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HP Says It Made the World's Thinnest Laptop (time.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the as-thin-as-a-AAA-battery dept.

An anonymous reader writes: HP claims that its Spectre laptop, unveiled April 5, is the world's thinnest laptop. It measures 10.4mm thick or 0.41 inches. That would mean that it's slimmer than the 12-inch MacBook (0.52), MacBook Air (0.68 inches) and Dell XPS 13 (0.59 inches) at their thickest points. It's also thinner than the 0.52-inch Razer Blade Stealth. The new notebook is equipped with an advertised nine-hour battery life, 13-inch HD 1920 x 1080 resolution display, and sixth generation Intel Core i5 or i7 processor. The Spectre will be available for pre-order on April 25 for $1,169.99 before it hits Best Buy stores on May 22 for $1,249.99.

119 of 166 comments (clear)

  1. not a good idea by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Thin laptops are vulnerable to being bent and cracked in half. They're not very durable. They also tend to have shorter lifespans because there's little room for adequate air circulation and the overheating shortens the life of the components. This probably isn't a good way to spend your money.

    1. Re:not a good idea by Mr+D+from+63 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Laptops have already reached the 'thin enough for me' plateau. Weight reduction is still a good thing though.

    2. Re:not a good idea by 93+Escort+Wagon · · Score: 1

      Laptops have already reached the 'thin enough for me' plateau. Weight reduction is still a good thing though.

      I think - for me at least - laptops have reached "light enough" as well as "thin enough".

      The first few years of this millennium, I was lugging around a Dell Inspiron 7100 (model # might be wrong) that, with it's power brick and all, weighed around 7 pounds - and that was a fairly light laptop for the time. Then, in late 2004, I bought a 15" Powerbook G4 - it weighed a tad over 5.5 pounds. A 13" MacBook Pro followed sometime around 2009-2010, weighing 4.5 pounds.

      Just recently, I bought a new Retina MacBook Pro which weighs just under 3.5 pounds. I can comfortably hold this thing with one hand. You can certainly go even thinner and lighter... but then you're getting into "I have to carry these USB-C dongles everywhere I go" territory.

      --
      #DeleteChrome
    3. Re:not a good idea by vux984 · · Score: 4, Interesting

      They've reached thin enough i think. They could still lose some weight. They could definitely stand to gain some battery life still, especially for more perforamnce oriented units.

      And they could still stand to shed a lot of heat. My macbook pro runs pretty cool most of the time web/email/excel/etc, but some crappy web-sites/web-apps manage to be written poorly enough to burn enough cpu cycles to start warming it up if I leave it on the page; and if i launch a game or even stream one a desktop via steam play it heats up fast... even something pretty nomimal for performance like simple sprite turn based games like ToME, or SotS:The Pit, or the graphical version of "DoomRL" get it too hot to have on my lap... I don't expect to a new tripleA game with the latest shiny 3D graphics and have it run cool... but its pretty irritating that DoomRL heats it up.

    4. Re:not a good idea by The+Grim+Reefer · · Score: 1

      Laptops have already reached the 'thin enough for me' plateau. Weight reduction is still a good thing though.

      Lucky you. I wish they'd reach the thin enough and still be powerful enough. My work laptop is a 17 inch Dell Precision. I don't remember what it weighs exactly, but it's between 9 and 11 lbs. The power brick is probably heavier than many laptops as its 240 watts.

    5. Re:not a good idea by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Marketing and advertising have gone a long way. No need to make ads when you can write a "news" article about your new product. I am not impressed with this device. I am annoyed that once again I've been exposed to product marketing. But whatever. People are stupid. This slashdot "news" feed was dead a long time ago. Most of you are just here for your daily ego rubs and to spend your game chips (karma). I hope for a planet wide extinction soon.

    6. Re: not a good idea by johnsmithperson123 · · Score: 1

      Well, that's Apple and school kids. I think ours is intentionally using Dell C2D laptops because the things are built like bricks. I mean, they have PS/2 ports on the side stacked on top of each other. It's probably a mini-ITX board in there really.

    7. Re:not a good idea by Britz · · Score: 1

      > some crappy web-sites/web-apps manage to be written poorly enough to burn enough cpu cycles to start warming it up if I leave it on the page

      NoScript. I run it on Linux for that reason as well. It is a little cumbersome at first, because you have to whitelist a lot of sites, but it gets a lot better fast. Also I use dual browsers or dual profiles. So I can switch if NoScript doesn't work at all.

    8. Re: not a good idea by YukariHirai · · Score: 1

      I hear people say that, but I'm not so sure it's true. I've got an 11" MacBook Air, and in spite of the usual light abuse my laptops endure, it shows no signs of warping or deforming and none of the electronics have failed. I've actually had chunkier, more solid laptops fare worse.

    9. Re:not a good idea by plasm4 · · Score: 1
      +4 Insightful? Really?

      Thin laptops are vulnerable to being bent and cracked in half.

      Really?

      They're not very durable.

      Where do you get that idea?

      They also tend to have shorter lifespans because there's little room for adequate air circulation and the overheating shortens the life of the components.

      Come on some kind of citation is appropriate if you're going to make that many assumptions.

      This probably isn't a good way to spend your money.

      Thank you for your wisdom Mr Anon.

