HP Pavilion dm4-1060us 14.1-Inch Laptop

by HP

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 13.4 x 9 x 1.3 inches ; 4.4 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B003KN3K2E
• Item model number: WQ874UA#ABA
• Batteries: 1 Lithium ion batteries required. (included)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (42 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,314 in Computers & Accessories (See Top 100 in Computers & Accessories)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: May 5, 2010

Product Description

Count on a thin, lightweight laptop that has everything you need and want. The HP Pavilion dm4-1060us Notebook PC delivers exceptional performance from the inside out. Manage your passwords, access online accounts and secure files easily using the integrated fingerprint reader and exclusive HP SimplePass software. With a battery that lasts up to 6.5 hours per charge, you can forget about plugging in your HP laptop all the time. This stylish notebook PC also has a durable metal chassis finished in brushed aluminum with the stream design in argento. Have fun wherever you go, whether it’s around the house, across town or on the road. The HP Pavilion dm4-1060us Notebook PC is designed for how you live. Watch DVDs using the built-in optical drive and 14-inch diagonal High-Definition LED display. Integrated Wi-Fi and Bluetooth® help you connect and sync your HP laptop to a printer, MP3 player or smartphone without using cables. Video chat in low-light environments using the HP webcam, plus transfer photos from a digital camera to your notebook PC using the digital media reader.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

52 of 55 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars One of the Best PC Notebooks I've Ever Owned, July 7, 2010

By 

Bruce E. Wampler (Glenwood Springs, CO USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: HP Pavilion dm4-1060us 14.1-Inch Laptop (Personal Computers)

I just got this notebook to send off to college with my daughter. I've been in the computer business for over 35 years, and this is one of the best PC notebooks I've ever had (I'd give it 5 stars, but it is not a Mac Book - my daughter prefers Windows).

But I have owned a bunch of PC notebooks over the years, including several other HPs, and this is the best PC notebook I've ever owned - a really excellent mix of size, performance, and style. Aside from its technical specs, it really is attractive for a notebook - way to go HP design team!

My daughter is very fussy about keyboards and trackpads, and to win her approval is a huge endorsement. I've been watching the ads for PC notebooks knowing college starts this fall, and this HP dm4 really caught my eye. I'd been considering the 8 hour ASUS machines, but this 6 hour HP was enough better in other specs to seal the deal. For a PC, the claimed 6+ hours (over 4 in reality) is way better than almost any other PC notebook (although Mac Books are much better).

Compared to most other PC notebooks, this one wins because: very light (other reviews say it is one of the very lightest 14" notebooks), fast (Intel i5 mobile, not just an i3), 4Gigs RAM, 500Gig hard drive (and 7200rpm, not 5400!), fingerprint scanner (and it really works well and seamlessly - encourages good security), bluetooth, WiFi N, HDMI + VGA, eSATA, Windows 7 64-bit, great battery life, great size and weight. Just right mix. (Just a note - it uses shared graphics, just fine for anyone except hard core gamers - probably improves battery life.)

SUMMARY: A great balance of price, performance, and style. Should easily last four years of college.

PROS: Size, weight, style, CPU performance, fingerprint scanner, memory

CONS: screen size (beautiful LED display, but at 768 pixels high, a bit low - wish it were 900), really loaded with crapware (but that is typical of almost any PC notebook today, especially HP - check out pc decrapifier)

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very Good (Almost Great) Laptop, July 17, 2010

By 

Charles W. Houseworth (Raleigh, North Carolina) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: HP Pavilion dm4-1060us 14.1-Inch Laptop (Personal Computers)

I am a power PC user, having built many desktop and server machines, and used numerous portables and laptops, over the past thirty years. After having done extensive research for an i5 based laptop, I am convinced that this relatively new HP offering is one of the best computer purchases that I have ever made.

Notable Pros:

Widescreen 14" LED display is quite bright and crisp at 1366x768 optimal resolution. Yes, it is glossy and reflects a lot of light. It is not what I would want for doing extensive Photoshop processing but I have my desktop display for that. This display is fine for a lightweight laptop and is a pleasure to view and use. HP is wise to push the 14" LED as an alternative to the widescreen 15.6" and 17" LCDs that seem to be most prevalent these days. It ultimately allows for significantly easier handling, lighter weight and less power consumption. I personally believe that this form factor is going to become much more popular in the coming months.

