Review
Introduction
HP's ProBook 650 is a new mainstream business notebook. It is well equipped with a docking port, 5 USB 3.0 ports, a matte display as well as a Haswell processor and it is also interesting for private users with a retail price of 750 Euro (~$1025). We have a closer look a the ProBook 650 in our review
Case
The ProBook is completely made of plastic and the same applies for the ThinkPad. Dell on the other hand uses metal elements for the Latitude. The design of the ProBook is quite appealing; HP uses a simple and business-oriented design without any curlicues. The top of the base unit is silver-anthracite while all the other parts are black. The top of the display cover is also rubberized and reminds us of ThinkPads.
We cannot criticize the stability and build quality of the base unit. It is very sturdy and there is hardly any reaction to pressure. The torsion resistance is also okay, however, a notebook that was designed for the road should be a tad stiffer. All in all, still a good result, but that cannot be said about the display cover. It is very easy to twist it and it is susceptible to pressure from the back. We can bend the whole cover including the display and we can see picture distortions. The hinges do a good job and keep the display in position, but there is still some bouncing. It is possible to open the lid with one hand
Connectivity
The port layout of the ProBook is convenient, but some ports on the right side are too far at the front. Hewlett Packard did not save any money and equipped the ProBook with five USB 3.0 ports, ThinkPad and Latitude only have one or two of these ports, respectively. All three devices have a VGA port, but only the ProBook and the ThinkPad have a digital video-out (DisplayPort) as well. These two notebooks also offer a docking port.
The ProBook is the only notebook with a serial port. This port is not usually important for private users and was – similar to the parallel port – replaced by USB. It is however still used in business environments – for instance, for the maintenance of cashier systems. The big advantage is the quite simple programmability and the related connections/wires can be several meters long
Communication
The WLAN module of the ProBook is provided by Broadcom (BCM43228) and supports the WLAN standards 802.11 a/b/g/n. Windows always showed the maximum number of bars, even with a distance of 15 meters (~49 feet) from the router. This is however not a standardized test. The Gigabit Ethernet chip is from Intel (I217-V) and there is also a Bluetooth 4.0 module. The webcam takes noisy pictures with a resolution of up to 1280x720 pixels.
You can also equip the ProBook with a 3G/LTE modem if you need Internet on the road, but our review unit did not have the required module. The notebook is already prepared for such a module: SIM card tray and antennas are already integrated.
