HP Spectre 13T-3000

In short two year Ultrabooks been around, there are some premium designs brought forward, but they seemed to be paired with a premium price always. Although systems like the Editors' Choice Samsung Ativ Book 9 Plus and the top-rated Acer Aspire S7-392-6411 starting $ 1400 range. So it is particularly refreshing to see that the HP Spectre 13T-3000, HP's flagship ultrabook, matching not only the premium system with the same specs and some performance, but it does so for a more reasonable price.

Design
The Spectre 13T-3000 resembles other Ultrabooks in most respects. It is extremely thin and light, measuring 0.59 by 12.75 by 8.66 inches (HWD) and weighs just 3.2 pounds. The Samsung Book 9 Plus (3.06 pounds) and Acer S7-392-6411 (£ 2.87) is lighter, but not by much. Construction is all brushed aluminum, anodized in shades of brown, a darker "Truffle Brown" for the lid and a beige "Champagne" color for the keyboard and palmrest. The result is a sleek looking, attractive laptop offers a premium look and feel.

Similar competing Ultrabooks, proud of Spectre 13T-3000 a full-size backlit keyboard. Although the chiclet-style keyboard has the same silvery beige finish as the aluminum palmrest, the keycaps are actually made of plastic instead of metal. Despite this, the typing feel is pretty good given the limitations placed on Ultrabooks, such as shallow depth of travel. The overall typing experience is pretty good, putting it in line with the ASUS Zenbook Prime UX31A Touch-BHI5T.

The biggest difference seen in Spectre 13T, however, is the trackpad. Windows 8 trackpad brought front and center with its use of motion controls, especially the use of swiping gestures that come in from the edge of the pad to access the basic commands, such as moving from one app later and access to the Windows menu Charms. HP makes it easier to understand and can be accessed using a trackpad that is more wider than the average essential actions. HP calls it Control Zone, with extended right and left sides of the contact surface, subtly distinguished in texturing and a matte finish that makes it easy to distinguish between the edge and the center of the trackpad. The trackpad itself is one of the best I've used, with a surface that glides under the hand, a clickable surface that does not require too much force to press, and a sharp, satisfying click.

Making the most of the touch capabilities of Windows 8, however, is the display. Supports 13.3-inch touch display, monitoring up to 10 fingers simultaneously, with 1,920-by-1, 080 resolution offers full HD picture support. If 1080p is not high enough resolution for you, there are also options with 2,560-by-1, 440 resolution for an additional $ 70. The audio quality is similarly high, with Beats Audio providing some the best clarity and volume range I've heard from an Ultrabook.