Fast 500GB 7200 rpm hard disk, 4GB DDR3 memory (two slots, maximum of 8GB allowed), and i5-430M processor, optimized for laptop use, all provide for a very satisfactory Windows 7 user experience. The machine "feels" quite snappy. And I am coming from a Thinkpad T61 Core 2 Duo T7100 running Windows 7 that is not exactly a slouch.

Battery life (realistic) is about 5 hours. Yes, you can go with an i7 and dedicated graphics and a huge 17" display but you will pay for it with greatly diminished battery life (maybe 2-3 hours at most). I believe that HP has found a nice power sweetspot with respect to this hardware combination.

Plenty of ports, including 3 USB, 1 eSata, 1 VGA, 1 HDMI as well as 5-1 multicard reader and an integrated fingerprint reader that actually works pretty well.

Notable Cons:

The HP Trackpad. I found it to be a real pain to use for any extensive work involving a lot of highlighting and scrolling. It seems at times to have a mind of its own. I am not sure whether the issue is the hardware or the Windows 7 driver, but in any case, you will want an alternative. In my case, I went with the Microsoft Mobile Mouse. It is small, unobtrusive, and can be used on almost any surface. It does not require line of sight to the USB receiver. Some others might not find this acceptable, but it works for me. Let me put it this way. If you must have a trackpad to do a lot of highlighting and scrolling, this is not the machine for you. I personally can put up with the flaw with my "fix" because I genuinely like almost everything else about the machine.

HP crapware. It is, well, crap. Mostly veiled advertisements and software trials that actually add very little for most users. Furthermore, it is quite extensive and serves to slow down the boot time and the overall responsiveness of the machine. I got rid of it, but only after 90 minutes of painstaking uninstalling of individual programs. HP does a real disservice to a large subset of its customers by loading this software and not providing an easier way of minimizing or eliminating it.

But all in all, I think this laptop is a winner. It has a critical flaw in the trackpad, but for most users it is easily surmounted. There is good competition out there. The Asus U30 and Samsung R580 are fine machines and might even have slightly better price points depending on which day it is. But I do not think they are superior to the HP overall. I also considered HP's very good reputation and ubiquity in the laptop market as well as the likely availability of accessories down the line. Most importantly this particular HP represents a fine piece of engineering at a nice price point. I expect it will be a real winner for them.

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Quality Laptop!, July 20, 2010

By 

K. Benson "Benny90" (Atlanta, GA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: HP Pavilion dm4-1060us 14.1-Inch Laptop (Personal Computers)

Pros: This is an excellent laptop! It is very classy looking and well built. I'm not sure if the people that say the touchpad is awful are people that are just not used to this kind of touchpad or maybe they have received a bad unit but it is by far the best click pad out of anyone out there and has a satisfying right and left click. It is obviously not as simple to use as a regular touchpad, but once you get the idea of how to use it, it works great. Also, they just released a new firmware/software update for the touchpad that might be what is helping out. Overall, the laptop is actually lighter than I thought it would be. The 14" screen is an absolute perfect size. I was all about 13.3" screens before this, but the extra .7" helps out in screen real estate as well as making enough room for the case to hold a full DVD multi drive w/o adding a ton of bulk. Nice touches such as polished metal edges to the keyboard and touchpad surround. The dedicated multimedia keys are also convenient.

Cons: None really. While a regular touchpad might be easier to use for some, I actually prefer it, as for me it works flawlessly.

Other Thoughts: The metal construction is very nice with etched patterns that are actually not as noticeable or bad looking like I though they might be. I have heard comments that say that they think the laptop is pink. I can thankfully say that it is not pink, it is a bronze metal color that shows up in dim light, unless you think bronze is pink. In bright light the color is more of a silver color. It is also sufficiently thin with tapered edges that actually make it seem even thinner than it is. The keyboard is also very comfortable to use. The best thing about it is that the battery is fully enclosed in the case and does not stick out at all! Batteries that protrude out had been a common design and I am very happy that with this laptop the battery is flush with the bottom. I spent a long time looking for a laptop for myself and am absolutely happy with my decision to go with this one. I recommend that anyone looking for a great looking laptop with a ton of power to definitely check this one out!