Fair enough James. Good line though – I might try using that next time I’m at the Aston Martin dealership…

I didn’t say I’d buy one, just that I want one.

James,

“That one hour battery life was while playing a DVD movie using an external optical drive.”

Fair enough, but most battery tests are extensive in this regard. Even if I can get twice that under “normal” usage, don’t you think dragging around another battery (or the power cord) would be more or less a necessity? And if so, what’s the point?

Under normal conditions, the solution to such bad battery life is to chuck the crappy battery the manufacturer includes — solely to decrease advertised price and weight — and get a better battery (e.g., a 6-cell instead of 3-cell). My understanding is that’s not an option here.

I personally think Voodoo should stick to making gaming machines. There are other manufacturers out there making better laptops that are small and light, and I don’t mean Apple. Also, shelling out $2400 for a unit like that is just insane – for that price, you can buy FOUR top-model HP mininotes, or half a dozen MSI Winds. The cheapest 17″ from HP comes in at $649 on sale at Best Buy now, and that’s the new bronze/chrome version.

No offense James, but if you’re saying the mininote is expensive, you shouldn’t be buying the Envy. That’s just my opinion.

Looks alone don’t cut it for me, a laptop has to perform and get my work done. If it can’t do that, either because of stingy battery life, poor performance or lack of features/functionality, then no fancy styling in the world is going to win a recommendation in my book.

That one hour battery life was while playing a DVD movie using an external optical drive. While the regular battery life isn’t great it won’t be anywhere near that short.

I sooo want this thing. Envy. Such a great name for it.

I think the Encv look cool, too, but come on!

Battery life of an hour. An hour? I do not for a minute think carrying an extra battery is a valid option. Not for this kind of notebook. The whole point is it’s supposed to be small, light, and easy to carry. Require me to take another battery or two and the whole concept falls apart.

And the price is outrageous. I thought Apple was supposed to be the “expensive” brand? This thing is not done yet. Voodoo needs to put it in the overn a little longer.

I agree that this in a very nice looking laptop but unfortunately the battery life is a deal-breaker for me. Like the MBA it’s a case of form over function.