    10. Re:not a good idea by tibit · · Score: 1

      Moreover, who the heck cares how thin a laptop is? Past a certain point, any "improvement" in that respect is pointless.

      --
      A successful API design takes a mixture of software design and pedagogy.
    11. Re: not a good idea by tibit · · Score: 1

      They never seem to work properly when the software that uses the serial connection is written by idiots and/or the protocol is designed by idiots. I know that this reeks of no true scotsman, but I've got thousands of serial-over-USB devices that work just fine. There's an absurd number of Windows serial code that's not written in proper asynchronous manner, with multiple levels of timeouts given as explicit state machine parameters vs. one ad-hoc value that nobody bothered updating in a decade. Same goes for the code that goes into the microcontrollers that run on the devices. There is a good reason why protocols like X.25/Q.931 shouldn't be looked down upon: you have a free, patent-unencumbered protocol with a *free* test suite, with lots and lots of field experience to vouch for the soundness of the design. Yet people still design their own abominations :( I'm not saying "just use X.25", I'm saying: explore what's out there and pick up a protocol that handles all the corner cases, and ensure you understand what's going on.

      --
      A successful API design takes a mixture of software design and pedagogy.
    12. Re:not a good idea by squiggleslash · · Score: 2

      Thin laptops are vulnerable to being bent and cracked in half.

      Really?

      I've lost count of the number of laptops I've deformed or broke when I've slipped them into my back pocket...

      --
      You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.
    13. Re: not a good idea by pruss · · Score: 1

      For those of us who travel and make presentations with other people's projectors, the VGA connection is a must, as it's what one can count on a projector having.

    14. Re:not a good idea by Rinikusu · · Score: 1

      Hell, my favorite laptop body is a thinkpad x200ish (no trackpad.. god I hate trackpads). I'd love to see someone bring this back. Great keyboard, great form factor, utilitarian, easy to access bits.. Give me an x200 with modern components (i7, dual lipstick sata drives in the drive bay, 16-32gb ram, minimum 1080p screen) and fill the rest with battery and I'd be a happy happy boy.

      --
      If you were me, you'd be good lookin'. - six string samurai
    15. Re:not a good idea by Holi · · Score: 1

      That is not a laptop, that is a portable workstation. You would probably burn your legs running it on your lap if it's anything like my old m6600.

      --
      Sorry, teleporters just kill you and then make a copy. A perfect, soul-less copy.
    16. Re:not a good idea by gfxguy · · Score: 1

      I'd like to go smaller... I just got a Dell XPS 15.6 inch laptop, and so far I really like it. I wish I could have gotten the smaller one (13 inch) that they are showing on the commercials, but it's for work, and I need discrete Nvidia graphics for a couple of programs I use. I would have gotten a Surface Book if I hadn't read about the high incidence of problems people have been having with them. Unfortunately, the new Macbooks don't use Nvidia anymore... I just missed out.

      So the caveat is that it doesn't come with a built in LAN port, but it does have USB 3 and lightening ports, and an HDMI port. They sell a video breakout box for about $160 more (which I got because, hey, work was paying anyway) that I found very annoying, requiring it's own power adapter on top of being fairly big for what it is, but it includes a network port, VGA ports, and expands the number of USB ports. I used it to make sure it worked, but haven't used it since. Instead, I got a fairly cheap USB 3 hub with LAN adapter... small, very light weight, no external power required.... much easier to take with me on the road than Dells junky video expander thing.

      Keep in mind, I'm coming from having to lug around a Dell Precision M4000 "mobile workstation." Small is what I wanted. Having to add a hub with a LAN port is still heaven compared to carrying around that behemoth, and I'd need a hub anyway with all the devices I need to add... laptop has three ports (fairly typical), I have a wireless mouse (can't stand track pads), two dongles, an external drive, and yes... a USB to serial adapter.

      --
      Stupid sexy Flanders.
    17. Re: not a good idea by gfxguy · · Score: 1

      I work with such proprietary equipment that it seems no two devices are wired the same way. Expensive broadcast camera lenses, for example, that cost tens of thousands of dollars... and then you need a $250 cable from one company, and $160 cable from another to convert it down to serial so that you can just run a diagnostic on it. It would take far too long to figure the pin-outs on your own - at the end of the day, $400 for two cables seems like a bargain. One of the cables is so rare that, when I googled it trying to find pin out information, Google can't find it. Period. These companies use proprietary protocols and butcher standard pin outs for exactly that reason - they can make a lot of extra money on cables and proprietary diagnostic and control software.

      --
      Stupid sexy Flanders.
    18. Re:not a good idea by gfxguy · · Score: 1

      ... and I just found out that, a few weeks after I ordered mine, the new video breakout box will charge the laptop via the lightening port.

      --
      Stupid sexy Flanders.
    19. Re:not a good idea by Coren22 · · Score: 1

      My new "gaming" ASUS laptop has a 10 hour battery life, I suppose you could add more, but what is the point?

      http://smile.amazon.com/ASUS-Z...

      Granted, I don't ever expect to get that kind of battery life out of it when gaming, but I also don't generally expect to game without being plugged in.

      --
      APK likes to ask for responses to the same things over and over. Maybe he just likes the responses?
  2. and woe betide you... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

    ...if you sit on it. Or drop it. Or sneeze on it. Or look at it the wrong way.

