Ethernet Battery
Ethernet Battery
An Impressive Touchscreen Offsets Disappointing Battery Life
I tested the 2.53GHz Intel Core i5-540M version, equipped with 4GB of
RAM, a 250GB hard drive, and an extra battery mounted underneath. (HP
battery) HP boasts that the machine includes desktop-class
chips, and it shows in the performance and battery life; the laptop
feels speedy, but battery life is merely adequate.
The machine scored a strong 104 in our WorldBench 6 test suite, putting
it near the front of the pack in the ultraportable category, and
applications all felt responsive during general use. The EliteBook
provides ample power for Office software, image editors, and nearly
anything a mobile pro could install.
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Integrated Intel GMA HD video processing lags in the most demanding
visual tasks, such as high-end GPU-accelerated 3D applications and
games. Audiences for either category should look elsewhere, since the
EliteBook 2740p targets another niche.
Instead of 3D mastery, the EliteBook impresses with its touchscreen. In
the laptop or tablet configuration, you can poke at the screen with a
finger or the stylus. The typical features of Wacom screen technology
are here, including 255 levels of pressure sensitivity and a stylus
with an eraser end for quick changes. The tool enables precise sketches
in addition to nuanced photo edits. The stylus slips inside the case
when unused, storing it well. The EliteBook automatically senses when
the stylus tip is close to the screen to disable fingertip input, but I
occasionally still managed to click with my hands when trying to
sketch. (You can manually disable nonstylus touch input in the Control
Panel.)
Touching with fingertips feels less precise by comparison, but it's
still accurate enough to navigate through applications. Once I got used
to the screen, I often just poked at icons instead of reaching for the
trackpad. The screen supports touch from two fingers at the same time,
letting you rotate or resize photos in supported software.
Unfortunately, few real-world tools yet take advantage of multitouch,
but with this laptop, you'll be ready for their arrival.
The 1280-by-800-pixel screen presents a good range of color and
contrast, although this is one of the laptop's weaker elements. Colors
lack the full richness found in competitors, and the screen begins to
wash out in a bright room. In direct sunlight, the image crumbles,
although HP says an optional outdoor-optimized display is available for
those who need to work outside.
Basic input devices work well. Flat keys bounce back tightly, and the
trackpad always feels responsive. HP also includes an eraser-style
pointing stick, similar to what you'll find on ThinkPads. I prefer the
concave shape on those competitors, but HP's take on the pointer still
quickly whisks the cursor across the screen. Two sets of buttons--one
for each pointing device--feel a little too soft, but at least they're
individual buttons instead of a seesaw lever for each click.
HP includes few extra buttons, but that's better than a laptop with
useless clutter. Touch-sensitive buttons control volume from the
corner. Two side-mounted physical buttons activate your browser or
e-mail application. A slider switch toggles on or off the 802.11n Wi-Fi
and Bluetooth 2.1. A few extra buttons reveal themselves in tablet mode
to reorient the screen and activate Escape and other common commands.
They're all well-placed and useful.
The EliteBook 2740p includes almost every significant port: USB 2.0
(three), VGA, FireWire, a headphone/mic jack, gigabit ethernet, and
analog modem. You can expand with ExpressCard/34, and an SD slot reads
flash cards. A Webcam and mic are ready for videoconferencing and other
media capture.
In addition, the laptop's security features can lock down your data. A
fingerprint scanner and SmartCard slot can authenticate users. Bundled
software can encrypt the drive or permanently destroy old data. An
option for the LoJack service can help recover a lost laptop or destroy
its data. These touches should fit business users well.
Several aspects of the EliteBook 2740p underperform. Speaker audio
sounds loud enough for a small group to hear, but it whistles out music
with shrill tones. Battery life is passable at 3 hours, 29 minutes in
our tests, but that's not stellar for an ultraportable PC. [hp laptop battery]HP sells a
flat "battery slice" accessory for $179 that adds about three hours of
battery life, but it also adds about a quarter-inch of thickness and
over a pound of weight. HP includes a series of firmware tools that can
include a Web browser or access to your Outlook data before you boot
into Windows. These would be great additions if Windows could boot in
the background, but since you still have to run the full startup
process to do anything else, they're rarely useful.
The EliteBook 2740p feels solid as a tablet or laptop. An HP
representative said the company put a lot of effort into designing it
to be rugged, claiming it can withstand 300 pounds of pressure on the
enclosure. Hopefully it'll hold up, since HP ranks dead last in our
most recent survey evaluating how companies handle problematic
portables.
While it takes an extra battery--and added weight--for the HP EliteBook
2740p to feel complete, this small laptop can handle mobile work
anywhere. It's quick, and the convertible touchscreen makes it
especially versatile. That touchscreen and the unit's all-around
performance make up for the shortcomings in battery life and screen
colors.
I tested the 2.53GHz Intel Core i5-540M version, equipped with 4GB of
RAM, a 250GB hard drive, and an extra battery mounted underneath. (HP
charges $1699 for the laptop and $179 for the additional battery; price
as of 8/5/2010.) HP boasts that the machine includes desktop-class
chips, and it shows in the performance and battery life; the laptop
feels speedy, but battery life is merely adequate.
