The HP 810 EliteBook Revolve made its retail debut back in March, and now it’s time for a refresh. New models will be shipping soon, and HP’s showing them off at an event in Barcelona this week.
Don’t judge this book by its cover. Like the Microsoft Surface Pro 2, there haven’t been any major changes to the 810 Revolve’s exterior. The all-magnesium casing is virtually identical, but it is a bit thinner and lighter than the first-generation convertible. Those who have gotten to spend hands-on time with the Revolve 810 G2 report what you’d expect, though. While 22.2mm and 1.4kg is thin and light for a laptop, it’s on the clunky side for an 11.6-inch tablet.
The important updates are inside, of course. HP will be offering the Revolve 810 G2 with fourth-gen Core i3, i5, and i7 processors. The top-end config will feature a 2.1GHz Intel Core i7 4600U.
HP’s also shipping the 810 EliteBook Revolve G2 with an updated pen. It offers better accuracy than the original, but there’s still no place to store it in or attach it to the laptop. One final knock on the Revolve G2: it’s still saddled with a 1366 by 768 panel, which is pretty underwhelming on a device that’s due to start at around $1,300.
Then again, this is a device that has been designed to MIL-STG 810G specifications. It’s built to handle a bit of abuse with a water-resistant keyboard and a Gorilla glass display. HP also offers LTE connectivity as an option and up to 12GB of memory, so the Revolve 810 isn’t necessarily aimed at folks for whom price is the determining factor.
For business users that still run desktop apps the resolution is fine as is for a display under 12″. Its actually desirable to many companies.
I’d buy this if it had updated the screen. Lenovo thinkpad yoga flips instead of swivels but has a place for the pen, 1080p, and rockin durability.