    This anorexic idiocy has got to stop. 0.75-1" is fine, especially if built properly, and allows for maintenance hatches and cooling systems that can handle 35-45W TDP processors. These things are idiot status symbols.

    1. Re:and woe betide you... by ProzacPatient · · Score: 1

      Mark my words HP will never top their EliteBook series; it was relatively thick, durable and easy to take apart to repair. At the time all of us in the office had one and my colleague even had his backpack fall apart and it dropped onto the parking lot asphalt and it survived and was still fully functional albeit some scratches.

    2. Re:and woe betide you... by Nethead · · Score: 2

      Are you talking about the 8470s? Yeah those things are great. We just refreshed with Dells and now I have a few at home with i5, 480GB SSD and 16 RAM. Old aerospace engineering laptops. We had those traveling all over the world. Very few problems. The 840 is a nice one too, snagged one for my wife, she loves it.

      --
      -- I have a private email server in my basement.
    3. Re:and woe betide you... by sew3521 · · Score: 1

      I am writing this on an EliteBook 8560w. I love this laptop. I travel constantly for my job, and refuse to get one of these thing laptops for many reasons, the biggest being I am scared it will break because it is not built like a tank.

    4. Re:and woe betide you... by ProzacPatient · · Score: 1

      I have the 8560w too and I love that laptop. After my company was acquired by a bigger company they migrated us to desktop machines and took our laptops (probably only to throw them away, accounting refused to allow us to keep or buy them) so I went out on Craigslist and found a beat up one for real cheap and I replaced all the damaged parts and the chassis.

      I just wish HP hadn't put a whitelist in the BIOS so we could hold onto these machines a bit longer by using more powerful video cards. Maybe someone will come up with a BIOS hack to work around?

    5. Re:and woe betide you... by perryizgr8 · · Score: 1

      840 is probably the most reliable laptop I've used, after the Thinkpad T430.

      --
      Wealth is the gift that keeps on giving.
    6. Re:and woe betide you... by ConceptJunkie · · Score: 1

      Yeah, my work laptop is a Dell Precision that they cherried out with 2 SSDs and 20GB of RAM for me, and it's built like a tank. I've had it for over two years and it survived a similar drop in the parking lot with only the most minor of cosmetic damage. The shell is metal, and pretty thick metal at that, and it's got the nicest display of any laptop I've used (1920x1080). Plus, we still use Windows 7. When they eventually do a laptop refresh for us, I'm hoping I can buy it.

      My personal laptop is a larger Samsung, with a noticeably faster processor, which is a fine machine, but I prefer the Dell. Both laptops are fairly heavy, but I'm not interested in thinner machines. Just keep making 'em faster, longer-lasting, with more RAM, storage, etc.. I'd prefer that to making them lighter.

      --
      You are in a maze of twisty little passages, all alike.
    7. Re:and woe betide you... by tibit · · Score: 1

      Well, I have two much thinner 2010 Macbook Pros with some corner dings with asphalt embedded in their unibody to show that the same applies to more modern, thinner hardware, too. I had a few EliteBooks around the office, I'd take even an '09 MBP over that.

      --
      A successful API design takes a mixture of software design and pedagogy.
    8. Re:and woe betide you... by gfxguy · · Score: 1

      I have a Dell Precision M from several years ago - it's got quite good graphics (required to run an external monitor at 2650 by 1920); it's a good solid machine, but it's ridiculously heavy when I have to travel. Work recently got me a new Dell XPS for road trips... the only reason I'm responding is that these new XPS laptops have insanely great displays... I did manage to get the highest end 15.6 inch version; it has 3840x2160 display. Yes - that's ridiculous on a 15 inch display, right? But graphics card can scale the workspace to whatever you want - at 200% it fits 1920x1080, but looks much sharper - it's a noticeable difference; if you have good eyes (or glasses), you can squeeze in a lot more by going 150 to 175% scaling.... or go crazy with 1 to 1.

      --
      Stupid sexy Flanders.
  3. I Miss Real Keyboards by Pauldow · · Score: 2

    I can remember when there was a bunch of complaints about the Chicklet keyboards on the Texas Instruments 99/4 computer, so they put a real keyboard on it, and called it the 99/4A.
    Now every laptop has keys that are worse and no one complains. HP made better keys on a folding keyboard I had for my Compaq iPaq. I could put that in a pocket.

    1. Re:I Miss Real Keyboards by MightyYar · · Score: 2

      Chicklet today != chicklet then. The TI chicklet was just a rubber-membrane calculator keyboard. Just awful. The hard chicklet keys on a modern laptop are not everyone's bag, but they are at least usable.

      --
      W..w..W - Willy Waterloo washes Warren Wiggins who is washing Waldo Woo.
    2. Re:I Miss Real Keyboards by Junta · · Score: 2

      There continues to be a wide range of keyboards, and some are serviceable, but after using my X1 carbon for months and getting thoroughly used to it, was typing on a W510 and feeling how much better it was.

      However I am outright repulsed by this keyboard on an Acer I have used occasionally. Absolutely flat, trivial key travel, super slick texture.

      --
      XML is like violence. If it doesn't solve the problem, use more.
    3. Re:I Miss Real Keyboards by HouseOfMisterE · · Score: 1

      I had used other computers before, but the first one that I owned was a Texas Instruments TI-99/4A. It was mind blowing.

