Review: HP ProBook 4430s

REFINED: The HP ProBook 4430s features a smudge-resistant, brushed aluminum casing, and a band over the peripherals gives it a much cleaner and professional look. Joshua Philipp/The Epoch Times

Design is the first thing that stands out with HP’s 2011 ProBook s-series notebooks. With a casing of brushed aluminum and magnesium alloy, along with a few other refinements, you could open this notebook at a business meeting with confidence.

The HP ProBook 4430s in particular is designed for small to medium-sized businesses. There were a few key upgrades since last year’s model, including refinement of the design, hardware upgrades, and a few new tricks on the software side.

The notebook has a good balance to it. Although it is designed for business use, it also has specs needed to pleasantly stream HD video with good sound quality and enough power to meet the needs of most users. The 4430s is the entry-level PowerBook with each subsequent model offering more power than the last.

The ProBook’s hybrid casing has a nice charm to it, and the aluminum is smudge resistant—although not smudge proof—which helps it keep a clean look. HP also wrapped the sides of the notebook with band, cleaning up the peripherals, which makes a big difference in terms of presentation.

There is a larger trackpad than last year’s model, with gesture support including two-finger scrolling. HP also moved the biometric fingerprint scanner further to the right so users are less likely to unintentionally swipe over it while typing.

The notebook also has a solid feel to it. Holding the screen are two large hinges, which lend to the solid feeling, and the notebook also passed HP’s own durability tests. This is different from the military-grade testing some notebooks undergo, but should still be more than enough for most users.

Features

A personal favorite on HP’s business notebooks is the QuickWeb feature, which was updated for 2011 notebooks. A dedicated button lets users start the notebook up in just a few seconds, taking them to a dedicated area with a handful of options. By my count, it took about 10 seconds for QuickWeb to boot up, which isn’t bad at all considering even Google’s upcoming Chromebook netbooks take 8 seconds to boot up.

The boot-up time is about half that of starting up the main operating system. The main idea with HP QuickWeb, however, is less in terms of how long it takes to boot and more in the fact that it provides instant access to tools and services someone would need while in a hurry.

On that note, HP made some major upgrades to the HP QuickWeb interface. It features different slots for widgets, which users can customize, including weather updates, stocks, news tickers, and notes. Users can also surf the Web, send out e-mails, check their Twitter feeds, and use other Web-based services.

In terms of security, HP included an interesting new feature in HP ProtectTools. Adding to the built-in encryption functions and biometric fingerprint scanner—turning a user’s fingerprint into a key to unlock the notebook—the ProBook 4430s also has a new facial recognition feature.
Read More...HP ProBook

When turned on, the facial recognition feature will use the built-in webcam to scan a user’s face, and to make sure someone isn’t just holding up a photograph of the user, it will also check for their BlackBerry smartphone. If the two match up, the notebook unlocks.

The ProBook 4430s also has good hardware specs, around what is expected from a business notebook in its price range. The model I tested, which goes for $649, includes the Intel Core i3 processor, 4GB of RAM, a 350GB hard drive, the Intel HD Graphics 3000 graphics card, and a 14-inch screen.

The Core i3 processor is one of Intel’s new dual-core processors, powerful enough to even handle gaming—although if you are planning to delve into gaming on the side with a business notebook, it may be smart to spend the extra $80 for the ProBook 4530s with the Core i5 processor.

The Intel HD Graphics 3000 graphics card can also handle quite a bit. It makes it a good fit for watching HD video, gaming, and running design applications. You’re not going to be able to crank up the graphics settings too high, but for an affordable business notebook, it’s pretty good.

In a Nutshell

The HP ProBook 4430s is a well-rounded, sleek notebook offering some great features. I’d recommend the notebook for business users who need solid security features and for users who plan to use the notebook while on the go. This is, however, the least expensive of the ProBook line, offering the essential tools with a bit less on the side of system specs.

Keep in mind though that the 4430s and other notebooks in the ProBook line, are designed for business users. This means a bit of what you’ll be paying for are the additional security features, QuickWeb, and energy monitoring tools for businesses that need to keep track of energy use.

Still, the HP ProBook 4430s gives a nice balance, a good price, and offers the security features and business tools found in the more expensive ProBook models.

[etRating value=“ 4”]