HP ELITEBOOK FOLIO 1040 G1
The unibody aluminum design of the HP Elitebook Folio 1040 G1 is a sight to behold. Similar to the Dell Latitude E7440, the top lid repels fingerprints except for the mirror-like finish on the HP logo. When you open the lid, you’ll meet an anti-glare matte display and a black chiclet-style keyboard.
The Elitebook Folio 1040 G1 is the only Ultrabook in our comparison with front facing speakers, great for conference calls or showing marketing videos to clients. The display is crisp in Full HD resolution (1,920 x 1,080 pixels) with great viewing angles, but is not quite as impressive as the Lenovo X1 Carbon’s WQHD display.
Another unique feature on the Elitebook is its large pressure-sensitve trackpad, called the ForcePad. Designed to mimic usage on a smartphone touch screen, it does not provide tactile feedback when you execute a click, but instead plays a sound effect as an indication (all loud and clear on the front facing speakers). This certainly takes some getting used to, with drag-and-drop being the most difficult to master. Navigation-wise, the softtouch surface is pretty smooth and there’s plenty of room to maneuver.
The keyboard on the Elitebook feels shallow though. If you’re used to a more firm response from your keystrokes, you might be inclined to hit the keys harder than usual in an attempt to replicate the tactile feedback you’ve come to expect. The Elitebook is also the only Ultrabook here without a pointing stick among the keys, something that may or may not make a difference depending on your preferred method of cursor control.
Weirdly, the Elitebook Folio 1040 G1 comes with a microSD card slot instead of a full-sized one. Sure, it might be more convenient for transferring files to and from smartphones and tablets, but you’re going to need a card reader for standard SD cards or direct USB connection to devices. This means additional peripherals you’ll need to pack rather than just a simple SD converter.
Security features on the Elitebook include a Smart Card Reader and a fingerprint reader for identity authentication. On top of a TPM chip for encryption, HP also bundles a range of software designed to increase data protection.