HP Spectre XT hands-on

HP whisked us off to Shanghai for its Global Influencer Summit, where we got our hands on its latest shiny metal slab - the MacBook Air-baiting Spectre XT. How does it measure up? Read on.

HP Spectre XT - design and build

HP's newest Ultrabook, the Spectre XT, is a wedge of aluminium that could serve a dual purpose as an expensive doorstop - 14.5mm thin at its thickest point.

Unlike the Spectre's iPhone 4S-style glass lid, the Spectre XT has an all-aluminium design. On the plus side, that means it's not a fingerprint magnet - and it helps keep the weight down to a manageable 3.07lbs (1.39kg) at 327x221x14.5mm. On the downside, that does strip away one of the Spectre's most distinctive features, leaving it looking like just another MacBook Air clone.

Round the back, an angular clasp holds the 13.3in screen (1366x768) in place - bearing an etched Hewlett Packard logo, rather than the HP roundel, in a nice touch. A slightly raised glass trackpad, sporting a single rocker button, replaces the original Spectre's rather feeble effort. Naturally, it's multitouch and supports gesture recognition. We liked the Spectre XT's backlit chiclet keyboard which comes as standard.