HP STREAM 11 : REVIEW

HP STREAM 11 : REVIEW

                     Chromebooks have come from a long time in the market but we can see that steadily the growth in this category has also started.Chromebook  has come a long way by constant upgrading by Google this lite OS laptops have really got their attention.Well this is threatening to the Windows OS because the rookie computer user has a alternative option.Chromebooks main features are light , faster booting and a free OS.Let's see if HP Stream can avail on these points and also make a mark.

           

             

HARDWARE

                 When you see the HP Stream 11 it looks like a netbook. It is small , light and plastic covering it all . The small fanless machine weighs around 2.74 pounds with plain plastic shell.One of the most stylish netbook ever seen!.But saying that this is a fanless machine which quite surprises me.HP has done a great job in designing this product and also has found optimum results.Stream 11 includes two USB connections (one 3.0, one 2.0), a full-sized HDMI socket, a full-sized SD card reader and a combination headphone/mic jack.
     
                HP Stream 11 comes with 11 inch 1,366 x 768 non-touch display, with a healthy amount of bezel.The resolution of the display is no doubt to be complained off.However it does have some glitches ,the viewing angles are fairly narrow, especially from head-on. The colors tend to wash out when trying to crank up the brightness, but even on a more medium setting, everything looks dull and muted.This is really an issue to look for in the product.
   
               But the good part is that sound quality is far good than expected. The speakers even though located at the bottom side , give a loud volume.The DTS Studio Sound has really enhanced the quality of the sound . Even when placed on the lap or even on the flat surface , the sound does not change. The keyboard also adding in to the positive side , as expected from HP.The machine despite is 11.6 inch , the keyboard is nearly full sized . The keys are well spaced in between two keys and has a decent size.The touch pad is quite responsive using multiple gesture but the single finger usage was sluggish and gets unresponsive at times  . This may be a software glitch which can be fixed over timely updates.

                HP Stream 11 is powered by a Intel Celeron N2840 with in-built Intel HD Graphics.The processor has 1 MB cache and has dual cores . The Stream is supported with 2 GB RAM and has built in storage for 32 GB eMMC .The OS takes up time during booting, it's a greater time for normal boot. The Windows OS takes time unlike the Chrome OS. The specality of Chrome OS is that it's a extremely light OS so takes the minimum time to boot , but windows is known for slow booting even in the past.The battery is a 3 cell  37 Wh Li-ion battery which will give you up to 8 hrs of battery life.
The battery last as long as the company states under normal usage but lower usage may increase battery time.

SOFTWARE

               Surprisingly the HP Stream 11 features a full fledged Windows 8.1 out of the box.We thought that the Stream would come with a tear-down version of Windows.It comes with a Windows 8.1 with Bing as the default search engine.The HP Stream 11 has got an additional 1 TB of One drive storage. Not only that but it has along with it a one-year Office 365 Personal included.Microsoft also gives a $25 gift-card from the Microsoft store.
   
            HP Stream 11 also has default HP apps for more connectivity and compatibility with other HP products.The Stream also comes with a third party apps like TripAdvisor , Skype and also Netflix as default.Stream also comes with McAfee trial Life Safe product.Speaking of Windows it's always had more productivity options than Chromebooks.

WRAP UP

         For a full fledged Windows 8 PC  for only $199 is a grab on.The fact that Windows laptops can run desktop apps means they're better than Chromebooks, regardless of the price. The Stream 11 also comparatively much less pricier than most of the Chromebooks.The Stream also comes with a Stream 13 having same specs at $229 and a Stream 14 slightly varying at $299.

           The HP Stream does have some compromises. The display lacks in the quality like other Chromebooks , although it has similar  specs as usual Chromebooks and the pricing is same , there is difference in performance. The Stream takes more time to boot-up and the battery life is much less.For a fully smoothly functioning of Windows it does need more power than the hardware provided.
   
           The Stream does provide with full fledged desktop apps, which is a must for productivity of offline usage. The negative part of Chromebooks is that you need a full time connected internet but that is surpassed in the Windows version.For this low price it has bright and playful design . the keyboard is really worked up and gives a good typing experience. With all the freebies included more than offered with normal Chromebooks.
 
            At  $199 , the Stream 11 is a good deal, comparing it with major Chromebooks which are more pricier.It comes with some compromises but if you are willing to give it off the HP Stream 11 is grab on .Only time will tell if the Chrome OS would be as efficient as Windows ?

WILL YOU BUY FULL WINDOWS OS OR DEVELOPING CHROME OS POWERED NETBOOK ?

FULL SPECIFICATIONS :

Operating system

Windows 8.1 with Bing 64

Processor

Intel® Celeron® N2840 with Intel HD Graphics (2.58 GHz
1 MB cache
2 cores)

Processor technology

Intel Turbo Boost Technology

Graphics

Intel HD Graphics

Display

11.6" diagonal HD anti-glare WLED-backlit (1366 x 768)

Memory

2 GB 1333 MHz DDR3 SDRAM (1 x 2 GB)

Hard drive

32 GB eMMC

Wireless

802.11b/g/n (1x1); Bluetooth®

Power supply

45 W AC power adapter

Battery

3-cell
37 Wh Li-ion polymer

Battery life

Up to 8 hours and 15 minutes

Ports

1 USB 3.0; 1 USB 2.0; 1 HDMI; 1 headphone/microphone combo

Expansion slots

1 multi-format SD media card reader

Energy efficiency

ENERGY STAR® qualified; EPEAT® Silver

Webcam

HP TrueVision HD Webcam (front-facing) with integrated digital microphone

Color

Gradient micro dot orchid magenta with a tulip purple to lily pink keyboard dock

Pointing devices

HP Imagepad with multi-touch gesture without on/off button

Keyboard

97% size island-style gradient purple to pink keyboard

Dimensions

11.81 x 8.1 x 0.78 in

Weight

2.74 lb

Warranty

1-year limited hardware warranty support

What's in the box

Gift card

Software included

McAfee LiveSafe™ 30-day trial offer (Internet access required. First 30 days included. Subscription required for live updates afterwards.)
7-Zip; Getting Started with Windows 8; HP Connected Drive; HP Connected Music; HP Connected Photo; HP ePrint; HP Support Assistant; HP Utility Center; Microsoft Games; mysms; Netflix; Skype; TripAdvisor and 25GB of free online storage for six months with Dropbox

  

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