The machine scored a strong 104 in our WorldBench 6 test suite, putting
it near the front of the pack in the ultraportable category, and
applications all felt responsive during general use. The EliteBook
provides ample power for Office software, image editors, and nearly
anything a mobile pro could install.
ad_icon
Integrated Intel GMA HD video processing lags in the most demanding
visual tasks, such as high-end GPU-accelerated 3D applications and
games. Audiences for either category should look elsewhere, since the
EliteBook 2740p targets another niche.
Instead of 3D mastery, the EliteBook impresses with its touchscreen. In
the laptop or tablet configuration, you can poke at the screen with a
finger or the stylus. The typical features of Wacom screen technology
are here, including 255 levels of pressure sensitivity and a stylus
with an eraser end for quick changes. The tool enables precise sketches
in addition to nuanced photo edits. The stylus slips inside the case
when unused, storing it well. The EliteBook automatically senses when
the stylus tip is close to the screen to disable fingertip input, but I
occasionally still managed to click with my hands when trying to
sketch. (You can manually disable nonstylus touch input in the Control
Panel.)
Touching with fingertips feels less precise by comparison, but it's
still accurate enough to navigate through applications. Once I got used
to the screen, I often just poked at icons instead of reaching for the
trackpad. The screen supports touch from two fingers at the same time,
letting you rotate or resize photos in supported software.
Unfortunately, few real-world tools yet take advantage of multitouch,
but with this laptop, you'll be ready for their arrival.
The 1280-by-800-pixel screen presents a good range of color and
contrast, although this is one of the laptop's weaker elements. Colors
lack the full richness found in competitors, and the screen begins to
wash out in a bright room. In direct sunlight, the image crumbles,
although HP says an optional outdoor-optimized display is available for
those who need to work outside.
Basic input devices work well. Flat keys bounce back tightly, and the
trackpad always feels responsive. HP also includes an eraser-style
pointing stick, similar to what you'll find on ThinkPads. I prefer the
concave shape on those competitors, but HP's take on the pointer still
quickly whisks the cursor across the screen. Two sets of buttons--one
for each pointing device--feel a little too soft, but at least they're
individual buttons instead of a seesaw lever for each click.
HP includes few extra buttons, but that's better than a laptop with
useless clutter. Touch-sensitive buttons control volume from the
corner. Two side-mounted physical buttons activate your browser or
e-mail application. A slider switch toggles on or off the 802.11n Wi-Fi
and Bluetooth 2.1. A few extra buttons reveal themselves in tablet mode
to reorient the screen and activate Escape and other common commands.
They're all well-placed and useful.
The EliteBook 2740p includes almost every significant port: USB 2.0
(three), VGA, FireWire, a headphone/mic jack, gigabit ethernet, and
analog modem. You can expand with ExpressCard/34, and an SD slot reads
flash cards. A Webcam and mic are ready for videoconferencing and other
media capture.
In addition, the laptop's security features can lock down your data. A
fingerprint scanner and SmartCard slot can authenticate users. Bundled
software can encrypt the drive or permanently destroy old data. An
option for the LoJack service can help recover a lost laptop or destroy
its data. These touches should fit business users well.
Several aspects of the EliteBook 2740p underperform. Speaker audio
sounds loud enough for a small group to hear, but it whistles out music
with shrill tones. Battery life is passable at 3 hours, 29 minutes in
our tests, but that's not stellar for an ultraportable PC. HP sells a
flat "battery slice" accessory for $179 that adds about three hours of
battery life, but it also adds about a quarter-inch of thickness and
over a pound of weight. HP includes a series of firmware tools that can
include a Web browser or access to your Outlook data before you boot
into Windows. These would be great additions if Windows could boot in
the background, but since you still have to run the full startup
process to do anything else, they're rarely useful.
The EliteBook 2740p feels solid as a tablet or laptop. An HP
representative said the company put a lot of effort into designing it
to be rugged, claiming it can withstand 300 pounds of pressure on the
enclosure. Hopefully it'll hold up, since HP ranks dead last in our
most recent survey evaluating how companies handle problematic
portables.
While it takes an extra battery--and added weight--for the HP EliteBook
2740p to feel complete, this small laptop can handle mobile work
anywhere. It's quick, and the convertible touchscreen makes it
especially versatile. That touchscreen and the unit's all-around
performance make up for the shortcomings in battery life and screen
colors.
About the Author
We specialize in substitute batteries(laptop battery, Digital Camera Battery, power tool battery) and battery packs for laptops, camcorders, digital cameras, PDAs, mobile phones, and power tools, etc. as well as battery chargers!
How do I quickly enable/disable my ethernet card on my XP laptop?
I switch from a wireless network to a wired one frequently and dont want to go through network connections and rightclicking my ethernet card every time to enable/disable it (i turn it off to save battery). is there an easy and quick way to do so? some third-party program that can create a shortcut that can be double-clicked and it will take care of it, as an example?
The following script will enable/disable your wired network card.
The name of your network card must be default Windows name (Local Area Connection) otherwise you will need to edit the script accordingly.
1. Open notepad.
2. Paste the code below.
3. Save this file as "toggle_nic.wsf".
4. Click on the file to enable/disable your network card.
Code:
NICToggle.wsf
This script looks at your 'Local Area Connection'
and enables it if disabled, disables it if enabled.
Script for toggling network connection on/off
C:>cscript ToggleNIC.wsf
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US $1,439.10
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