Don’t laugh and point, it’s rude
There’s a fundamental conundrum with laptops. To make them more compact, you reduce the size of the screen. That reduces the size of the keyboard. The trouble is, our eyes can get used to seeing more or less information on a screen, but our fingers trip up when the keys get closer together.
For years, manufacturers have accepted that they can’t square this circle. Now HP has made a breakthrough. It’s based on one simple yet brilliant insight.
Picture the boardroom of a computer manufacturer. It’s the annual product management meeting. Like every year, the agenda ticks on to the screen size dilemma. At the far end of the table, a junior designer coughs nervously. ‘What if…,’ he stumbles. But he knows this is his time. He’s going to go for it.
‘What if the screen and keyboard… weren’t the same size?’ All eyes turn to him, burning into his reddening face. ‘What if we made a small screen…’ Brows furrow in anticipation. ‘And… a big keyboard?’ There’s a moment of silence. His career hangs in the balance. Then: applause.
And so we get the Envy 8 Note, which is either mould-breakingly innovative or side-splittingly ridiculous, depending on whether you’ve actually seen it. Instead of closing like a book, the touchscreen part, the size of an iPad mini, is stowed on the back of the keyboard part, the size of an 11in laptop. A grey felt cover protects the screen. A basic stylus is also included. None of these parts in any way appear to go together.
In use, it looks exactly as if you’ve chopped the keyboard off an old laptop and propped a tablet on it. You can’t adjust the angle and the screen is liable to fall off. There’s no monitor output for a second screen, projector or TV. With a slow Intel Atom processor and only 2GB of memory, the Envy 8 Note struggles to run Windows 10.
To save battery power, the Full HD display stays dim unless the tablet is connected to its mains adapter, and even then its colour and contrast are poor. The battery only lasted four-and-a-half hours of video playback anyway. The keyboard has to be charged separately, and the crowning glory of the whole ill-advised conglomeration is that the keys are still cramped and the touchpad is too small.
VERDICT
It’s great that HP set out to solve a problem, but all it’s managed to do is build some new ones into an underpowered tablet.
SPECIFICATIONS
1.44GHz Intel Atom X5-Z8300 quad-core processor • 2GB memory • 32GB flash storage • 8in 1920x1080-pixel touchscreen • 5-megapixel rear camera • 2-megapixel front camera • 802.11ac Wi-Fi • 3G/4G SIM card slot • Windows 10 • 19.8x264x173mm (HxWxD) • 1.18kg • One-year warranty