EThe next service notebook shouldn’t be too expensive, but it should offer one or the other extra, and of course only a well-known manufacturer that has been providing support for years is an option. How about a Windows device that costs around 800 euros, does not follow the usual stinginess of the interfaces and also offers two nice refinements? The screen can be rotated almost 360 degrees backwards and is also touch-sensitive. One or the other Windows gesture can be done with a fingertip, and when the display is completely folded back, the computer becomes a (heavy) tablet.
We tried the Pavilion x360 14 from HP for some time. Its rivals are, for example, the Ideapad Flex from Lenovo, also a convertible, or a Vivobook Flip from Asus. The HP comes in a silver-gray plastic case with clear design lines. There is no surprise here. The device looks robust, but with a weight of 1.5 kilograms and with a thickness of two centimeters, it is significantly more voluminous than the competition. The two hinges hold the top in place at almost any opening angle. The lid cannot be opened with just one hand. At an opening angle of more than 90 degrees, the display unit lifts the underside of the housing slightly, so it becomes a stand, so to speak.
The keyboard with two-stage backlighting only has a very short travel and could offer a little more haptic feedback. Some special keys are rather inconveniently placed for intuitive operation. A biometric fingerprint scanner is missing. The very large touchpad for cursor control has a clear pressure point and does not give cause for criticism.
The screen can be rotated almost 360 degrees backwards and is also touch-sensitive.
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Image: Manufacturer
The display of the Pavilion x360 14 could offer wonderful evening film enjoyment in tent mode, but has a 14-inch diagonal resolution only with Full HD (1920 × 1080 pixels). The maximum brightness of the highly reflective display also leaves a lot to be desired.
At the time of our test, the Pavilion x360 14 was only available in one configuration: With a Core i5 processor of the current, eleventh generation (Tiger Lake). The quad-core works with a base clock of 2.4 gigahertz, but can be accelerated with a turbo. Overall, the Core i5-1135G7 offers decent computing power in the mid-range. Our device came with eight gigabytes of RAM and a 512 gigabyte SSD in M.2 design. Intel’s integrated graphics unit is responsible for the graphics. Current games also run at low resolution and low quality settings. The notebook’s fan can then be heard. In general and when used as an office device, the HP remains pleasantly quiet.
One of the pluses is the extensive equipment with interfaces. On the right are two conventional USB ports and a slot for micro SD memory cards. The power supply unit with a proprietary connection can also be plugged in here. However, you don’t have to use it, because there is a USB-C port on the left side of the case, which not only transports data, but can also be used to fill the battery. Thunderbolt is not supported, but Power Delivery and Display Port for connecting an external monitor are supported. This can, however, also be connected to the HDMI socket. Seen in this way, you can look forward to two video outputs.
WiFi and Bluetooth 5 are on board, the battery life is seven to eight hours, again only a mediocre value. Windows 10 is only installed in the home version. As is unfortunately common with HP, annoying advertising software is installed. All in all, you get a device with a good price-performance ratio that works quietly and offers some additional benefits thanks to the convertible design and the touchscreen.
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