How would you change the Voodoo Envy 133?
By Darren Murph 
posted November 7th 2008 7:00PM
posted November 7th 2008 7:00PM
posted November 7th 2008 7:00PM
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Make it cheaper.
Rename it the Voodoo Envy 1337.
Newly announced: the price dropped to $1899 (base), and around $2500 for a base SSD, and you still get the external ODD to go along with it for no extra charge. And for a limited time you get a free battery, too. All this thing needs is the NVIDIA 9400M graphics.
I thought that immediately when I saw the headline, and I think it's going to be something everyone will agree on. Make it cheaper and we've got a Macbook Pro, PC style.
I guess I'm just used to premium built ultra portable laptops being expensive these days, so price isn't as big an issue as I first thought. If I could change one thing though it would be battery life (give it 6-7hrs like the Vaio TT) and If I could change two things it would be give it a 9400M like everybody else has been saying.. then it'd be perfect.
Rename it the Voodoo Envy 1337.
and that wasn't meant to be a reply to Hey Ya. Stupid Engadget comment system.
That GeForce 9400m in the MacBook Air (et al.) would be nice. Then again, pretty much ANYTHING would be better than Intel graphics.
Backlit keyboard.
Definitely. It's bad enough having an all-black computer without the keys lacking the ability to light up. I think they should space the keys out too... It's too easy to kit one on accident if they are all practically touching like that.
It already has a back lit keyboard. It turns on when you put your palms on the laptop.
Show me some pictures, dagnabit.
Right on the specs page... backlit keyboard...
http://www.voodoopc.com/#/productsenvy
Sorry, some of us know how to type. o_O
Have it available in Australia!
amen to that. and add at least the 9400m graphics.
Don't make it a fingerprint magnet. Put a decent graphics card from ATI or NVidia.
Wait that's a laptop? It looks like a mirror....
You should clean your mirrors more often.
I think it's sweet enough the way it is.
Matte screen.
Amen!
Lost the epic gloss!
Damn, i fail at English :P
Lose the epic gloss!
Is your a pic a play on No Age? If it is..nice
Tweaked version of Envy where I can intall OSX. That would be a killer feature.
Kalyway OS X for the win!
Yay Hackint0sh!
Because, you know, that wouldn't be illegal at all.
I'm installing OS X on a computer...sue me.
I thought he meant that Voodoo themselves provide the software for installing osx. That would get apple a little more than angry.
Or, get the macbook air instead.
Yeah really anything other than apple is the suxxorz!
Give me that all aluminum case anyday over this circa 1995
Dell-look-alike crap.
*stroking my macbook right now*
um..last time i checked, carbon fibre a) looks nicer than aluminium and b) is stronger, lighter, and more durable than aluminium. Don't rip on a brilliant, new idea from another company just because you are stuck with laptop that's had the same crap look since it was released over a half-decade ago.
IT's not just your macbook you're stroking is it ? hope you laminated that picture of steve jobs you keep next to your bed.
Sell their stuff through Psystar. So they have to rename it to Psystar Envy! So far it's legal as of now.
make it do my laundry
Let me comment on the Switched-On posts damn it.
i love how engadget disables comments on articles that might actually have some meaningful discussion, but we are free to discuss mac minis with monitors and wheels attached to them to our heart's content
MORE BATTERY LIFE!
If i could afford one I would've let you know.
make it look like it's forged from something other than undeveloped polaroids
Make the external CD drive slimmer and quiet, as currently it sounds like its malfucntioning everytime it loads a disc. Make the mousepad's multi touch features worth using, (aside from chiral scrolling, it rocks). Make it so that you can use the keyboard without having to lift your hands off the frame as to not cause the mouse to jump everywhere. Make the battery life actually have a life have more than 100 minutes with any decent amount of usage. Little to say about upgrading specs except that the current specs are outdated for any decent laptop, and then especially so for something that is considered a premium product. Make the keyboard backlit sensor work, and the screen sensor work better (sometimes it'll constantly turn brighter/darker depending on the light source). Make it cooler, as the heat buildup is right where your left palm sits.
Its just a ridiculous amount of little things which should have been fixed, especially with the multiple setbacks in releasing the Envy.
I agree on the external drive. In addition on occasion it rubs on the disc. Dual finger scrolling on the track pad would be nice.
As far as proximity sensors for the mouse,and backlight sensors, I've never had a problem (Check with Voodoo?). The ambient light sensor has been screwy. In my experience thus far, battery life is typically 2.5-3 hours when in powersaver mode, with the HDD. I would agree that the thing needs an update on its specs.
Another words, make it like the new MacBook Air :-)
since i dont own one.. i can't change anything.. . but if i could i could make it cheaper ..
You could always go into your local retailer and change it with a hammer. No need to own one.
Add the 9400M chipset from the MBA and the new CPUs from the MBA.
That's all it needs.
Oh, and make it cheaper!
--neg
Cheaper + flexibility in options + trackball + don't put the delete next to power & wifi buttons + microfiber bags for power brick
I'd love to see the Envy's successor...think it should be a knockout.
Not sucking would be a start. Is this this suppose to be HP Voodoo's answer to the MacBook Air? I was browsing the boutique companies earlier to see what they were doing in the laptop scene. I was disappointed to see Voodoo's offerings have dwindled down to one desktop and one laptop. Apparently HP really just doesn't want to even try with this brand. I was quite turned off by the 133 as being overpriced crap. I went strait to the specs sheet and saw crappy graphics, 2GB RAM limit, and nothing on what the actual display size is or even a hint of it being an ultra-light. I had to go back just now and read the main page of the 133 to find the one reference to it being an ultra-light.
2GB of RAM limit is a big showstopper. If I wanted something small, light, and 2GB max of RAM, I'd just get a cheap netbook. They're a dime a dozen these days. To even be on my radar, the laptop needs to run at least 4GB of RAM. My current laptop, an 8510p which I got last year, supports a max of 8GB of RAM. I'm a power user and I know that ultra-lights are not geared towards me, however give me at least screen size and preferably some dimensions or a classification. IMHO any boutique computer company that sells laptops these days that don't support 8GB or RAM is not serious. Being a boutique retailer means doing more than the non-boutique offerings. Taking a $1200 laptop, throwing a spiffy paint job on it, and charging $3000+ isn't going to interest me. I can take my 8510p, put a spiffy paint job on it, and end up with something better than boutique offerings.
Slap an apple logo on it lol
In fairness, this is a computer that Apple could have been proud of. This is a testament to what a good job HP did on this and why I'll be watching their future laptops with more interest than I would have done before.