This is an extremely nice laptop, easy 5 stars. I needed a desktop replacement since my desktop was completely destroyed due to a electrical fire, this is why I chose a i5 over a i3 CPU and 14inch over 13.3 inch. I immediately installed an Intel SSD 80GB in this HP which I recovered from my desktop, so boot-ups and loading apps is fast!. I'm a big fan of SSDs and highly recommend for speed and low power. Over all I'm extremely pleased with this notebook, and would highly recommend if you need something fast and close to desktop power. I purchased this at a local store because I had a $400 in-store credit. Buying on Amazon is a no-brainer which saves approx $100-150.
Pros
-Doesn't look cheap, has extremely nice aluminum/silver surface to give professional look. Easily looks like $800-1000+ laptop, which was important for me.
-i5 with Dual-Core and HT = 4 CPUS showing in task manager, WEI for CPU 6.9!!! My desktop which had an Intel Q9650 pure Quad Core was 7.3 WEI. I did not expect this mobile i5 CPU score to be this close to my Quad core desktop.
-Good balance of battery vs power, seems to be able to get 5-6 hours with normal use. The SSD does improve battery life. Choose an i3 if you want more mobility/battery life or an i7/dedicated video if you want more power.
-Win 7 Pro - Will be using this as primary comp for awhile so needed Pro. If you don't need Pro you should be able to save approx $100 on model with similar/same specs but running Windows 7 Home.
-Intel 80GB SSD scores hard-disk WEI 7.5! on this HP, on previous desktop same SSD was 7.2.
-14 inch screen is good size, did not want anything bigger which takes away professional/sleek look. 13.3 screen size would also be perfect, especially if siding on the mobility side.
-Video/HDMI is perfect for my needs, not a gamer but HD videos plays perfect via HDMI on HDTV.
-eSata was a must for fast data transfers.
-Great keyboard! Good size and natural feel. I'm not using track-pad much, I rather use a mouse.
-Finger print login works easy and is nice:)
-Card reader for camera works well, originally didn't see it but eventually found in front when I really needed
-Extra super quiet! Again, I'm sure this is in part due to SSD I'm using, but fans are not noisy.
Cons are all expected and doesn't subtract from 5 stars.
-No OS or Recovery CDs which made it difficult to migrate to SSD, eventually had to use Intel's SSD migration tools. I knew up front this wouldn't have recovery CDs.
-Lots of Bloatware which I needed to remove since I was moving to a 80GB SSD. HP does have an option(not well known) in BIOS F11 to Recover just OS and Drivers. I went thru this process before cloning the SSD and Win7 installed clean with the exception of a few HP tools which I kept. I just wish this was the default config. Clean install only was approx 29GB out of the 80GB SSD, leaving me with more than enough space for all future apps.
-Wish it had 1 more USB port - Has 3 USB ports and 1 is shared with eSATA which I'm using frequently. Oh well, I see a $10-20 USB Hub in my future.
-I had to pay HP $15 for shipment of Recovery CDs for peace of mind since I want to use hard-drive that came with HP for data storage. I probably really didn't need the CDs since the Wndows7 Image Backup/Recovery tested ok for me. But its good to be extra safe here since I'm deleting the HP Recovery partition on original disk-drive. HP Pavilion dm4-1277sb 14-Inch Notebook PC - Silver
This review is for HP Pavilion dm4-1277sb 14-Inch Notebook PC - Silver.
Just received this laptop last week. It's very nice and light. Setting it up was easy, got it up and running, surfing the web in no time. Speakers and sound are superb, no problem at all. The display is nice, but color seems a bit washed out, even after playing with the appropriate settings. The glossy screen is also a bit distracting.
The fingerprint recognition application is very good, allowing you to login to the system without having to type your password. Also, it can be used with your favorite browser for quick and easy log in to web sites. However, I have had problems using it with Firefox, as it crashes the browser when logging in to Gmail and Netflix.
Battery life seems to be on the short side of 6 hours. The indicator in the system tray doesn't accurately report how much time you have left on the battery. For example, after a full charge, it indicates less than 2 hours left on the battery. Percentage is accurate (eg, 90%), though.
The mousepad is nice. I'd rather have the buttons separate from the pad, but that's just personal preference. The Intel video card does a good job for web video, I won't use it for heavy duty games.
It comes with "QuickWeb" which allows you to do basic web browsing without having to start Windows 7. I disabled this feature, though, because the functionality is kind of limited and Windows does start relatively quickly. Plenty of other bloatware is included.
"Recovery Manager" needed 8 DVDs! It helps restore the system in case of a disaster, you can only create them yourself once, but DVDs can be obtained from HP as well ($17).
Very good laptop for school and office work (email, word processing, web browsing) with good components at a fair price. I wish it came with a better display (higher res, fuller colors).
the computer is pretty good. nice and fast.
I just dont understand why amazon and hp say the battery life is of 6 hours and really doesnt last more than 2 hours in super saver mode. im totally dissapointed by that, I know now that other customers had the same problem with this computer, should have read the reviews before buying.
if you want a long lasting battery do NOT buy this product!!!
Recall expanded: HP notebook computer battery--fire hazard
May 31, 2011 12:35 PM
Hewlett-Packard has recalled about 162,600 additional lithium-ion batteries because they can overheat and rupture, posing a fire and burn hazard. The rechargeable batteries are used in HP and Compaq notebook computers.
The first recall was May 2009, and included 54,000 batteries. The second recall was in May 2010 involving 70,000 batteries. Since the 2010 recall expansion, HP has received 40 more reports of batteries overheating and rupturing, causing seven burn injuries, one incident of smoke inhalation, and 36 cases of property damage. The computers were sold for a full year starting in July 2007 at stores nationwide, as well as online at hp.com and hpshopping.com for $500 to $3,000. The battery packs were also sold separately for $100 to $160.
Affected notebooks include:
HP Pavilion
Compaq Presario
HP
HP Compaq
For a full list of model numbers and barcodes see the Consumer Product Safety Commission recall notice. The model number is on the bottom of the notebook, at the top of the service label.
If you own a laptop with a recalled battery, remove the battery and contact HP. If you previously checked the battery and were told it was not included in the original recall, check again. Recalled batteries will be replaced for free. In the meantime, use an AC adapter to power the laptop. For more information, visit the HP battery replacement program or call 888-202-4320 .
HP Expands Recall of Notebook Computer Batteries Due to Fire Hazard
Consumers urged to recheck notebook models and batteries [CPSC]
--Maggie Shader - Laptop - Hp Pavilion'
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