Apple Macbook Pro never fail to amaze me especially on its stylish and elegant look since I first tested it. Since then, I feel its competitors’ notebook is nothing more than ordinary computer (this includes my Thinkpad!). But the latest notebook from Hewlett-Packard (HP) really catched my eye. Even at a quick glance, you could tell that the HP Envy 13 is not an ordinary notebook. The 13-inch screen notebook is a nicely crafted with aluminum and magnesium and incorporated with capable components, such as 2.13GHz dual-core power saving Intel CPU, ATI mobility Radeon HD 4330 graphics, 3GB of RAM and a 4-cell battery.

The Envy has a few Macbook look alike, one of it is the oversize multitouch touch pad which is one of the significant feature of a MacBook. With a display up to (1,600 x 900-pixel resolution), the Envy 13 certainly makes a compelling case against the $1,199 13-inch MacBook Pro. But Envy is priced more comparably with ultrathin systems such as Dell Adamo or even Apple’s MacBook Air, with the price starting at $1,699.

There is no doubt that the starting price does certain things even better than the 13″ Apple MacBook Pro. With a nicer screen, better graphics performance and a smaller build. However, the touchpad is quite frustrating compared to the well known MacBook. And if you’re depending on DVD-RW, you may need an external unit since it does not come with internal optical drive.