HP EliteBook Folio 9470m Ultrabook Review: Ultrabooks in Enterprise
by Dustin Sklavos on March 29, 2013 12:01 AM ESTConclusion: This Just Isn't Okay Anymore
Whenever I ask a vendor what the resolution of the notebook they're releasing is, the reply of "1366x768" is always tinged with either sheepishness or defiance. I'm reasonably certain that somewhere in the bowels of the HPs and Dells of the world there's a product designer who just knows that some bean counter is going to hamstring his or her beautiful design with a dismally low quality display just to save a few bucks per unit. The race to the bottom was good for democratizing technology, but that time has passed, and Apple's success should be ringing a clear indicator to these vendors: people want quality, and they're willing to pay for it. You won't ever be able to compete with Apple at their price points (as the first generation of Android tablets proved), but if you can deliver something comparable with a good display at a lower price (not hard given how much Apple inflates their prices), people will go for it.
How is this relevant to enterprise? Because despite the fact that the MacBook Pro offers virtually no allowances for business class use, it's still gaining a foothold. People are taking hits to serviceability and ease of administration solely to get a better product, and when you look at a unit like the HP EliteBook Folio 9470m, it's not too difficult to see how such a thing might happen.
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The price tag for the 9470m isn't that bad for an enterprise notebook. $1,349 should get you more than 4GB of RAM, but HP did at least spring for a high quality SSD in the Intel 520. You get vPro, you get near-total user serviceability, you get a Smart Card reader, you get USB 3.0, you get docking capability, you get a fingerprint reader...really you get a heck of a lot from HP's EliteBook. As far as value goes, in the enterprise the 9470m really isn't that bad, and the potential for twelve hours of battery life is nothing to sneeze at.
It's probably not fair then that the EliteBook Folio 9470m is essentially becoming a whipping boy for problems pervasive within the industry, but despite some fantastic advances forward when it comes to the internal design and bringing useful enterprise features to the market, it's also indicative of a lackadaisical attitude possessed by both HP and by the industry at large. This chassis design is attractive, but I'm less and less enamored with it in this form factor. Like the dire panel it comes with standard, I feel like the chiclet keyboard's time has really passed.
If you can get the Folio 9470m with the 900p panel, the unit will undoubtedly be vastly improved from a productivity standpoint. Unfortunately HP's enterprise site leaves an awful lot to be desired as far as even finding that model, and it skirts the real point here: aren't we done compromising?
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tds456 - Friday, March 29, 2013 - link
I stopped reading at 1366x768. Only while at the comments did I notice "Thankfully the 9470m can be ordered with a 1600x900 panel" You *really* need to include things like this in the specs, even if just in brackets saying option, otherwise people will just keep ignoring the reviews like this one.jabber - Friday, March 29, 2013 - link
The thing is the guys at Anand know how most of us feel about crappy screens yet they still keep reviewing them, knowing that 99% of us wouldn't buy it even if the rest of the machine is great.It really is time to start pushing those review units back to the manufacturers telling them "Sorry, it's just not good enough! Try harder!"
Sure you might have a few less laptops to review but there are other things I'm sure. They also might start to get the message and send some quality gear.
The other thing is that blue or that stock Windows 8 purple just looks so crap on Windows 8. I change all my Windows 8 machines to dark grey and it looks so much better.
A5 - Friday, March 29, 2013 - link
Public humiliation will do more than just pushing the units back to the PR team. They'd rather have no review than a bad review.damianrobertjones - Friday, March 29, 2013 - link
"people want quality, and they're willing to pay for it." - Fair enough but 'most' users don't even know that they've got a 1366x768 screen."Because despite the fact that the MacBook Pro offers virtually no allowances for business class use, it's still gaining a foothold." - The ONLY reason why this is, is due to marketing and name ONLY.
Dustin Sklavos - Saturday, March 30, 2013 - link
I strongly disagree. It may be that way at first in some cases, but people will see the display and they'll want it. Likewise, that display continues to make the MBP a superior choice for any kind of visual work that doesn't involve throwing FCPX out the window.JDG1980 - Saturday, March 30, 2013 - link
Most users may not be able to specify what resolution their laptop is running at, but they can clearly see that the rMBP has far sharper text and images and better color reproduction than cheap PC displays. It just plain looks better, by a significant margin.nerd1 - Sunday, March 31, 2013 - link
Non retina MBPs are still being sold, and they have class tailing 1280 800 resolution display. Yes it is TN too.sperho - Friday, March 29, 2013 - link
The display is somewhat disappointing in both the resolution and quality regard, but as someone who has been using a corporate issued laptop in a variety of brands for the past 15 years, this laptop is by far the best laptop I've ever had issued to me. I travel a fair bit and it's lightness, very respectable battery life, reasonable speed, port options, docking station, backlit keyboard... Oh, I LOVE this laptop. Would I buy it if I had control over what I get for work? No. One has to understand what this laptop if for and for whom by whom it is purchased. As such, it is by far the best machine that I've ever used for work. It isn't perfect, but it's great mobile option that even conservative IT departments will accept.sperho - Friday, March 29, 2013 - link
I should add, my employer REQUIRES smartcard capability and it takes a phone call to security to gain temporary login credentials if we don't have our company pass on us (smartcard pass) to logon to the machine. There just aren't a huge variety of machines that have smartcard slots in them. That doesn't excuse the base display option, but given the options, it does it's job and does it well.crimson117 - Friday, March 29, 2013 - link
This would be fine as long as it's in a docking station attached to a large external monitor.1366x768 is not usable even for business email, let alone productivity apps.
And then to offer crappy quality 1366x768 put the nail in the coffin.