HP's latest laptop is intriguing and enticing

Hot on the heels of 007's latest outing Spectre, we get to play with something that's doesn't have anything to do with the film, but is James Bond-esque in sleekness and performance: the eponymous HP Spectre x360 laptop.
Since everybody's focusing on delivering something that's multi-functional and aesthetically pleasing these days, this machine is beautiful and slim at barely 16mm, and it rotates a full 360 degrees to transform into a tablet. The keys are a pleasure to type with, but that rather uber-wide trackpad seems a bit bizarre; it may get in the way while you're typing at certain angles. Speaking of the keyboard, there's this really weird quirk when you hit the F5 button to shut down the backlight; the light on that button remains on - how glaringly odd. But apparently, as I write, HP was to roll out a BIOS fix for it, as well as for some other issues.
Its 13.3" touchscreen works splendidly, although it would've been better if there were thinner bezels. Since we're working with Windows 8 or 10 here, there are swiping-from-the-edges functions. I noticed, however, that when I try to swipe from an edge, sometimes, it takes me more than once to get, say, the Charms bar out from the right side. Or maybe I haven't wiped my fingers that well.
Firing it up from power-off mode takes an average of five seconds, and it never went past eight. It also almost instantly takes you to your Start screen after logging in, and all this is good, especially when you're in a bit of a hurry.
Some drawbacks here are the fact that it's a bit on the heavy side at around 1.5kg, and it can strain whichever single hand you're holding it with - which makes it a bit inconvenient in certain situations if you use it in tablet mode. Also, it does get a bit warm at the bottom, especially when you fire up a video for quite some time.

AND SO.

For all its specs and abilities, the HP Spectre x360 starts out at a reasonable price for its base model (it's $899, around Dh3,300 outside the UAE); this particular variant we tested clocks in at a whopping Dh6,999 - but it has all the good stuff in it. It's a good choice if you're looking for a powerful laptop that is handy enough. For some reason, I'm thinking that that F5 key glitch may be for some super-spy purpose - which, as I write, I have yet to figure out.

EXTRA BYTE

Asus ZenWatch 2

Asus' "best innovation and technology" are bundled into the newest iteration of its flagship wearable. Have your fill by choosing from two sizes and three colours - rose gold included - and 18 strap combos, including one with a Swarovski design. (Dh799)

Apple iPhone Smart Battery Case

If you've got an iPhone 6 or 6s and want an extra 25 hours of talk time, 20 hours of video playback and 18 hours of LTE browsing, then you've got a case for those. (Dh379)
alvin@khaleejtimes.com

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