HP EliteBook Folio 9470m first look

HP EliteBook Folio 9470m first look – design and build 

It's a bit tricky to give a hands-on review of the 9470m, since it doesn't actually exist yet. Rather, HP has brought a prototype unit that doesn't function to its Shanghai event. So judging HP's claims for the 9470m, such as its 1.58kg weight and "all-day" battery life, is impossible - you can't even press down on the keyboard. What we can do is tell you what it looks like, and the answer is: rather curious.

HP's stated aim with the 9470m is to give business users a computer that combines the looks of an UltraBook with the functionality of an enterprise PC. In terms of looks, it's definitely pulling in two different directions. With the lid closed, it looks like your standard Ultrabook – a MacBook-baiting, 19mm-thin slab of brushed aluminium sporting the HP logo in the centre. Open the 9470m up, and the Ultrabook styling continues (brushed aluminium, etched EliteBook logo, chiclet keyboard). Look closer, though, and there are a few curious anomalies. That trackpad sports four rather clunky-looking buttons, and slap-bang in the middle of the keyboard is a control nipple – features we haven't used on a laptop since, ooh, 1997?