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- First reviewJanuary 12, 2012
- Last reviewFebruary 22, 2017
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- First review commentFebruary 24, 2017
- Last review commentFebruary 24, 2017
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Unrealtrip's Reviews
Only at Best BuyWrite or sketch easily on the screen of this HP Spectre laptop. Its digital pen and Windows Ink software let you create art by hand, and its Intel Core i7 chip and 16GB of RAM ensure speedy processing while multitasking. This 13.3-inch HP Spectre laptop includes a 512GB solid-state drive to hold all your files.
Posted by: Unrealtrip
from Sacramento, CA
I rarely write reviews, but this device practically demands one. Here’s my thoughts on it so far.
Weight & Balance: 5/5
Let me get the obvious out the way first, this laptop is a solidly crafted, precision machined work of technological art. The all metal chassis feels extremely sturdy, and it doesn't have flex in the base when holding it with one hand in the open laptop mode. The weight is good, it isn't heavy, but it isn't overly light either which isn't necessarily a bad thing. On my Surface Book for example, it is a terribly unbalanced arrangement with the bulk of the weight in the tablet half. Since this laptop does not need to detach to become a tablet, the weight is properly balanced and it never feels unstable.
Let me get the obvious out the way first, this laptop is a solidly crafted, precision machined work of technological art. The all metal chassis feels extremely sturdy, and it doesn't have flex in the base when holding it with one hand in the open laptop mode. The weight is good, it isn't heavy, but it isn't overly light either which isn't necessarily a bad thing. On my Surface Book for example, it is a terribly unbalanced arrangement with the bulk of the weight in the tablet half. Since this laptop does not need to detach to become a tablet, the weight is properly balanced and it never feels unstable.
Hinge: 5/5
The hinge is superior to all of the other devices I’ve owned or experimented with. It smoothly rotates all the way around without excessive effort, yet it retains its position well once placed there. When using the laptop reaching up to poke at the screen will induce a slight wobble but no more than it would with any laptop touchscreen or not. For example, compared with my Surface Book, you might as well be comparing a Honda and a Ferrari. There is no denying that Apple has long been known for its amazing design and engineering feats, but honestly HP’s recent company split and the products that have emerged since then easily give Apple a run for their money and in many ways they have left Apple in the dust.
The hinge is superior to all of the other devices I’ve owned or experimented with. It smoothly rotates all the way around without excessive effort, yet it retains its position well once placed there. When using the laptop reaching up to poke at the screen will induce a slight wobble but no more than it would with any laptop touchscreen or not. For example, compared with my Surface Book, you might as well be comparing a Honda and a Ferrari. There is no denying that Apple has long been known for its amazing design and engineering feats, but honestly HP’s recent company split and the products that have emerged since then easily give Apple a run for their money and in many ways they have left Apple in the dust.
Display: 5/5
The display is nothing short of amazing. It is absurdly clear, sharp, and able to reproduce brilliant colors. The touchscreen is accurate and responsive, which was a concern I initially had as I went through two of the previous generation’s 15” version which had constant touchscreen and pen issues. This device has a different pen technology however, sharing the n-trig system used by the Surface, and while the pen from my Surface does work on it the included HP pen is quite a bit nicer and has a better balance to it (though it does lack the “eraser” end). There is a downside to the display which is not the fault of the device but a major failure on the part of Windows, as higher resolution displays from any manufacturer have problems with scaling and this device is no different. If you don’t want to have that concern, I would recommend going with a lower resolution model with a “conventional” 1920px display to avoid the issue entirely.
The display is nothing short of amazing. It is absurdly clear, sharp, and able to reproduce brilliant colors. The touchscreen is accurate and responsive, which was a concern I initially had as I went through two of the previous generation’s 15” version which had constant touchscreen and pen issues. This device has a different pen technology however, sharing the n-trig system used by the Surface, and while the pen from my Surface does work on it the included HP pen is quite a bit nicer and has a better balance to it (though it does lack the “eraser” end). There is a downside to the display which is not the fault of the device but a major failure on the part of Windows, as higher resolution displays from any manufacturer have problems with scaling and this device is no different. If you don’t want to have that concern, I would recommend going with a lower resolution model with a “conventional” 1920px display to avoid the issue entirely.