    4. Re:I Miss Real Keyboards by ConceptJunkie · · Score: 1

      Yeah, the only problem I have is when I sit down at a laptop with a smaller keyboard and find myself weirdly unable to type. I never learned "real" touch-typing, but I can do it... as long as I'm not thinking about it too hard... it's a muscle memory thing. I have an old IBM M clone keyboard at home, which I love, but I haven't used it much in years, and with modern laptop keyboards, I really don't miss it. Whatever they've done with these chiclet-ish keys, they're really nice to use. The only problem I have with modern laptops is the touch pad; my hands are big and I have to keep the touchpad off because I hit it too often with the heel of my hand.

      --
      You are in a maze of twisty little passages, all alike.
  4. RAM by darkain · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The thing still tops out at 8GiB RAM? I still don't understand why mobile devices have such low amounts of maximum RAM. I purchased a cheap ass 10" netbook some 3-4 years ago for only $300 and was able to effortlessly upgrade it to 8GiB of RAM. Surely a 13" system with more horizontal space could pack more RAM, especially with the increase in memory density?

    1. Re:RAM by PraiseBob · · Score: 2

      In the current OS environment, most people won't get much benefit from more than 8gb of ram, unless they are running a lot of virtual machines, or huge databases. I suspect if you made a venn diagram of people who run huge databases & lots of virtual machines, and people who want the worlds thinnest laptop, that those would be different market segments.

    2. Re:RAM by darkain · · Score: 1

      Or they just run Chrome, and don't want RAM to constantly be swapped in and out.

    3. Re:RAM by somenickname · · Score: 2

      Because vendors have convinced customers that they need pretty computers and not useful computers. It doesn't matter if the specs are good, the keyboard is usable, the touchpad doesn't prevent you from typing, etc. It just needs to be pretty enough to impress other people.

      I've twice tried to replace my X220 with thin, pretty laptops. Once with a Chromebook Pixel and once with a new XPS 13. Both machines lasted a few days before I breathed a sigh of relief and booted the X220 back up. The only thing newer laptops have going for them is high resolution displays and, on small ultra-portables, it's not as useful as one might hope. There might be very subtle improvements in font rendering but, certainly not enough to make a nearly unusable laptop more appealing than something like an X220.

    4. Re:RAM by somenickname · · Score: 1

      This is flat wrong. Any modern OS will use non-allocated memory for things like disk cache. An SSD is fast but getting the information straight from memory is still about 10x faster on a laptop. 8GB is sufficient for the general usage of a computer. 16GB+ is very helpful for performance if you are measuring uptime in units greater than hours.

    5. Re:RAM by Junta · · Score: 1

      Both throughput and latency, ram is crazy fast. 4 GB/s in *theory* max for NVMe versus approx 40 GB/s for a dual channel DDR4 nowadays. Orders of magnitude better latency. You still feel swapping going to an NVMe, though not nearly as fatal.

      --
      XML is like violence. If it doesn't solve the problem, use more.
    6. Re:RAM by BDeblier · · Score: 1

      Orders of magnitude better latency.

      More like one order of magnitude, by your own figures.

    7. Re:RAM by AmiMoJo · · Score: 1

      I have an NEC LaVie ultrabook with only 4GB of RAM, and performance is fine. Might not want to go too nuts with VMs, but for coding, browsing, a bit of gaming (it's only got Intel graphics) and the like 4GB is fine. Having an SSD really, really helps.

      The RAM is soldered to the mobo, but the SSD and wifi/bluetooth can be replaced and I've upgraded both. When I got it a few years back no-one else did anything that came close in terms of weight and screen size (15"). Asus had some okay models, and Apple did on paper but those things are a nightmare to service and the SSD was soldered on. I'm overall very happy with this purchase, especially the wifi antenna which seems to be super sensitive.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    8. Re:RAM by AmiMoJo · · Score: 1

      Also, when you have an SSD capable of 500Mb/sec or more... It's around the same speed as 66MHz SD RAM. Of course there is more overhead but swapping only causes a barely noticeable pause most of the time.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    9. Re:RAM by gfxguy · · Score: 1

      My thoughts are similar... I think there is a lot of memory hype going on, and while I've seen a post in this thread talking about 4GB being enough for "grandma" to do web surfing and spreadsheets, 4GB is quite a lot... in one extreme example I saw almost the exact same comment applied to 8GB, where a "serious" user would need 16GB. 4GB will do just about anything most people will be doing, even editing large photos. You WILL see performance improvements with more memory for such applications, but most things are doable with less memory, and it's one of the sacrifices people make to get more portable. "Extreme" gamers are not going to buy a laptop that is limited to 8GB and, likely, unable to have discrete high end graphics at that level anyway.

      If you're buying a laptop to do high end gaming or video editing, you're going to buy one that has discrete Nvidia or ATI graphics (likely), which will likely also put it in the category of laptops that can go higher than 8GB.

      It seems like when someone tells you they bought a new Civic to commute to work, and you say "Well, a Civic's OK for grandma to commute in, but a serious driver needs a Tesla." It's kind of ridiculous.

