Review: A Hybrid Notebook - HP EliteBook Revolve 810 G2

Introduction

HP EliteBook Revolve 810 G2: Copyright © 2014Reviews Today

Most of the corporate houses, firms and IT organizations are adapting mobile computing devices rapids as their workforce has become mobile and travelling like never before. The Desktops are being slowly replaced by smarter laptops, which have equally good configuration and are much lighter which allows end user to work from any location with ease. Some of the firms are now experimenting with next gen. computing devices to target their Gen Y employees. One of those devices is Hybrid Laptop. There are quite of them now available in market from Dell, HP & Toshiba etc. Let’s understand what a Hybrid Laptop is. Basically it’s a laptop cum touch enabled Tablet normally very light weight, easy to carry and high on performance. In our review today, we will be discussing on one such device HP EliteBook Revolve 810 G2 which is being loved by corporate gentry all over. We will tell you why.

Getting to know HP EliteBook Revolve 810 G2

EliteBook, the Revolve 810 G2 Tablet isn’t designed for regular patrons, but instead at business folks who are now looking for a laptop/notebook that can be converted into a touch enabled tablet with ease. With magnesium built, the make looks very strong and also makes it look striking. The maker HP says this hybrid devise had been designed to the MIL-STD 810G specification for shocks, temperature variations, particle exposure, and its keyboard is also spill resistant and its touchscreen is protected by sturdy Gorilla Glass.

The Quality Guidance

In spite of the robust 180 degree spin design, it’s not a completely walled unit, as the battery being easily replaceable from the bottom of the chassis. The removable battery also provides access to a micro-SIM slot, which allows the EliteBook Revolve to be constantly coupled while on the go. On the weight, the Revolve 810 G2 weighs at 1.38kg, which is substantial for an 11.6 inches device which will make you tired if you carry it for longer durations.

Feather touch Key Padeviews Today

You will encounter a Windows Home key at the top of the screen, while the right side of the unit contains volume buttons and sliders for the power switch and auto-rotate toggle mode. About various ports, you will notice that all of the ports for this device are located along the spine. Ports include Gigabit Ethernet, USB 3.0 (two of them), full-sized Display-Port, and the power connector.

On the left side you can see the tablet controls, as well as the docking connector.

The USB ports are located at the back and are not really visible when you use the Revolve as a laptop, best is to forget about them. It implies that if you have a USB dongle plugged in, and then you try to rotate the screen to get into tablet mode, you could end up thumping the USB stick. Some carefulness will be needed.

The rear has most of the ports. You get a couple of USB 3.0 ports, Gigabit Ethernet, Display-Port and power. The cable lock slot also exists in here.

The hinge that rotates the screen is a tough one overall; In tablet mode, the in-built magnet keeps the screen planted resolutely against the ground/surface.

Other Features

With a display of 1366x768, the screen has wide viewing angles and good overall quality. The display was crisp, sharp and bright colored. The Screen size is about 11.6in , which just mask reflections superior than a larger screen.

When using this device as a tablet, the screen was receptive. Text didn’t look that sharp (like those of iPads). User comfort is great despite the notebook being such as small size. The keyboard was easy to type on for long periods of time. The touchpad gave more of a confined feeling since it is only 91x47mm, though we adjusted to it in the end. We simply adored the feel of the keyboard’s keys. They are very feathery soft and are backlit.

Performance and battery life

As for performance, the EliteBook Revolve 810 G2 comes in following configuration ether Core i3, Core i5 or Core i7 fourth-generation, ultra-low voltage, dual-core CPUs, and up to 12GB of DDR3L SDRAM (4GB is soldered onto the board and there is one slot for expansion). Storage comes at 128GB, 180GB or 256GB solid state drive (SSD). For our review we used EliteBook with a Core i7 CPU, 8GB of RAM, and a 250GB SSD.

Top class business look of Revolve

Its performance was swift throughout and device really reciprocated well. Even while the Revolve was processing 3D graphics, it didn’t get overwhelmed at all. The frame became slightly warm when we used the Revolve in our lap but that did not pass any discomfort to us.

Battery life was not too dilapidated overall during our tests. For normal usage, the 44 Watt-hour battery lasted close to seven hours.

Other cult features of the HP EliteBook Revolve 810 G2 Tablet include NFC, Bluetooth 4.0, TPM 1.2, a vPro chipset, and 802.11ac Wi-Fi. One of the key miss is the fingerprint reader or a Smart Card slot.

In case you are power-point /presentation savy, you will have to order a separate adapters to connect VGA Projects/other Screens as there is not VGA port in the notebook.

CHEAT SHEET

Features	Description
LCD Size	11.6"
Processor	Intel Core i7-4600u 3.3GHz
Memory	8GB
Hard Drive	256GB SSD
Resolution	HD (1366x768)
Camera	Yes
Slots	MicroSD slot, Micro-SIM
Wireless	Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 7260 802.11ac/a/b/g/n 2x2
I/O ports and connectors	(2) USB 3.0 ports; (1) RJ-45 (Ethernet) port; (1) Displayport, (1) headphone/ microphone combo jack; (1) side docking connector; (1) power connector
Keyboard	Backlit
Pointing Device	Touchpad (HP calls it Clickpad)
OS	Windows 8.1
Warranty	3 year
Bluetooth	4
Dimensions	11.22 x 8.35 x 0.8 in.
Weight	3.04 pounds
External video	DP
Battery	44Whr
Battery/Average life	HP claims 8 hours +
Battery Warranty	3 year
AC adapter	45W

General Observations

In nutshell, complete package device which gives you dual functionality of both notebook and tablet tasks. Very easy to use and light weight adds to its class. It’s a fun device for all business users especially those who travel extensively. Its price of $1600 or INR 90,000 puts in the same company as many high-end touch-enabled Ultra-books and is stiff competitor to MacBook for the price range.