Power: 5/5
It has very good power, however for my use a 10hr work day far exceeds its ability. You might be able to swing more than 10 with the screen dimmed all the way down as you surf the internet, but in practice I’ve found 8hrs is really pushing it. While I am using resource intensive applications like Visual Studio, Photoshop, and Sketchbook among others, that’s sort of the point of having an i7 with 16GB of memory. All that said, I can’t say I would fault the device at all, the amount of run time I get is superior to most of my other machines and when they say it can quick charge, they are not kidding, which is why I still give the power rating a 5/5.
It has very good power, however for my use a 10hr work day far exceeds its ability. You might be able to swing more than 10 with the screen dimmed all the way down as you surf the internet, but in practice I’ve found 8hrs is really pushing it. While I am using resource intensive applications like Visual Studio, Photoshop, and Sketchbook among others, that’s sort of the point of having an i7 with 16GB of memory. All that said, I can’t say I would fault the device at all, the amount of run time I get is superior to most of my other machines and when they say it can quick charge, they are not kidding, which is why I still give the power rating a 5/5.
Keyboard: 5/5
The keyboard is fantastic and does not ever feel awkward or cramped. HP has nailed it with this critical aspect of the device. I have a 2016 12” Macbook which is a great little machine, but the practically zero throw to the keys just doesn’t work very well. You can adjust but it isn’t the same, and going back and forth from a regular keyboard to the Macbook requires constant adjusting and error correction. With this laptop however the throw on the keys is excellent, and while I don’t know the exact travel it isn’t far off from in feel from an Apple desktop keyboard.
The keyboard is fantastic and does not ever feel awkward or cramped. HP has nailed it with this critical aspect of the device. I have a 2016 12” Macbook which is a great little machine, but the practically zero throw to the keys just doesn’t work very well. You can adjust but it isn’t the same, and going back and forth from a regular keyboard to the Macbook requires constant adjusting and error correction. With this laptop however the throw on the keys is excellent, and while I don’t know the exact travel it isn’t far off from in feel from an Apple desktop keyboard.
Touchpad: 4/5
It has no resistance, and it is very responsive. A slight downside is that it is crazy wide, and I have a tendency for my right palm to hit it. To me this is a two part issue, one is the operator, since I need to adjust my positioning better for a smaller device, but the other is the design. For such a well thought out machine I can’t figure out why the gigantic touchpad, especially on a device with a touchscreen.
It has no resistance, and it is very responsive. A slight downside is that it is crazy wide, and I have a tendency for my right palm to hit it. To me this is a two part issue, one is the operator, since I need to adjust my positioning better for a smaller device, but the other is the design. For such a well thought out machine I can’t figure out why the gigantic touchpad, especially on a device with a touchscreen.
Muscle & utility: 5/5
I won’t throw benchmarks around you can find those in a conventional review, but the machine has plenty of power to handle my needs as developer and graphic artist. Flipping the screen back works well, and honestly it is its form factor and the active pen that really sells it for me. I can be in the middle of developing in Visual Studio, hit alt+tab, pick it up and flip it over and do graphics work with the pen while holding the device in tablet mode, save the graphic asset, flip it back into laptop mode and start using it. The transition is as effortless as picking it up off the desk and putting it back down, I’ve tried and owned a list of devices finding various combinations of them to work acceptably but this is the first which can provide enough of everything I need with minimal compromise. Being able to have a seamless transition in my workflow is priceless.
I won’t throw benchmarks around you can find those in a conventional review, but the machine has plenty of power to handle my needs as developer and graphic artist. Flipping the screen back works well, and honestly it is its form factor and the active pen that really sells it for me. I can be in the middle of developing in Visual Studio, hit alt+tab, pick it up and flip it over and do graphics work with the pen while holding the device in tablet mode, save the graphic asset, flip it back into laptop mode and start using it. The transition is as effortless as picking it up off the desk and putting it back down, I’ve tried and owned a list of devices finding various combinations of them to work acceptably but this is the first which can provide enough of everything I need with minimal compromise. Being able to have a seamless transition in my workflow is priceless.
