Gadget Review: Why HP Stream 11 is worth every rupee
The
HP Stream is a Rs 12,600 (approx) full-Windows laptop, and it's
surprisingly good. A pokey little guy with a colourful finish, a 720p
screen, a dual-core Intel Bay Trail processor, and 2GB of RAM.
There have always been cheap Windows laptops, but this Windows laptop is super cheap. At Rs 12,600 (approx), the HP Stream 11 doesn't cost a rupee more than the cheapest Chromebooks currently available. This dirt-cheap laptop isn't handicapped by a web-browser based OS or the need for a constant internet connection. Windows 8 gives you access more programs than a Chromebook ever could. That is, as long as the processor can keep up.
At this price, you will be hard pressed to complain about aesthetics. More important than looks is build quality, and the HP Stream 11 is a solid little tyke. It's got a slightly squishy but completely typable keyboard. There's virtually no flex to the Stream 11's keyboard tray, even if you're pushing on the frame deliberately hard. The solid feel holds up elsewhere. The hinge isn't flimsy, as it can be on a lot of laptops in this price range.
It's not all sunshine and roses though — the screen is an obvious place where corners were cut. The matte 1366 x 768 display is pretty rough. It hashat 'bad matte screen' rainbow effect that makes whites look distorted. Web browsing, sure. Movie watching? Not if you can avoid it.
That's just the screen's fault though; the Stream's bottomfacing speakers are surprisingly competent. With the volume turned all the way up they can be almost uncomfortably loud, and while the quality is nothing to write home about, they aren't tinny or distorted. Not bad for Rs 12,600 (approx).
The touchpad, unfortunately, isn't such a pleasant surprise. It's serviceable and not quite good. In addition, the Stream's also got a USB 2.0 port, a USB 3.0 port, and an SD card reader. All the bare essentials, unless you're that guy who's still keeping the optical disc companies in business.
The big work-draw for most people is going to be Office. Not only can the HP Stream 11 run classics like Word and Excel (and run them well — surprisingly silky smooth performance here) it also comes with Office 365 Personal for a year. That includes musthaves Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook among others, and includes 1TB of OneDrive storage. Those full, robust applications beat the hell out of being stuck with Google Docs like you are on a Chromebook.
On the web-browsing side, the HP Stream 11 is a little more competent than your average Chromebook, which is to say it can handle its fair share of tabs. The catch is that you pay for that performance in battery life.
Should you buy it? The The HP Stream 11 is not a powerful machine, obviously, but it's worth every rupee of its price. The Stream is not a great option for watching or looking at pretty things, and it will never ever be able to last a whole work day. But if neither of those things are a problem for you, the Stream is a damn good bargain.
There have always been cheap Windows laptops, but this Windows laptop is super cheap. At Rs 12,600 (approx), the HP Stream 11 doesn't cost a rupee more than the cheapest Chromebooks currently available. This dirt-cheap laptop isn't handicapped by a web-browser based OS or the need for a constant internet connection. Windows 8 gives you access more programs than a Chromebook ever could. That is, as long as the processor can keep up.
At this price, you will be hard pressed to complain about aesthetics. More important than looks is build quality, and the HP Stream 11 is a solid little tyke. It's got a slightly squishy but completely typable keyboard. There's virtually no flex to the Stream 11's keyboard tray, even if you're pushing on the frame deliberately hard. The solid feel holds up elsewhere. The hinge isn't flimsy, as it can be on a lot of laptops in this price range.
It's not all sunshine and roses though — the screen is an obvious place where corners were cut. The matte 1366 x 768 display is pretty rough. It hashat 'bad matte screen' rainbow effect that makes whites look distorted. Web browsing, sure. Movie watching? Not if you can avoid it.
That's just the screen's fault though; the Stream's bottomfacing speakers are surprisingly competent. With the volume turned all the way up they can be almost uncomfortably loud, and while the quality is nothing to write home about, they aren't tinny or distorted. Not bad for Rs 12,600 (approx).
The touchpad, unfortunately, isn't such a pleasant surprise. It's serviceable and not quite good. In addition, the Stream's also got a USB 2.0 port, a USB 3.0 port, and an SD card reader. All the bare essentials, unless you're that guy who's still keeping the optical disc companies in business.
The big work-draw for most people is going to be Office. Not only can the HP Stream 11 run classics like Word and Excel (and run them well — surprisingly silky smooth performance here) it also comes with Office 365 Personal for a year. That includes musthaves Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook among others, and includes 1TB of OneDrive storage. Those full, robust applications beat the hell out of being stuck with Google Docs like you are on a Chromebook.
On the web-browsing side, the HP Stream 11 is a little more competent than your average Chromebook, which is to say it can handle its fair share of tabs. The catch is that you pay for that performance in battery life.
Should you buy it? The The HP Stream 11 is not a powerful machine, obviously, but it's worth every rupee of its price. The Stream is not a great option for watching or looking at pretty things, and it will never ever be able to last a whole work day. But if neither of those things are a problem for you, the Stream is a damn good bargain.
By
Gizmodo | 17 Dec, 2014
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