HP Folio 13 review

The one area that failed to impress us was screen quality. The Folio has a 13.3in screen with a fairly standard 1,366×768 resolution, putting it a step behind some of the more expensive Ultrabooks already available. Image quality was hardly breath-taking, with average brightness and contrast, although there was at least plenty of screen tilt to make up for the limited viewing angles. We were also surprised to find a glossy screen finish, as matt is more commonly found on business machines. Light reflections were troublesome, particularly in our brightly lit office.

Unsurprisingly, sound quality was also disappointing. Laptop speakers have never been able to blow us away, and the Folio 13’s are no exception – volume was lacking and there was no depth to our test tracks, with an overly sharp high end and no audible bass. We would definitely recommend using a pair of headphones to listen to music or watch video, as they will both sound much better and help cover up the surprisingly loud internal fan. It spins up occasionally during normal use, and is particularly whiny during intensive tasks such as video-encoding.

We think it’s a real shame that HP is aiming the Folio squarely at business users – the reserved looks and sturdy build quality are sure to appeal to home users just as much as professionals. It’s also very reasonably priced for an Ultrabook – £800 will currently buy the Samsung Series 5 14in, which despite having an optical drive, simply isn’t as well built as this. The Folio is not without its faults, but to get a much classier Ultrabook, such as Samsung’s Series 9, you’ll need to spend around £400 more. If your budget won’t stretch any higher, this is a great entry-level Ultrabook.