Ports: 5/5
Thankfully HP has some designers and engineers that live here on earth with the rest of us normal people who still have 98% of their devices requiring a conventional USB connection. I get that it is “forward thinking” to ditch USB-A, but abandoning backwards compatibility just seems like a bad idea. The fact that the laptop has a conventional port and more than one USB-C is a huge bonus.
Thankfully HP has some designers and engineers that live here on earth with the rest of us normal people who still have 98% of their devices requiring a conventional USB connection. I get that it is “forward thinking” to ditch USB-A, but abandoning backwards compatibility just seems like a bad idea. The fact that the laptop has a conventional port and more than one USB-C is a huge bonus.
Downsides:
My one complaint about the machine, is that the fan kicks in too often and it is loud. To be fair, I put a heavy toll on it, but not all the time and the noise does get old fast. My other complaint is more of a minor annoyance in that I really wish it had a memory card slot as it would make moving photos around a lot easier. Even a microsd card slot would be nice, maybe in the next iteration.
My one complaint about the machine, is that the fan kicks in too often and it is loud. To be fair, I put a heavy toll on it, but not all the time and the noise does get old fast. My other complaint is more of a minor annoyance in that I really wish it had a memory card slot as it would make moving photos around a lot easier. Even a microsd card slot would be nice, maybe in the next iteration.
It is hard to believe, but all in all this machine is nearly the perfect productivity device. It is light and portable without sacrificing computing power with a cut down processor, and the ability to flip it into a tablet combined with the active pen makes it the most useful computer I’ve ever owned. Most devices in this form factor make heavy compromises where this one does not.
I would recommend this laptop to anyone, and I would insist digital artists and media creators give it a hard look before laying out money on something else.
My Best Buy number: 0325663690
I would recommend this to a friend!
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+125points
135of 145voted this as helpful.
This case slides onto your phone to protect against everyday wear and tear and features a play-through design for access to your phone's functions without removing the case. A holster and belt clip keep your phone accessible.
Posted by: Unrealtrip
from Sacramento, CA
The case itself attaches to the phone EXTREMELY tightly, like it is no joke how strong it is locked on there, you will really have to pry it off if you ever want to get in there. The phone itself is really slim and the case hugs the body so well that in the case, it is almost like it is a bare phone, only when I remove it am I reminded of just how crazy slim and light the phone is. That said, I am glad to have the case on it, as I recently put it to a test by accident and ironically it was on a day when I was trying to pry the thing off so I could use the phone sans case. It slipped out of my pocket and smashed down onto the concrete floor of a parking garage bouncing away from me. I was worried about the phone and when I picked it up the case itself had impact marks on the corner, but the phone itself was perfectly fine. I decided to leave the case on.
The clip holster part of the case holds the phone pretty securely, yet release with ease when you want to get your phone out. The downside is that if you put your phone in it with the bottom part down as you would expect, when you put your hand on the phone to release it, you naturally will have your fingers pressing on the power button. Not an issue for just putting it in and out, but if a call is coming in that hangs up on the caller when you're just trying to get the phone out.
Lastly, loaded up in the case and snapped into the holster it is a bit bulky, but the phone is big so what can you do. It isn't the perfect case, but it does a really good job, and I have yet to see anything out there that is on par.
What's great about it: A tough slim case
What's not so great: Costs too much for something this simple
I would recommend this to a friend!
Durability
5
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+1point
1of 1voted this as helpful.
![Resident Evil: Afterlife [Blu-ray] [2010]](https://pisces.bbystatic.com/image2/BestBuy_US/images/products/1606/1606209_sa.jpg)
Posted by: Unrealtrip
from Sacramento, CA
I love Milla Jovovich, always have, and it has been fun watching her acting career over the years. That said, the Resident Evil movies have been on a downward spiral since the first. The first was great, a lot like the game with a ton of references. I mean, sure it's a little campy, but it should be, the problem is the series just keep ratcheting that factor up with each subsequent release.
