HP Envy 14 Spectre

14in screen in 13in-equivalent chassis ; 1600 x 900 resolution, toughened glass protection ; Great typing experience on backlit keyboard ; Good video connectivity and 2.1 audio

Expensive ; Relatively heavy ; Fingerprint magnet ; Inconsistent build quality ; Only two USB ports, one USB 3.0 ; Average battery life

While you might assume all that glass to be rather fragile, HP claims its shatterproof construction will hold up just as well as metal-clad equivalents. The only bit we do have problems with is the plastic bottom part of this laptop. To either side of...

Tough Gorilla Glass chassis ; Comfortable, backlit keyboard ; Beats audio controls ; Crisp, detailed screen ; Great connectivity

Very expensive ; Heavier and thicker than rivals ; Lousy touchpad ; Average CPU ; Lid attracts dust and fingerprints

The HP Envy 14 Spectre is the latest and best-named Ultrabook to hit the shelves, and with the combined draw of HP's premium Envy range, and Dr Dre's urban cool Beats brand, it's going to be very hard to ignore.

Backlit keyboard ; Gorgeous screen ; Thumping audio performance

Chunky chassis ; Terrible touchpad buttons ; Expensive

Beautiful, great keyboard and trackpad, good battery life, powerful sound

Glass makes it heavy, Beats is a bit overrated, no discrete graphics option, a bit pricey

What HP seems to have done here is make a terrific laptop that plays by its own rules. It's too big and heavy to really be called an Ultrabook and it's really expensive too, especially considering how much cheaper the Dell XPS 13 and Samsung Series 5...

For a company that was prematurely judged to be standing upon its last leg a short time ago, the Spectre is a resounding success. In

Despite my concern that the HP Envy 14 Spectre is perhaps a little chunky compared with other Ultrabooks on the market, it compares very favourably with the competition in terms of what you get within those two centimetres: connectivity, performance,...

Unfix your gaze from that glorious display and glass-clad body, however, and there’s one insurmountable obstacle to the Envy 14 Spectre’s success: its price. Slated for release at £1,199, it isn’t only more expensive than the Apple MacBook Air, but...

Screen ; Feels good to use ; Good sound

Intermittent touchpad problem ; Uninspiring performance

It's expensive for what it is, but the HP Envy 14 Spectre has plenty of appeal thanks to an excellent screen and good input peripherals. It's a very comfortable notebook to use and its performance is good, but not spectacular. It's one of the first...