but the price is right

Specifications

13.3 in 1,366×768 display, 1.5kg, 1.6GHz Intel Core i5-2467M, 4.00GB RAM, 128GB disk, Windows 7 Professional 64-bit

http://www.currys.co.uk
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The one area that failed to impress us was screen quality. The Folio has a 13.3in screen with a fairly standard 1,366×768 resolution, putting it a step behind some of the more expensive Ultrabooks already available. Image quality was hardly breath-taking, with average brightness and contrast, although there was at least plenty of screen tilt to make up for the limited viewing angles. We were also surprised to find a glossy screen finish, as matt is more commonly found on business machines. Light reflections were troublesome, particularly in our brightly lit office.

HP Folio 13

Unsurprisingly, sound quality was also disappointing. Laptop speakers have never been able to blow us away, and the Folio 13’s are no exception – volume was lacking and there was no depth to our test tracks, with an overly sharp high end and no audible bass. We would definitely recommend using a pair of headphones to listen to music or watch video, as they will both sound much better and help cover up the surprisingly loud internal fan. It spins up occasionally during normal use, and is particularly whiny during intensive tasks such as video-encoding.

HP Folio 13

We think it’s a real shame that HP is aiming the Folio squarely at business users – the reserved looks and sturdy build quality are sure to appeal to home users just as much as professionals. It’s also very reasonably priced for an Ultrabook – £800 will currently buy the Samsung Series 5 14in, which despite having an optical drive, simply isn’t as well built as this. The Folio is not without its faults, but to get a much classier Ultrabook, such as Samsung’s Series 9, you’ll need to spend around £400 more. If your budget won’t stretch any higher, this is a great entry-level Ultrabook.

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Basic Specifications

Rating ****
Processor Intel Core i5-2467M
Processor clock speed 1.6GHz
Memory 4.00GB
Memory slots 1
Memory slots free 0
Maximum memory 8GB
Size 18x319x220mm
Weight 1.5kg
Sound IDT HD Audio
Pointing device touchpad

Display

Viewable size 13.3 in
Native resolution 1,366×768
Graphics Processor Intel HD 3000 Graphics
Graphics/video ports HDMI
Graphics Memory 384MB

Storage

Total storage capacity 128GB
Optical drive type none

Ports and Expansion

USB ports 2
Bluetooth yes
Wired network ports 1x 10/100/1000
Wireless networking support 802.11n (dual band)
PC Card slots none
Supported memory cards SDXC, MMC, Memory Stick Pro
Other ports minijack headset port, 1x USB 3.0

Miscellaneous

Carrying case No
Operating system Windows 7 Professional 64-bit
Operating system restore option restore partition
Software included none
Optional extras none

Buying Information

Warranty one year RTB
Price £750
Details www.hp.co.uk
Supplier http://www.currys.co.uk