HP Envy 14 Spectre - Classy Glass Ultrabook Coming End of February

HP Envy 14 Spectre - Classy Glass Ultrabook Landing in Singapore End of February

This year, a wide array of Ultrabooks have been revealed to us by the manufacturers at the recently concluded Consumer Electronics Show 2012. However there is one particular Ultrabook that caught our attention, with its unique, innovative (and also expensive) use of materials. That particular notebook, was the HP Envy 14 Spectre, and it's liberally covered with Corning Gorilla Glass. If you don't know what Gorilla Glass is, no problem. All you have to do is look at your latest smartphone, and it will stare right back at you. Several of the premium smartphones these days feature this durable, high strength glass to prevent cracking and chipping of the displays from accidental incidents. The new HP Envy 14 Spectre is the first to be fully protected by this same material:-

That's right. Gorilla Glass. It's supposed to be scratch-proof, and tough (or tougher) as nails. Not that we're asking you to try though. It makes perfect sense on a smartphone but how about a notebook? How practical would using it on an Ultrabook be? Well after handling it ourselves, it actually makes pretty good sense.

The glass lends some additional heft and hardness to the overall build of the machine. As you'd expect, there is hardly any flex on the screen of the machine. Even the palm rest area of the machine was finished with glass, which we presume could also help reduce flex. In any case, it does lend a premium feel to the the machine. Meanwhile, parts that aren't covered with glass will bare its usual aluminum build  underneath. For example, the area supporting the chiclet keyboard is made from aluminum which helps eliminate the usual keyboard flex from most keyboard wells.

The HP Envy 14 Spectre's retail price will start from S$1999 for an Intel Core i5 based machine with a 128GB SSD configuration, and will be available towards the tail end of February. If you wish to err on the side of caution before you part your hard earned money, you could always stay tuned to our full review of the machine.