Thin and light laptops don’t come cheap—you pay a premium for that portability. If you are going to carry the laptop with you every day, it is perhaps prudent to spend that little extra and not hurt your back.
HP EliteBook Folio 1020
Rs.125,580
It is a compact laptop at 0.62x12.2x8.27 inches and 1.2kg weight and ticks all the boxes—clean lines, non-shiny finish and quite slim. The aluminium and magnesium alloy chassis makes it look similar to the Apple MacBook. HP has been able to deploy a fan-less design because of the new Intel Core M processor, which doesn’t need a cooling fan. The Folio 1020 is built to MIL-STD 810G standards, which means it can survive a 4ft drop, shocks and vibrations, and temperature fluctuations.
There is a fingerprint reader, and this biometric security feature can be configured to let users log in to Windows, or authenticate account logins on various websites. Business users will appreciate the wide range of security features, such as the Touchpoint Manager (a mobile-device management service that lets IT managers track down lost and stolen laptops), HP BIOSphere (allows self-healing from malware or failed BIOS updates), and File Sanitizer (securely deletes files and folders).
The 12.5-inch display packs in a 1,920x1,080 resolution. Those who use a laptop in office and while travelling will appreciate the matte screen; it does not reflect light and other objects in the environment. The display offers pretty good viewing angles too.
With an Intel Core M-5Y71 dual-core 1.2 GHz processor, 8 GB RAM and a quick 256 GB SSD, performance is fast—once you press the power key, Windows is ready for action in 14 seconds. This processor—more powerful than Intel’s own Atom chips—is specifically designed for tablets and ultra-slim laptops and does not need the sort of cooling a typical Intel Core i3 chip would require. The performance is more than adequate for the typical business user who spend endless hours switching between a spreadsheet full of numbers, a presentation with lots of graphs and sending emails.
The keyboard offers consistent feedback and just enough key travel—this is the closest a Windows ultrabook has come to the fantastic keyboard on the Apple MacBook Air. Backlighting around each key makes it convenient to type in a dimly lit room. It is spill-resistant too, which means an accidental splash of tea or coffee will not damage the laptop.
The ForcePad touchpad is the big new addition, and we should see it become a standard feature in new laptops going forward. The glass-surfaced touch sensor detects the pressure of every touch and swipe for various commands. In the case of the ForcePad, there are no moving parts—unlike a touchpad that has buttons that click. And the lack of that click feedback can be a bit disconcerting initially.
The Folio 1020’s battery lasts 7.5 hours on a single charge, when used as a primary laptop at work. It falls just short of the all-day battery life that the MacBook Air 13 (Mac OS X; Rs.79,900 onwards) and the Lenovo Yoga 3 Pro (Windows; 3,200x1,800 pixel 13.3-inch screen; Rs.1,14,990) offer.
The HP EliteBook Folio 1020 is a great option for business users who don’t want to compromise on portability. And it has enough security features to keep the company’s IT team happy.
Lenovo Yoga Tablet 2 Pro
Rs.49,490
The cylindrical edge resembles a folded open magazine and integrates a kickstand, useful for propping it up. The classy look of the Yoga Tablet 2 Pro comes from the smooth blend of aluminium and good quality plastic. At 948g, it is definitely on the heavier side. But for that extra bulk, you do get some extra features—the highlight is the built-in projector (integrated in the cylindrical spine) and a JBL subwoofer.
The kickstand can be useful for viewing TV shows; After all, how long can you hold the tablet while watching an hour-long episode of Homeland or Banshee? Apart from the stand mode, there is the tilt mode, in which the tablet is slightly propped up as it lies on the table, useful if you are typing a document or email.
The 13.3-inch (2,560x1,440-pixel) IPS LCD display has a lot going for it. This is a big screen by tablet standards. The result is that the entire Android interface looks well spread out—icons are visible from a mile away, and widgets look good. Colours are quite rich, but no particular shade pops out unnaturally. The contrast isn’t the best, and the black levels aren’t the deepest, but the purity of the white colours more than makes up for that. This screen is ideal for watching movies. The two front-facing stereo speakers sound clear till 60% volume. However, despite the separate subwoofer, bass isn’t audible separately. All in all, the sound is okay for personal listening or small rooms.
The integrated projector has a native resolution of 854x480 pixels. We observed that 55-inch projections (from a distance of 5ft) are the maximum limit before quality deteriorates. It isn’t a very bright projector, and you will need to keep the room fairly dark. This could be ideal for a quick presentation in office or discussing a new proposal with clients. The preloaded Projection app allows users to turn on the split-screen feature, which lets you project one set of content and continue using the tablet for something else.
The Yoga Tablet 2 Pro is powered by an Intel Atom Z3745 quad-core 1.86GHz processor, paired with 2 GB RAM. During our tests, the performance was somewhat inconsistent. When used for basic entertainment and productivity tasks, it was smooth. However, gaming was not smooth, and hopping through the timeline of a 1,080 pixel video file can elicit some stutters. Powering such a high-resolution screen is one of the factors for this visible stuttering. The tablet runs Android 4.4.2, which is quite old and not expected in a tablet as expensive as this.
The 9,600mAh battery lasts 6 hours during continuous video playback, with brightness at 60%. It could have been more had the tablet run a new Android version and taken advantage of its better power management features.
The Yoga Tablet 2 Pro looks good. It is a rather cool way of discussing budget proposals in office, but it runs an old version of Android and the interface needs refinement. While we may not recommend this to everyone, full marks to Lenovo for trying something different—and almost succeeding.