      --
      Stupid sexy Flanders.
    10. Re:RAM by tlhIngan · · Score: 1

      The thing still tops out at 8GiB RAM? I still don't understand why mobile devices have such low amounts of maximum RAM. I purchased a cheap ass 10" netbook some 3-4 years ago for only $300 and was able to effortlessly upgrade it to 8GiB of RAM. Surely a 13" system with more horizontal space could pack more RAM, especially with the increase in memory density?

      I think the limit is defined by the CPU in use since the modern Core series have the memory controller onboard. Here I think i5s are limited to 8GB of RAM, while i7s do have a secondary controller that can be used to give 16GB. However, it's likely to save design variances, both the i5 and i7 use the same motherboard, so while the i5 has one controller for all 8GB, the i7 will have each controller managing 4GB each.

    11. Re:RAM by Khashishi · · Score: 1

      Vendors are selling pretty computers because computers have been "good enough" for a while. Performance isn't a big deal for people outside gaming.

    12. Re:RAM by Coren22 · · Score: 1

      Could you even pair up those two technologies? 66 MHz SDRAM was something you paired up with Pentium 1 processors...I can't see any way you could hook up any SSD to an IDE interface, and they didn't have USB 1.0 even back then.

      --
      APK likes to ask for responses to the same things over and over. Maybe he just likes the responses?
  5. To quote Men in Black by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    "I feel like I'm going to break this damn thing!"

  6. Shaving by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    I won't be happy until I can shave with mine. And we're talking ZZTop here, not Justin Bieber.

    1. Re:Shaving by LordHighExecutioner · · Score: 5, Funny

      you can shave with a pc just now. Just use a blade server.

    2. Re:Shaving by 93+Escort+Wagon · · Score: 3, Funny

      you can shave with a pc just now. Just use a blade server.

      F*ck everything, we're doing five blades!

      --
      #DeleteChrome
    3. Re:Shaving by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Yes, but don't forget the sixth and seventh blades - they are for shaving off those annoying bone shards....

    4. Re:Shaving by Jumunquo · · Score: 1

      http://www.theonion.com/blogpo...

      Don't forget the two power strips.

    5. Re:Shaving by ZipK · · Score: 1

      F*ck everything, we're doing five blades!

      Not just two blades in one system, but three stainless, platinum teflex-coated blades melded together to form one incredible shaving cartridge, easily fitted into your old twinblade holder. Triple-Trac's triple-threat cartridge, with more close shaves than ever before. Here's how it works.

      The first blade grabs at the whisker, tugging it away from your face to protect it from the second blade.

      Blade number two catches and digs into the stubble before it has the chance to snap back and injure you, pulling it farther out so that it is now ready for shearing.

      Triple-Trac's third blade, a finely-honed bonded platinum instrument, cuts cleanly through the whisker at its base, leaving your face as smooth as a billiard ball.

    6. Re:Shaving by SharpFang · · Score: 1

      Or Motorola Razr.

      --
      45 5F E1 04 22 CA 29 C4 93 3F 95 05 2B 79 2A B2
    7. Re:Shaving by mjwx · · Score: 1

      you can shave with a pc just now. Just use a blade server.

      Gillette have just released their new 6 blade server rack. Complete with lubricating strip.

      --
      Calling someone a "hater" only means you can not rationally rebut their argument.
    8. Re:Shaving by Holi · · Score: 1

      Or get a Razer Blade.

      --
      Sorry, teleporters just kill you and then make a copy. A perfect, soul-less copy.
    9. Re:Shaving by CanadianMacFan · · Score: 2

      IBM had a chassis to hold 14 blades. Probably too heavy to shave with but damn fine computers.

  7. HP is Garbage by CrashNBrn · · Score: 4, Interesting

    HP locks down a large number of their "laptops" with a custom shit-bios. I believe most of their laptops have 2 ram slots. And when you put 2x8GB slots in there - the Bios says 16GB, and when your system finally boots, your OS is allowed to see and use 8GB.

    1. Re:HP is Garbage by Anonymous+Psychopath · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Ultraportables generally don't have RAM slots at all. The memory is soldered onto the motherboard, as is the SSD. Sacrificing the ability to upgrade in favor of portability is par for course with this type of system, and the target user usually has a 3-year or less refresh cycle so they don't care.

      --

      Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines.

    2. Re:HP is Garbage by Blaskowicz · · Score: 1

      One problem is two memory slots are needed to get the full graphical performance (dual channel ram)

      With a single channel DDR4 design, one good compromise would be 4GB integrated on the motherboard, and one empty slot.
      4GB is well enough for grandma use, spreadsheet etc. and running Windows Update ; an additional 4GB, 8GB or 16GB can be installed by the user or the OEM.
      Better yet put a tiny jumper or a BIOS option to disable the on-board RAM. The PC needs to keep going even if the on-board RAM has bad cells.

    3. Re:HP is Garbage by Holi · · Score: 1

      No the SSD is not usually soldered, In fact it is replaceable on the Macbook Air, the XPS 13, the Razer Stealth, the previous Spectre 13. In fact I cannot name a single laptop that has a soldered in ssd.

      --
      Sorry, teleporters just kill you and then make a copy. A perfect, soul-less copy.
  8. But does it run Linux? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Because if it doesn't... talk to the hand, or buy a macbook.

    1. Re:But does it run Linux? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      Only if covered with hot grits, and turned on by Natalie Portman.

