Brickbats
The results of the performance tests are not so impressive, indicating a capable computer but certainly no powerhouse. I also ran a blatantly unfair battery test, in which I ran the intensive PC Mark Vantage benchmark continuously in a loop until the battery ran out: it lasted two minutes short of two hours. But then, media playback is power-hungry, and this is exactly what this notebook was designed to do.
Cheaper dv6 models, minus fingerprint reader, are available in cherry black, pearl white and a fetching red
On that note, the HP Pavilion dv6-3085ea consumed an average of 38 to 50W in normal use or while charging from the mains, dropping to 10W in Hibernate mode. Disappointingly, the transformer block in the mains cable is an old-fashioned dead-rat-cum-house-brick. Some miniaturisation is in order, HP, please.
Verdict
The fingerprint security seems out of place, especially since HP's own 'instant-on' operating system appears to circumvent it anyway. Given its pointlessness, the overall effect is to make the notebook more expensive than it needed to be. Even so, playing with media files is the principal past-time of vast numbers of domestic computer users, and everyone would secretly prefer a notebook over a desktop computer, so I can see a ready and willing market for the HP Pavilion dv6-3085ea. ®
More Notebook Reviews |
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HP Pavilion dv6-3085ea
COMMENTS
"Everyone would secretly prefer a notebook over a desktop computer"
That's everyone except me, then.
whole bunch of them
The HP web site appears to have a whole bunch of these so perhaps it is possible to buy one without the fingerprint gadget. I can't make head nor sense of all the model numbers and processor types. Life is too short for all these arcane non-sequential type numbers.
the 3085 and 3065 appear to have identical specs but are fifty quid different in price. What is this, bait and switch?
Re: Fashion
"I confidently predict that in a few years we'll look back at this fad with some embarrassment."
Ah but HP have thought about this already! Their laptops are purposely built not to last a day longer than the current transient fad.
Expensive toy?
Must say its a lot of money for a laptop that seems to have no *useful* advantage over the competition. Fingerprint reader on a home laptop, in particular when it seems so easy to bypass? WTF? At that price point, going for Apple to avoid Joe Average's typical issues with Windows' security makes sense.
Just got myself a Novatech Xplora E16 which offers a decent 15.6" screen, and NO OPERATING SYSTEM as choice, for about a tenner over 1/3 of the HP's cost!
OK, the AMD dual core CPU is not fantastically powerful, and battery life is distinctly average, but if you want a good screen size and plan of using Linux, it is a great choice!
Tux, as my new laptop loves him/her.
Textures?
I'll take textures over fingerprint grease loving high gloss any day.
God I hate high gloss.
