In the space of ten years, laptops have gone from incredibly heavy fuddy-duddy spreadsheet creators to awe-inspiring entertainment rectangles. How does HP’s latest fare out?
The world of laptops is ever shifting and, honestly, it can be more than a little difficult for most of us to keep up with.
About five years ago consumers finally decided to ditch the desktop computer and focus largely on laptops, which the industry attempted to rebrand as notebook. That’s notebook, not netbook – the tiny laptops that were swiftly replaced by tablet computers.
Oh and Ultrabooks? They’re the next big thing and ran riot over this month’s CES (Consumer Electronics Show) 2012 – sleek, ultra thin laptops that would be the ‘next big thing if they weren’t already preceded by the MacBook Air.
Confused? We don’t blame you but to be fair, most consumers are just interested in the best laptop for 70% play and 30% work. Having fiddled with the HP Pavilion dv6-6102sa for the past couple of weeks, we’re pleased to say that this model strikes exactly the right balance.
Covered in a clean, streamlined metallic finish, the dv6 makes a fine first impression, with an upgradeable (to 1080p) 15.6” diagonal HD LED Brightview Display and optional numeric keypad. As for storage, 750GB should be plenty for all your entertainment content, no?
The most touted aspect of the dv6, however, is owed to HP’s exclusivity PC deal with Beats Audio. If the name doesn’t a ring bell, think of the Dr Dre-endorsed headphones sported by a wealth of Premier League footballers the second they leave their team bus.
In practice, the heavily branded Beats endorsement is an absolute triumph, with stunning audio booming from the laptop, quality sure to leave any mobile phone dock cast aside for your next home party.
Considering that so many of us now fall asleep after catching up on our favourite TV shows and movies propped up before us in bed, the attraction of what amounts to expensive home cinema system-level audio from your living room, perched on your lap instead, can’t be overstated.
Battery-wise, the dv6 should last a healthy six hours or so at full power, while the HP TrueVision HD webcam is scarily clear. We say ‘scary’ because years of fuzzy webcam conversations have led us to believe there’s nothing worrisome about conversing to a friend while you’re both hungover. We were very, very wrong.
In closing, we had a blast with the dv6, owed mainly to its dedicated pursuit of consumer happiness. The display is bright and bold, the webcam is somewhat too accurate, the entire laptop nips along at a cracking pace and the battery life means you can casually misplace your charger without immediately shouting the house down.
As for the thumping Beats Audio? Let’s just say that the hype delivers in that aspect too.
The HP Pavilion dv6-6102sa is available from all good electronic stockists. For further information on HP’s range of laptops click here.
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