Windows 8 laptop reviews 2013

However, the Acer Iconia W provided a lower mark of lux. The Envy x2 seemed more than bright enough when viewed head on or from angles up to 45 degrees to the left or right. However, at wider angles, we found it difficult to see images through the finger prints on the display's glossy surface.

The touch experience was completely fluid and responsive. In our tests, we quickly swiped between apps, pinched to zoom, swiped down for an app bar, swiped in and back from left to show the task menu and swiped in from the right for the Charms menu.

Using Windows Paint, we could draw with 5 fingers at once. Like many HP products, the Envy x2 has Beats audio, but the sound coming out of the bottom mounted speakers was hardly high fidelity.

When we listened to the bass-heavy "Forget Me Nots," the output was loud enough to fill a room, but a little tinny. However, when we streamed the hard-rock "Rainbow in the Dark," the drums sounded like sticks hitting tin foil. Click to Enlarge The physical keyboard on the Envy x2's dock provided one of the most inaccurate, uncomfortable typing experiences we've had on any keyboard.

The keyboard was so cramped, stiff and unresponsive that instead of our typical 86 words per minute with a 1-percent error rate we scored a horrible rate or 63 words per minute with a terrible 9 percent error rate on the Ten Thumbs Typing Tutor test. As we took the test, we found that we often did not hit the keys with enough force for them to register, accidentally hit adjacent keys or got two spaces with the space bar instead of one.

Our wrists were also uncomfortable as they hung over the edge of the narrow palmrest. However, if you're a hunt and peck typist, you may not experience these problems. When disconnected from its dock, the Envy x2 uses the standard Windows 8 virtual keyboard, which stretches across the bottom of the screen in Windows 8 mode, but can be dragged around in desktop mode. When holding the device two-handed in landscape mode, we found it difficult to stretch our thumbs to the middle of the keyboard to hit the G and H keys.

The operating system also provides a split keyboard, but with much smaller keys that we found harder to target. Though the Envy x2 does not support an active stylus, Windows 8 does have a handwriting recognition box you can use in lieu of a keyboard. The 3. However, it allowed us to perform a wide variety of multi-touch gestures, including pinch to zoom, rotation, four-finger flick to minimize windows or pull up the task menu, and three-finger press to launch the browser.

We were also able to swipe in from the left to launch the Charms menu, in from the right to switch tasks and down from the top to bring up the app bar. However, we had difficulty performing a three finger swipe to cycle through gallery images on the tiny surface.

The HP Envy x2 stayed pleasantly cool throughout our tests. After streaming video for 15 minutes, the middle of the keyboard measured just 80 degrees, the touchpad a mere 75 degrees and the bottom of the dock a pleasant 76 degrees Fahrenheit.

We consider temperatures below 95 degrees comfortable and those below 90 degrees imperceptible. Click to Enlarge The tablet itself has a handful of ports on its bottom surface, including a microSD card slot, a 3.

The keyboard dock provides two USB 2. Click to Enlarge The front-facing p webcam on the Envy x2 took relatively bright but extremely noisy images of our face, even when we stood directly under an overhead light.

The 8-MP rear webcam captured sharp colorful images, both in natural light and in dark indoor situations. An outdoor image taken on a cloudy day showed fine details like gravel on the pavement and leaves on the ground though colors were a little dull. An indoor image we shot of an infant in direct sunlight was crisp with accurate pink skin tones and vibrant colors like the stripes in his pajamas or the blue and white in his blanket.

Some accessory apps, such as Paint, live in the Apps screen. You can force these programs to appear in the Start screen by right-clicking them to select them and then clicking Pin to Start at the bottom of the screen.

Nevertheless, getting to the Apps screen is simple: Right-click a blank area in the Start screen and then click the All apps icon at the lower right. Previously, right-clicking an object on the desktop always brought up a context menu, giving you a choice of actions to take. In the Windows 8 interface but not the desktop , right-clicking now produces a bar at the bottom of the screen containing assorted context-sensitive items. Live tiles are among the key features of the Windows 8 Start screen.

While normal non-live tiles measure by pixels, most live tiles are double-wide by pixels and display dynamic information.

As you install apps from the Microsoft Store, more dynamic tiles may appear. Live tiles first appeared in a broad fashion in Windows Phone 7 and Xbox updates, but will exist across all Microsoft platforms going forward. Navigating the Start screen is easy. You can drag individual tiles to any location. The latter are those programs we all know and love from previous versions of Windows, including Microsoft Office. For most people, this restriction may not be an issue, but certain vertical applications specialized programs, such as those for point-of-sale PCs need to boot directly into a desktop environment.