    2. Re:But does it run Linux? by John+Bresnahan · · Score: 1

      Has anyone gotten Linux working on the 12" MacBook? Last I heard, neither the keyboard nor trackpad would work at all.

      Of course, it's hard to be sure, since any search invariably also includes the other "Macbook" lines (Pro and Air), making it more difficult to zero in on relevant hits.

    3. Re:But does it run Linux? by ChunderDownunder · · Score: 1

      After the mess failed-CEO Apotheker made with webOS, I wouldn't trust any Linux solution on HP.

    4. Re:But does it run Linux? by Holi · · Score: 1

      At HP I don't think you have to add the "failed" descriptor to CEO, it's already assumed.

      --
      Sorry, teleporters just kill you and then make a copy. A perfect, soul-less copy.
  9. Hinges look weak and brittle by Hadlock · · Score: 1

    That is not a hinge design of a laptop that I would want to pick up the laptop by the display. The hinge should be both equally strong using the display to pickup the laptop, or the laptop strong enough to pickup the display.
     
    Those flashy hinges look like they were designed by someone in marketing, not someone who actually has to use a laptop.
     
    If you have your choice between this shiny piece of marketing-designed drivel, or an XPS 13 which is known-bulletproof and in at least it's second design revision.. Get the XPS 13.

    --
    moox. for a new generation.
    1. Re:Hinges look weak and brittle by rahvin112 · · Score: 1

      I agree the hinges look like they could be weak but you can't know for sure until you handle it, there could be a 1/4 inch thick steel rod in the hinge with plate reinforcements on both sides for all we know.

      I can't really believe this but HP is literally the first PC vendor to get this right with USB C charging. It's been very disappointing that more vendors aren't using the USB C port for charging and instead are still including proprietary AC charging bricks. Just like Micro-USB did away with the custom phone chargers USB C should do away with custom laptop transformers.

      It's too bad I vowed to never buy another HP laptop, because they are out in front of every other PC vendor.

    2. Re:Hinges look weak and brittle by Blaskowicz · · Score: 1

      Use the wrong USB cable or power brick, and the laptop is likely to lose battery charge while you're using it.
      So you will still need to carry your power brick with your laptop, but I agree it's an improvement. Especially over the hateful use of custom connectors by HP and Dell.

    3. Re:Hinges look weak and brittle by rahvin112 · · Score: 1

      USB-C cables shouldn't be an issue once they are in full deployment, the knockoffs are the result of early deployment and ripoff Chinese manufacturers. With a wide deployment I suspect we'll end up with a relatively small number of wattages say around 3-4 different wattages the OEM's can choose from based on the power consumption, and prices should drop significantly as well just like cellphone USB chargers once it was standardized and bulk production dropped the cost. As they deploy out in the real world the need to start including new ones with new computers starts to go away and in no time at all it will probably become optional, not an automatically included cost whether you need it or not.

      In addition USB-C offers another key advantage. The transformer can provide additional ports, it would be trivial to load the transformer with USB, network and even video ports so you don't need to carry additional dongles. Win-Win. You already need it for power so it's totally logical to throw a true USB chip in and add the necessary ports for an extra $10.

      The new transformer for every computer truly bothers me, and it's not just Dell and HP, it's everyone else too, Lenovo, Acer, Asus, etc.. And even in the same manufacturer you can have similar models in the same family of laptops with all completely different transformers and connectors. The current situation is just fucking ridiculous. I can't believe European regulators have tolerated it, as they were the ones that forced the cell phone transition.

    4. Re:Hinges look weak and brittle by ConceptJunkie · · Score: 1

      +1 for being one of about 13 people in the world who know the word is "drivel" and not "dribble".

      --
      You are in a maze of twisty little passages, all alike.
    5. Re:Hinges look weak and brittle by Coren22 · · Score: 1

      Perhaps he intends to have it in his pickup truck?

      --
      APK likes to ask for responses to the same things over and over. Maybe he just likes the responses?
    6. Re:Hinges look weak and brittle by Blaskowicz · · Score: 1

      Sometimes the laptop has a round plug that is the same as on other laptops, or on stuff like the Bose Sound Link mono speaker. Like most DC inputs on random electronics (but those exist in multiple diameters). Some audio amplifiers can be powered by a laptop power supply. Voltage is almost always 19V. Seems true of the "motherboard brands" and a few other Asian ones, it varies.

      There are a few desktop motherboards with 19V DC input, easier to find is ASRock AM1H-ITX
      I'd try if possible to get a laptop with same connector.

  10. 8GB RAM max? by darthsilun · · Score: 2

    Srsly? A year ago I was ready to replace my Gen1 MBAir, the then current 13" MBAir also had 8GB max, but for just 200g more, I bought the MBpro and put 16GB in it.

    Okay, so my MBpro is a couple mm thicker. The diff between 10mm, 13mm, and 16mm doesn't bother me; mainly it's the weight I care about. And being able to put 16GB of RAM in it.

    1. Re:8GB RAM max? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

      It's almost like different people have different requirements for laptops...

    2. Re:8GB RAM max? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      I doubt this has expandable memory. Allocating the space for the sockets, modules, and an access hatch was probably not worth the price. Most laptops of this type use memory soldered on to the mainboard.

      Ultraportable users usually aren't 'power' users. They probably never expand the memory of their laptop, and they likely will never need more than 8GB.

