HP ProBook 4310s review

After laying eyes on HP’s ProBook 4310s for the first time, you’d be forgiven for thinking you’d travelled back through time to an age when laptops were square and practical, but never particularly pretty. But despite the fact that there’s hardly a curve to be found on its chiselled, retro-styled figure, the ProBook 4310s has an eccentric charm all of its own.

It isn’t particularly attractive, with a thick-set, glossy black frame that stands 40mm proud of the desk, but the 13.3in display makes it reasonably compact while just tipping over the 2kg mark. It’s a shame the battery life isn’t better, though; with a little over four hours of light use and 1hr 19mins of heavy use, you’ll need to carry it back to the mains on a fairly regular basis.

Get your hands on the ProBook, however, and you might just be pleasantly surprised. The keyboard might look a touch suspect, but it’s much better than appearances suggest. The large, square keys have a nice positive action, and the wide spacing between each key helps keep typos to a minimum. Only the trackpad has room for improvement, with the hinged buttons occasionally feeling somewhat awkward under the finger.

The screen gives away the ProBook’s more sensible pretensions, as unlike the glossy display of many consumer models, the ProBook has a matte panel. It’s a good thing, though, as reflections are kept to a minimum, and despite the slight loss in vibrancy, the HP still made a good fist of our test photos. Reasonably accurate colour reproduction helps keep skintones looking fresh and lifelike, with only the weak contrast disappointing.

The presence of Windows 7 Professional will be welcome for business applications, too. This version adds XP Mode, automatic backup capabilities, and the business-friendly Domain Join features to the standard Home Premium. HP also adds some of its own proprietary software. The ProtectTools suite takes on drive encryption duties, and Disk Sanitizer allows users, or security-conscious IT departments, to wipe a hard disk of sensitive data without any fear of it being undeleted.

For all its seriousness, though, the ProBook has a lighter side. There are both VGA and HDMI ports at the side, and the ATI graphics even allow a little bit of light gaming, despatching our least taxing Crysis test at 39fps. General performance isn’t to be sniffed at either, with the 2.1GHz Core 2 Duo processor and 7,200rpm hard drive helping to earn the HP a score of 1.03 in our benchmarks.

It might not do quite enough to win an award, but we can’t help liking the little ProBook 4310s. It’s as comfortable hooked up to an HDTV as it is churning through an Excel spreadsheet, and as a sensible, compact, all-round laptop, it has plenty to offer.