I will say the fact they used actors for the zombies instead of goofy looking CGI like the disaster that was "I Am Legend" made for a much more engrossing film. Don't get me wrong, the story and acting in "I Am Legend" was fantastic, the CGI bad guys however... oh man. The problem is as the "Resident Evil" series has gone on, the story has become more and more over the top. I mean, let's face it, this is a shoot em up zombie flick and those generally don't rank too high on the art scale, even with a good amount of budget and a great director. I love the genre, I even enjoy watching a bad zombie flick from time to time, and this is one of them.
Overall, a zombie flick loaded with cheap thrills and big budget movie look. Not great, but not terrible, it's worth a $10 purchase, but I do lament paying full price.
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
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+2points
2of 2voted this as helpful.
Unrealtrip's Review Comments
Only at Best BuyWrite or sketch easily on the screen of this HP Spectre laptop. Its digital pen and Windows Ink software let you create art by hand, and its Intel Core i7 chip and 16GB of RAM ensure speedy processing while multitasking. This 13.3-inch HP Spectre laptop includes a 512GB solid-state drive to hold all your files.
Overall
5 out of 5
5 out of 5My favorite mistake
By Unrealtrip
from Sacramento, CA
I rarely write reviews, but this device practically demands one. Here’s my thoughts on it so far.
Weight & Balance: 5/5
Let me get the obvious out the way first, this laptop is a solidly crafted, precision machined work of technological art. The all metal chassis feels extremely sturdy, and it doesn't have flex in the base when holding it with one hand in the open laptop mode. The weight is good, it isn't heavy, but it isn't overly light either which isn't necessarily a bad thing. On my Surface Book for example, it is a terribly unbalanced arrangement with the bulk of the weight in the tablet half. Since this laptop does not need to detach to become a tablet, the weight is properly balanced and it never feels unstable.
Let me get the obvious out the way first, this laptop is a solidly crafted, precision machined work of technological art. The all metal chassis feels extremely sturdy, and it doesn't have flex in the base when holding it with one hand in the open laptop mode. The weight is good, it isn't heavy, but it isn't overly light either which isn't necessarily a bad thing. On my Surface Book for example, it is a terribly unbalanced arrangement with the bulk of the weight in the tablet half. Since this laptop does not need to detach to become a tablet, the weight is properly balanced and it never feels unstable.
Hinge: 5/5
The hinge is superior to all of the other devices I’ve owned or experimented with. It smoothly rotates all the way around without excessive effort, yet it retains its position well once placed there. When using the laptop reaching up to poke at the screen will induce a slight wobble but no more than it would with any laptop touchscreen or not. For example, compared with my Surface Book, you might as well be comparing a Honda and a Ferrari. There is no denying that Apple has long been known for its amazing design and engineering feats, but honestly HP’s recent company split and the products that have emerged since then easily give Apple a run for their money and in many ways they have left Apple in the dust.
The hinge is superior to all of the other devices I’ve owned or experimented with. It smoothly rotates all the way around without excessive effort, yet it retains its position well once placed there. When using the laptop reaching up to poke at the screen will induce a slight wobble but no more than it would with any laptop touchscreen or not. For example, compared with my Surface Book, you might as well be comparing a Honda and a Ferrari. There is no denying that Apple has long been known for its amazing design and engineering feats, but honestly HP’s recent company split and the products that have emerged since then easily give Apple a run for their money and in many ways they have left Apple in the dust.
Display: 5/5
The display is nothing short of amazing. It is absurdly clear, sharp, and able to reproduce brilliant colors. The touchscreen is accurate and responsive, which was a concern I initially had as I went through two of the previous generation’s 15” version which had constant touchscreen and pen issues. This device has a different pen technology however, sharing the n-trig system used by the Surface, and while the pen from my Surface does work on it the included HP pen is quite a bit nicer and has a better balance to it (though it does lack the “eraser” end). There is a downside to the display which is not the fault of the device but a major failure on the part of Windows, as higher resolution displays from any manufacturer have problems with scaling and this device is no different. If you don’t want to have that concern, I would recommend going with a lower resolution model with a “conventional” 1920px display to avoid the issue entirely.
