HP Folio 9470m

The HP Folio 9470m is a business-oriented ultraportable laptop that was released in 2012. It has a 14-inch display, a 3rd generation Intel Core i5 or i7 processor, up to 16GB of RAM, and a variety of storage options, including SSDs and HDDs. It also has a long battery life and a number of security features.

The HP Folio 9470m is a well-built laptop with a durable design. It is also very thin and light, making it easy to carry around. The keyboard is comfortable to type on and the trackpad is responsive.

Connectivity

The ultrabook has no optical drive and that improves the stability and port selection. HP still equips its 12-inch devices (EliteBook 2570p) with an optical drive, which leads to a considerably bulkier case. The 9740m lacks HDMI but comes with a business-oriented DisplayPort. Older monitors and projectors can be connected via VGA. This is anything but granted with ultrabooks. The immediate business competition is most suited to stand up to the comparison: Lenovo ThinkPad T430s (only VGA, docking port, Thunderbolt), ThinkPad T430u (Mini-DisplayPort, HDMI), ThinkPad X1 Carbon (only Mini-DisplayPort), Dell Latitude E6430s (HDMI, VGA, eSATA, docking port, ExpressCard34), Latitude 6430u (VGA, HDMI).

The HP Folio 9470m is a business-oriented ultraportable laptop that was released in 2012. It has a 14-inch display, a 3rd generation Intel Core i5 or i7 processor, up to 16GB of RAM, and a variety of storage options, including SSDs and HDDs. It also has a long battery life and a number of security features.

The HP Folio 9470m is a well-built laptop with a durable design. It is also very thin and light, making it easy to carry around. The keyboard is comfortable to type on and the trackpad is responsive.

Display

The 14-inch HD screen of the EliteBook Folio has a resolution of 1366×768 pixels (16:9). This low resolution, for which HP does not offer an alternative, can be a serious drawback if large Excel files, website back ends or software with fixed dimensions (data capturing, storage, ERP tools, SAP, MS Dynamics…) collide with the limited height. The result is annoying scrolling up and down. 1600×900 pixels (T430s, X1 Carbon, Samsung 900X3C, 900X4B) would be a good compromise, Full HD (UX31A) might be ideal for some users, but not for all. The latter is not available with the immediate business competition.

What you can get is an anti-glare display panel. The Dell XPS 13 and the Apple MacBook Pro 13 are the exception with glare panels. The anti-glare avoids reflections, but the contrast is low with 282:1. Despite the X1 Carbon all of the listed 14-inch professional devices suffer from a very low contrast. That results in pale colors and occasional weak contours. The often cheaper consumer devices partly offer significantly better panels (UX31A, Samsung 900X3C, 900X4B: IPS or PLS).

The HP Folio 9470m has a long battery life of up to 8 hours on a single charge. This makes it a great laptop for business users who need to travel frequently.

Security features

The HP Folio 9470m comes with a number of security features, including a fingerprint sensor, a TPM chip, and a software suite called HP Client Security Manager. These features help to protect your data from unauthorized access.

Touchpad

The Dual-Pointing concept consists of a touchpad and a pointing stick. This is mandatory for the business class of HP, Lenovo and Dell. From a technical standpoint we have four devices that can be adjusted separately, coordinated and deactivated (keys at the top, keys at the bottom, pointer and pad). That sounds complicated but it is very convenient. Users who do not like the pointer can just deactivate it. Same with the touchpad. This can even be rapidly deactivated with a double click to the sensor in the upper left corner (indicator-LED).

The LuxPad V1.3 by Synaptics supports multi-touch gestures like scrolling, zooming or wiping to browse. Classical one finger scrollbars can still be configured. The pad has a smooth surface that differentiates from the blunt work environment. The sharp-edged indentation and the large keys make sure you cannot miss it even in darkness. We like the very large travel and the mobility of all four mouse buttons. Thanks to the clear pressure point and the muffled, quiet stroke we get a pleasant feedback.

Overall

The HP Folio 9470m is a well-built and powerful laptop with a long battery life and a number of security features. It is a great choice for business users who need a durable, lightweight, and secure laptop.