2009 2010 Cars and Computer Reviews

With its stylish, Imprint-finish chassis, excellent audio output, and remote control, the 14-inch HP Pavilion dv4-1555dx is best suited for students and others who might rank multimedia consumption above productivity pursuits. Detracting from its appeal as a general-purpose, workhorse laptop are its poor battery life, glossy display, clacky keyboard, and chrome-finish touch pad.

The Pavilion dv4-1555dx weighs in at 5.4 pounds--heavy for its size. The 14-inch Toshiba Satellite E105 weighs an average 5 pounds, and the 14-inch Dell Inspiron 1470-3282 weighs a trim 4.6 pounds. The Pavilion dv4-1555dx's extra heft lends it a solid feel, though we'd describe the build quality as only average. The chassis flexes and creaks a bit, and the keyboard is clacky. The glossy, keys feel lighter than a ThinkPad or an Inspiron keyboard, and they don't have as soft a feel.

The touch pad, too, doesn't provide the best feel; continuing a Pavilion trend, the touch pad features a chrome finish that creates drag against your fingertip when swiping to and fro. And like the rest of the glossy chassis, the touch pad is a magnet for fingerprints. It's also narrower than the norm, measuring 3 inches wide and only 1.5 inches tall, but it does feature a wide and responsive vertical scroll area along its right edge. Lastly, we experienced some unexpected cursor jumps when our hand or finger grazed the touch pad. We suggest disabling the "tapping" feature to eliminate this problem.

Price: $749

Processor: 2.2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T6600

Memory: 4GB DDR3 SDRAM 1,066MHz

Hard drive: 320GB at 7,200rpm

Chipset: Intel GM45 Express

Graphics: Intel GMA 4500MHD

Operating System: Windows 7 Home Premium

Dimensions (WDH): 13.2 x 9.5 x 1.6 inches

Screen size (diagonal): 14.1 inches

System weight / Weight with AC adapter
5.4 / 6.2 pounds