The display is nothing short of amazing. It is absurdly clear, sharp, and able to reproduce brilliant colors. The touchscreen is accurate and responsive, which was a concern I initially had as I went through two of the previous generation’s 15” version which had constant touchscreen and pen issues. This device has a different pen technology however, sharing the n-trig system used by the Surface, and while the pen from my Surface does work on it the included HP pen is quite a bit nicer and has a better balance to it (though it does lack the “eraser” end). There is a downside to the display which is not the fault of the device but a major failure on the part of Windows, as higher resolution displays from any manufacturer have problems with scaling and this device is no different. If you don’t want to have that concern, I would recommend going with a lower resolution model with a “conventional” 1920px display to avoid the issue entirely.
Power: 5/5
It has very good power, however for my use a 10hr work day far exceeds its ability. You might be able to swing more than 10 with the screen dimmed all the way down as you surf the internet, but in practice I’ve found 8hrs is really pushing it. While I am using resource intensive applications like Visual Studio, Photoshop, and Sketchbook among others, that’s sort of the point of having an i7 with 16GB of memory. All that said, I can’t say I would fault the device at all, the amount of run time I get is superior to most of my other machines and when they say it can quick charge, they are not kidding, which is why I still give the power rating a 5/5.
It has very good power, however for my use a 10hr work day far exceeds its ability. You might be able to swing more than 10 with the screen dimmed all the way down as you surf the internet, but in practice I’ve found 8hrs is really pushing it. While I am using resource intensive applications like Visual Studio, Photoshop, and Sketchbook among others, that’s sort of the point of having an i7 with 16GB of memory. All that said, I can’t say I would fault the device at all, the amount of run time I get is superior to most of my other machines and when they say it can quick charge, they are not kidding, which is why I still give the power rating a 5/5.
Keyboard: 5/5
The keyboard is fantastic and does not ever feel awkward or cramped. HP has nailed it with this critical aspect of the device. I have a 2016 12” Macbook which is a great little machine, but the practically zero throw to the keys just doesn’t work very well. You can adjust but it isn’t the same, and going back and forth from a regular keyboard to the Macbook requires constant adjusting and error correction. With this laptop however the throw on the keys is excellent, and while I don’t know the exact travel it isn’t far off from in feel from an Apple desktop keyboard.
The keyboard is fantastic and does not ever feel awkward or cramped. HP has nailed it with this critical aspect of the device. I have a 2016 12” Macbook which is a great little machine, but the practically zero throw to the keys just doesn’t work very well. You can adjust but it isn’t the same, and going back and forth from a regular keyboard to the Macbook requires constant adjusting and error correction. With this laptop however the throw on the keys is excellent, and while I don’t know the exact travel it isn’t far off from in feel from an Apple desktop keyboard.
Touchpad: 4/5
It has no resistance, and it is very responsive. A slight downside is that it is crazy wide, and I have a tendency for my right palm to hit it. To me this is a two part issue, one is the operator, since I need to adjust my positioning better for a smaller device, but the other is the design. For such a well thought out machine I can’t figure out why the gigantic touchpad, especially on a device with a touchscreen.
It has no resistance, and it is very responsive. A slight downside is that it is crazy wide, and I have a tendency for my right palm to hit it. To me this is a two part issue, one is the operator, since I need to adjust my positioning better for a smaller device, but the other is the design. For such a well thought out machine I can’t figure out why the gigantic touchpad, especially on a device with a touchscreen.
Muscle & utility: 5/5
I won’t throw benchmarks around you can find those in a conventional review, but the machine has plenty of power to handle my needs as developer and graphic artist. Flipping the screen back works well, and honestly it is its form factor and the active pen that really sells it for me. I can be in the middle of developing in Visual Studio, hit alt+tab, pick it up and flip it over and do graphics work with the pen while holding the device in tablet mode, save the graphic asset, flip it back into laptop mode and start using it. The transition is as effortless as picking it up off the desk and putting it back down, I’ve tried and owned a list of devices finding various combinations of them to work acceptably but this is the first which can provide enough of everything I need with minimal compromise. Being able to have a seamless transition in my workflow is priceless.
