Performance

Our 6930p had a 2.4-GHz Intel Core 2 Duo P8600 CPU and 2GB of RAM (upgradable to 4GB). In PCMark Vantage (which measures application performance in Vista), the notebook notched a score of 3,749, which is almost 1,200 points above the average for thin-and-lights notebook in that range.

Built to Last (and Turn Heads)HP bills the 6930p as a business-rugged notebook, and with its brushed metal design, it looks both tough and elegant. It includes a brushed, anodized aluminum lid combined with a magnesium alloy chassis. Inside, the matte-black, spill-resistant keyboard is offset by a brushed metal deck and upper panel, both of which match the lid. HP’s new DuraKeys feature a fingerprint resistant UV coating that claims to be six times more scratch-resistant than HP’s previous business notebooks. Above the keyboard are touch-sensitive controls for HP Info Center, which contains ProtectTools Security Manager and Connection Manager, Wi-Fi, Presentation Options, mute, and volume settings.

Display and Sound: The 14.1-inch, 1280 x 800-pixel display indeed looks bright . The matte screen offers versatile viewing angles and we could comfortably watch when we pushed the screen forward, which is good for presenters and frequent flyers, and even at a near 180-degree angle from the sides. The speakers, located on the front underbelly of the notebook, delivered surprisingly loud sound.

Security Features As the crown jewel of HP’s well-endowed business line, the EliteBook series offers plenty of security features for mobile professionals. For starters, there’s a 3D accelerometer, which shifts the hard drive into a safe position whenever it detects sudden movement. There’s also a fingerprint reader located on the right side of the deck and TPM circuitry.

Ports and WebcamIn addition to the fingerprint reader and 2-megapixel webcam, the 6930p has three USB ports, a FireWire port, Ethernet and modem jacks, VGA, an ExpressCard/54 card slot, an SD/MMC reader, and headphone and microphone ports. The webcam reproduce fine detail well with the brightness and colors, especially skin tones, looked accurate.