    3. Re:8GB RAM max? by ConceptJunkie · · Score: 1

      And since the better model only cost $200,000 more, it's cheaper than most MacBook models.

      --
      You are in a maze of twisty little passages, all alike.
    4. Re:8GB RAM max? by Coren22 · · Score: 1

      That looks like a woosh to me...

      but for just 200g more, I bought the MBpro and put 16GB in it.

      And since the better model only cost $200,000 more, it's cheaper than most MacBook models.

      --
      APK likes to ask for responses to the same things over and over. Maybe he just likes the responses?
  11. Re:For a Techie, don't care about the slim by Junta · · Score: 1

    Of course, they still make those types of laptops (though with a slightly less awesome keyboard). The modern day W520 would be a P50, 64 GB of RAM, 3 drives, 3840 x 2160 screen. The keys are somewhat textured.

    Shame it's hard to try out any of these, what with brick and mortar only carrying the cheaper Lenovos.

    --
    XML is like violence. If it doesn't solve the problem, use more.
  12. I beg to differ: by Hartree · · Score: 4, Funny

    "HP Says It Made the World's Thinnest Laptop"

    A construction company I know has a Cat CS44 vibratory soil compactor that says otherwise.

    Oh. You mean a useful laptop. :)

    1. Re:I beg to differ: by Raistlin77 · · Score: 2

      Indeed, the product of the Cat CS44 vibratory soil compactor is FAR more useful than any turd HP makes.

    2. Re:I beg to differ: by ConceptJunkie · · Score: 1

      The Hydraulic Press YouTube channel might take issue with that.

      --
      You are in a maze of twisty little passages, all alike.
  13. Sitting on their Older model doesn't count! by jaeztheangel · · Score: 1

    The world's marketing people are going to try selling negative numbers for width pretty soon.

  14. Outbreak of Common Sense! by Jahoda · · Score: 1

    Because, you know, in the list of things HP users wish the company would do differently: stop with the bloatware garbage, etc. "Thinnest laptop" is really right there at the top. You know, here on the bleeding edge of 2010. Yawn.

  15. Missing CD-ROM by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    This isn't useful for my business, there is no CD-ROM drive or PCMCIA slot.
    Thunderbolt to VGA dongles are readily available, so I'm glad other 1990's technology is still alive in the PC.

    --
    Where is B: in Windows 10 ?

    1. Re:Missing CD-ROM by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      B: is the second floppy drive. Is there a Windows 10 machine out there with 2 floppy drives?

    2. Re:Missing CD-ROM by Bing+Tsher+E · · Score: 1

      I have a Windows 10 tablet and two or three usb floppy drives on hand. I bet if I tried, I could wrangle up an ugly dongle mess to get two of them connected to it as a: and b: if I really tried. I'm not sure if the OTG adapter would let my Y out to two devices or not, though, particularly if they're floppy drives.

      Knowing Microsoft, it will work better than a lot of the real, practical things people would want to do with Windows 10.

    3. Re:Missing CD-ROM by ConceptJunkie · · Score: 1

      I often end up mapping A: and B: to network drives because... why not, these days?

      --
      You are in a maze of twisty little passages, all alike.
  16. But it is still has HP engineering .... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    But it is still has HP engineering, which has burned me on laptops and PCs enough already.

    I won't bore everyone with all the failures over the years.

    Won't touch anything from HP, except PA-RISC stuff.

    1. Re:But it is still has HP engineering .... by Lumpy · · Score: 1

      All of them have went down the shitter lately. I used to LOVE lenovos... my newest lenovo is the biggest steaming pile of shit I have ever owned. the keyboard misses keystrokes, it's slow as fuck, and the plastic hinges are starting to crack already.

      Lenovo has turned into a steaming pile as well.

      --
      Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
  17. Yes, but... by mythosaz · · Score: 1

    ...will it blend?

    1. Re:Yes, but... by Greyfox · · Score: 1

      Probably, if you can actually fit it in the blender. If it's thin enough, you might be able to fold it before blending.

      --

      I'm trying to teach myself to set people on fire with my mind... Is it hot in here?

  18. Spectre? by colinrichardday · · Score: 3, Funny

    This thing had better work, 'cause Spectre doesn't tolerate failure. If a screen breaks, who gets thrown to the sharks?

  19. Re:Stupid units by PPH · · Score: 1

    What's that in BCHs?

    --
    Have gnu, will travel.
  20. If it runs Windows 10, I don't want it... by QuietLagoon · · Score: 4, Insightful
    It doesn't matter how thin it is, if the HP laptop runs Windows 10 I don't want it.

    .
    At this point I am more concerned about the amount of data harvesting being done by Windows 10 than I am about the thinness of a laptop.

    1. Re:If it runs Windows 10, I don't want it... by vandamme · · Score: 1

      It remains to be seen how well a good OS will run on it. 8 GB is plenty though, even for Plasma or Unity.

    2. Re:If it runs Windows 10, I don't want it... by tejaschaudhary · · Score: 1

      win 10 sucks....personally, i still use win 7 as it does everything that you want...

  21. Heat by ChunderDownunder · · Score: 1

    I'd prefer a thicker laptop if it meant NO FAN!

    They want to cram a Core i7 into this thing? Hell, no,

    1. Re:Heat by Plus1Entropy · · Score: 1

      Just bought the Asus UX305.

