Many people are eschewing desktop PCs for more mobile devices, mainly tablets and laptops. The portability of these devices is paramount because nobody wants to lug around more weight than they have to. Enter the HP EliteBook Folio 1040 G1 (that's a mouthful), a 14" Ultrabook with many interesting features such as a fingerprint reader and built-in NFC.
The machine starts at $1299 and the one I'm reviewing costs roughly $1750. On paper, it looks like a real winner, but how does it stack up in the real world?
As far as ports go, the EliteBook comes with two USB 3.0 ports, a microSD slot, DisplayPort, AC power, a combined headphone/mic port and a smartcard slot. There's also a dongle that gives you a hardwired VGA and Ethernet connection; the dongle uses the same port as the optional docking station.
Connectivity-wise, the EliteBook supports standard wireless protocols such as 802.11/a/b/g/n, as well as Bluetooth. Optionally, it can be equipped with a SIM card, but our review unit did not come with that feature.
HP offers many optional upgrades as well, including built-in NFC, a fingerprint reader, and a touchscreen. Our model has the first two, but lacks the touchscreen, something I'll address in the review. It weighs 3.3 pounds and is a mere 0.63 inches thick, meaning it's thinner than the diameter of a penny.
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