Until Windows 8 versions of such programs become available, users requiring vertical applications should stick with earlier versions of Windows.

If all you need to do is launch an application, you can simply click its tile in the Start screen. If you need robust file management and navigation features, you have to access the desktop. After you boot the machine, pressing the Windows key sends you to the desktop. Instead, to move to the desktop consistently, you need to be in the habit of pressing Windows-D.

Another option is to move the pointer to the lower left of the screen and click there though this method works only if you have used no other app recently. Except for the omission of a Start menu, the desktop mostly behaves the same in Windows 8 as it did in Windows 7. Move your pointer to the lower-left corner and right-click, ignoring the Start-screen peek that pops up. This is the simplified Start menu; you can also bring it up by pressing Windows-X.

Microsoft has chosen to leave the Windows 8 desktop bare, as it did with Windows 7. Given the absence of the old-style Start menu, you may wish to add the system and user-file icons by right-clicking the desktop and selecting the Personalize menu.

After you have added those two icons, you can pin them to the Windows 8 Start screen. Connecting to networks is easier than ever, once you have installed the right drivers.

The appearance of individual windows has changed. Gone are the faux transparency and the fake beveled edges, replaced by a completely flat appearance.

The Ribbon contains, in one location, all the information that previous versions displayed in a series of menus and submenus. Ultimately, navigating the new desktop is similar to getting around the old version, but the absence of a full Start menu may throw you off at first. Using hotkeys, and customizing the desktop and Start screen, might help you become more comfortable in the short run. The PC you own today almost certainly lacks a touchscreen.

Manufacturers are starting to ship desktop displays with touch capability; the first touch-enabled displays have built-in capacitive touch sensors, which work via a USB connection to the PC. Future touch displays might communicate through some flavor of wireless, including Bluetooth.

More likely candidates for built-in touch are mobile PCs, including traditional clamshell laptops and convertible units that you can transform into tablets, either by concealing the keyboard or by detaching the display, which can act independently as a tablet.

But then your kids come up and start touching the screen—after all, these days young users are growing up expecting displays to be touch-enabled. The Tap 20 is unusual in that it has a built-in battery, which allows you to move it around the home easily and use it as an oversize tablet. Touch support makes the Start screen more usable, though the user interface still has some rough spots. For example, if you swipe your finger in from the left just a little, you get thumbnails of currently running or suspended applications.

Searching for a program or app is as easy as ever in Windows 8. Simply call up the Charm Bar by swiping out from the side with touch or moving your cursor to the top or bottom right corners when using a mouse and press the familiar magnifying glass to get started. Windows 8 Navigation: Controls Most of the controls for Windows 8, such as volume, screen brightness, keyboard launguage and the like, can be accessed from the Charm Bar. Merely go to its Settings icon to alter almost anything.

Right-clicking here also brings up the familiar menu with View, Screen Resolution, Personalise and the like. Even Aero Peek and minimise all open programs still hide in the small far right corner of the toolbar. The only things that are missing are the pervasive transparency effects of Aero, leaving the bars of windows disconcertingly solid. Oh, and the Start button. Want to search? The Charm Bar that name just makes us want to shoot somebody — maybe whoever came up with the name?

This will bring up a menu with an absolute wealth of options. Unfortunately, there are still a few missing. Perhaps the most crucial is Computer, which gives you quick access to all your storage.

But you can get it back. Right-click on Computer in the menu to the left and select Pin to Start. This is far from the only way to get Windows 7 features back on your Windows 8 Desktop.

There are plenty of command line, registry and other simple hacks that will get the features back, as well as a slew of apps like Start8, ViStart, MetroUI Tweaker, Classic Shell, StartMenu7, and more, with many doubtless on the way.

However, on the bright side Windows 8 is noticeably faster than Windows 7, especially on older hardware. Everything from games to power-hungry programs runs just as smoothly as your PC will allow. It has newer drivers, giving better device support out of the box. It offers better synchronisation both with your other Windows 8 devices and with the cloud.

It gives you more advanced, customisable profiles. And it offers a lot more features in many areas. Windows 8 Loves Tablets What really makes or break Windows is touch. All this considered, Microsoft has done an admirable job. We only wish it had given us the option to make the Windows 8 Desktop just a little more yet like that of its predecessor, rather than forcing users to employ hacks or third-party software.

What Windows 8 has done with its new Start screen and tile interface is create an attractive, comprehensive and fairly easy to use touch system that generally works well and does so without obviously stealing its style or ideas from rivals. There might be a slightly steeper learning curve than with Android or iOS, but Windows 8 also offers more potential and many advantages — not least of which is its comprehensive stylus support. Windows 8: Worth the Upgrade?

Probably not.