      Very thin and very light (less than 2.5lbs), plus passive cooling. I was wary of the CPU, 900MHz with boost to 2.2GHz, but so far it's been great.

      --
      Only crack the nuts that crack. You don't put the ones that don't crack in the sack.
    2. Re:Heat by tibit · · Score: 1

      It's kinda funny how everyone in the PC world bitched about Apple's products being overdesigned etc., and now every modern notebook looks more and more like an Apple product. If only the stupid PC manufacturers would stop putting the damn intake vents on the bottom of the damn things, we'd be golden. Good luck using something with bottom intakes on your lap if you're wearing anything that'll block them. Most women have that problem.

      --
      A successful API design takes a mixture of software design and pedagogy.
    3. Re:Heat by Plus1Entropy · · Score: 1

      I don't think it's about them being overdesigned, but being overpriced. A Macbook with the same specs as that Asus is probably going to cost twice as much.

      Plus it's a Mac... eww.

      --
      Only crack the nuts that crack. You don't put the ones that don't crack in the sack.
  22. Re:hinges by newcastlejon · · Score: 2

    Can't say I'm a fan of laptop hinges that are a an inch or so from the edge.

    I like this in a laptop. It moves the centre of gravity closer to the crotch when it's perched on one's lap.

    --
    If God forks the Universe every time you roll a die, he'd better have a damned good memory.
  23. The world's first 1cm laptop by ChunderDownunder · · Score: 1

    If only they had shaved off an additional 400 microns.

    1. Re:The world's first 1cm laptop by Bing+Tsher+E · · Score: 1

      Maybe the 0.4 cm could be removed by peeling off all the stickers and labels vendors like HP are fond of slapping on their laptops.

      I'm always disturbed when I see laptops that reacy end-of-life still with the ugly stickers advertising 'features' and stuff that should be peeled immediately.

    2. Re:The world's first 1cm laptop by ChunderDownunder · · Score: 1

      You're out by a factor of 10. That's .4mm, not cm :)

  24. HP says it makes the best emperor's new clothes by easyTree · · Score: 1

    Businesses like to maximize:

      * Repeat sales

      * Less product for more cash

    News at ten.

    --
    Requiem for the American Dream
  25. Typo in summary by Stewie241 · · Score: 1

    Should be "It measures 10.4mm thin."

  26. Relevant PFSC by well_in_theory · · Score: 1

    Relevant Pictures for Sad Children:

    http://farm4.static.flickr.com...

    I'd link to the original, but I'm pretty sure it was deleted in John's mentally unstable rage-quit.

  27. World's Thinnest Claims! by davesays · · Score: 1

    HP made the World's Thinnest Claims! /sarcasm. I actually, could not resist!

  28. Foldable Laptops by rmist · · Score: 1

    I wont be satisfied till I am able to fold my laptop ...

  29. Who cares? by Threni · · Score: 1

    Just like with phones, thin means they're not using space which would allow for a more powerful battery. You'd have to be an idiot to not see that a thicker, and therefore stronger and more useful device is better than an unnecessarily thin one.

  30. ... but it's still made by HP by fygment · · Score: 1

    Meaning all that extra whatever-ware that HP includes with its offerings.

    Pass.

    --
    "Consensus" in science is _always_ a political construct.
  31. As a Dell Tech by TheGoodNamesWereGone · · Score: 1

    As a Dell tech, sometimes I want to pull my hair out working on some of our laptops and especially convertible laptop/tablets. I can only imagine the nightmare that this one would be. And being so flimsy, a *lot* of them will get broken.

  32. World's Slimmest Chance of Selling Me One by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

    HP has the world's slimmest chance of selling me a laptop, or any other computer. Last time I got one it failed due to a known issue and it took me 24 hours+ on the phone with various support departments, and having a customer advocate assigned to me and spend enough time talking to learn things about one another's personal lives, before I got my laptop replaced.

    --
    "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    1. Re:World's Slimmest Chance of Selling Me One by neminem · · Score: 1

      Last time I got one, the fan failed under warranty, I called them, and they insisted that I never bought a laptop from them - that, in fact, the laptop with the serial number I gave them didn't even *exist*. That took several hours to resolve, before they finally admitted that yep, they were completely wrong about that. Yeah, never buying another HP laptop ever again.

  33. Re:Not for people that do real work... by Holi · · Score: 1

    Get a Dell Precision, HP Elitebook, MSI WS60, ThinkPad P70. There are numerous machines out there that meet your requirements. What your not going to get is thin and light when you need horsepower. But quit complaining that they also make models for people who have different requirements.

    --
    Sorry, teleporters just kill you and then make a copy. A perfect, soul-less copy.
  34. Would be revolutionary by tejaschaudhary · · Score: 1

    It so thin, Well nothing less could have been expected from HP. Nice work guys. But i am wondering what kind of material they had used to make it thin and strong at the same time. The world sure is on fire....

  35. I take a MacBook Pro by rafabatool51 · · Score: 1

    I take a MacBook Pro w/ BootCamp over a HP ProBook any day, but I also take Windows 10 w/ Classic Shell, Cygwin and OpenBSD in VirtualBox over OS X. This gives me the best of all worlds, plus in my professional work there's a lot more software available for Windows. http://www.mobiletv.com.pk/