I won’t throw benchmarks around you can find those in a conventional review, but the machine has plenty of power to handle my needs as developer and graphic artist. Flipping the screen back works well, and honestly it is its form factor and the active pen that really sells it for me. I can be in the middle of developing in Visual Studio, hit alt+tab, pick it up and flip it over and do graphics work with the pen while holding the device in tablet mode, save the graphic asset, flip it back into laptop mode and start using it. The transition is as effortless as picking it up off the desk and putting it back down, I’ve tried and owned a list of devices finding various combinations of them to work acceptably but this is the first which can provide enough of everything I need with minimal compromise. Being able to have a seamless transition in my workflow is priceless.
Ports: 5/5
Thankfully HP has some designers and engineers that live here on earth with the rest of us normal people who still have 98% of their devices requiring a conventional USB connection. I get that it is “forward thinking” to ditch USB-A, but abandoning backwards compatibility just seems like a bad idea. The fact that the laptop has a conventional port and more than one USB-C is a huge bonus.
Thankfully HP has some designers and engineers that live here on earth with the rest of us normal people who still have 98% of their devices requiring a conventional USB connection. I get that it is “forward thinking” to ditch USB-A, but abandoning backwards compatibility just seems like a bad idea. The fact that the laptop has a conventional port and more than one USB-C is a huge bonus.
Downsides:
My one complaint about the machine, is that the fan kicks in too often and it is loud. To be fair, I put a heavy toll on it, but not all the time and the noise does get old fast. My other complaint is more of a minor annoyance in that I really wish it had a memory card slot as it would make moving photos around a lot easier. Even a microsd card slot would be nice, maybe in the next iteration.
My one complaint about the machine, is that the fan kicks in too often and it is loud. To be fair, I put a heavy toll on it, but not all the time and the noise does get old fast. My other complaint is more of a minor annoyance in that I really wish it had a memory card slot as it would make moving photos around a lot easier. Even a microsd card slot would be nice, maybe in the next iteration.
It is hard to believe, but all in all this machine is nearly the perfect productivity device. It is light and portable without sacrificing computing power with a cut down processor, and the ability to flip it into a tablet combined with the active pen makes it the most useful computer I’ve ever owned. Most devices in this form factor make heavy compromises where this one does not.
I would recommend this laptop to anyone, and I would insist digital artists and media creators give it a hard look before laying out money on something else.
Unrealtrip
Sacramento, CA
Clarification regarding battery life
February 24, 2017
I just wanted to post a quick clarification as some people may interpret a phrase I used differently, "8 hours is really pushing it". That being a reference to an average 8 hour workday, and that being able to pull off that many hours would be really pushing the limits of the device. Is it possible? Yes, I've done it but, in order to achieve that you'd need to be using significantly less resources, dimmer screen, etc. Under normal use 5-6 hours is realistic, closer to 5 with heavier use. That said, like I mentioned it is almost a moot point because plugging it in charges it so fast, where an hour will top it off to carry you through an entire day with ease.
Why the quick charge is so important is that for me at least, and I'd wager 95% of laptop owners that are using the device for productivity tasks, is that I rarely need to run unplugged for an entire 10 hour stretch. If you are away from some form of power outlet (and civilization apparently) for that long, I don't think 10 hours of non-stop heavy computing is high on the priority list. In either case, what is additionally nice is that the power unit is tiny and not a gigantic brick, so packing it in a bag with the laptop realistically takes up no more space than a cell phone.
If you are more interested in longer battery life than computing power and device flexibility, I would not recommend this machine. If you just want to browse the web and watch movies this is the wrong device, and you would be much better served with a Chromebook of some variety as you're in the wrong ballpark considering an i7 machine with a 4k display for those purposes.
+5points
5of 5voted this comment as helpful.
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