This thing has more of the stuff than your granddad’s Cadillac every major component on the laptop is framed in shiny chrome (OK, its chrome-colored plastic, but you get the idea), even the trackpad buttons. In addition to the standard-fare multimedia transport controls (stop, pause, play, track forward, track back, and eject), there are buttons to mute the sound, to activate and deactivate the 802.11N wireless adapter, and to activate HP’s simple-yet-elegant MediaSmart multimedia control strip.Īnd then there’s the chrome. Almost all of the non-keyboard buttons on the HDX 18 are touch-sensitive controls, backlit in bright pearly white, and you can adjust the volume, bass, and treble controls by moving your finger across a slider scale (a la iPhone).

Here’s a full review of the HP HDX 18, for your perusal.Įvery surface on the laptop has a glossy, polished feel, from the keys on the keyboard, to the trackpad mouse, to the display. I configured it with a T9600 Core 2 Duo processor, 320GB hard drive, 3GB of RAM (a free upgrade from the standard 2GB), 802.11N wireless, an over-the-air TV tuner, a fingerprint reader, a Blu-Ray player/DVD burner, a remote control for the multimedia functions, and a gigantic 18.4” HD CineBright display (coupled with an NVidia 9600M GT graphics adapter with 512MB of on-board RAM), all driven with Windows Vista Home Premium for $2,200 and change, with a 2-year pick-up-and-drop-off warranty. I purchased this laptop direct from HP, courtesy of their user-friendly web site. Many a computer company has come and gone in 20 years, and many an economic boom and bust, yet HP marches on after all these years, making solid products at competitive prices. (And believe me, folks, I’ve used a LOT of computers in that time!) A quick tip of the hat to HP seems in order.

There in front of me was the sexiest computer I had ever laid eyes on since my first computer 20 years ago. I thought of my first personal computer as I was unboxing my new HP HDX 18 laptop.

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