Review – HP Beats Edition Pavilion dm4 Laptop

by | Mar 21, 2012 | Technology

I have had countless laptops over the years.  But I knew this one was special when my kids took one look at it and said, “Wow! Cool! I want one of those!”

For many people, a laptop is a laptop is a laptop.  But when it comes branded with Beats and Beats Audio, this HP machine stands out for many reasons.  The Pavilion dm4 laptop packs everything you need to surf, compute and listen to music as the artists wanted you to hear it.Pavilion dm4 Beats Edition

Some impressive specs:

  • 2nd generation Intel core processor i5 processor (2.50Ghz up to 3.10Ghz) [read: FAST]
  • 6GB DDR3 SDRAM memory [read: STRONG]
  • Intel HD Graphics 3000 with up to 1696MB total memory [read: WOW]
  • Beats Audio with 2 speakers and sub-woofer [read: ARE YOU KIDDING ME?]

Laptops are being used for so much more than spreadsheets and browsing the Web.  I have about 6,000 songs and countless movies that I like to carry with me when traveling or to use during my radio shows.  Sadly I have become used to the typical tinny sound that comes out of tiny laptop speakers.  Even when I used earbuds or headphones with previous laptops it still sounded like the music was being played in another room.

Beats Audio takes care of that on this Pavilion line.  The sound is incredible especially thanks to that subwoofer.

Its brushed aluminum design in black and the soft-touch finish on the palm rest make the Pavilion dm4 look cool (so say my kids).  It boasts HP CoolSense to keep the unit cool (temperature-wise) and ProtectSmart ensures your data is safe from accidental drops and bumps.

One nice touch that particularly stands out to me is the backlit keyboard. That comes in handy more times than I realized.  Bonus points for the red backlight that comes on the Beats edition (cool factor again).

Other features include Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit edition, 2 USB 3.0 ports, 1 USB port, 1 HDMI, 1 VGA and 1 RJ-45 port.  And to save the best for last, the battery life on this baby lasts for quite a while – up to 7.5 hours according to the specs.  That equals a lot of songs.

Pricing starts at $899.99 with the sweet spot around $1,365 for a solid configuration.  I can’t wait to use it soon – as soon as I get it away from my kids.  Because Dad wants to be cool, too.