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While Windows 8 hybrids and Ultrabooks are generating a lot of press these days, many business users simply want a powerful ultraportable they can take on the road. The 11.6-inch HP EliteBook 2170p is just such a system, providing strong performance and solid battery life in a durable chassis that weighs just 3.2 pounds and has compact keyboard like the Keyboard for HP ProBook 4520s. However, at $1,099, the Elitebook 2170p faces stiff competition from similarly sized business portables such as the Lenovo ThinkPad X230. Is HP’s notebook your best choice? Design Encased in a sturdy, magnesium shell, the EliteBook 2170p feels like it was designed to take a beating. HP informed us that the machine underwent 115,000 hours of durability testing, which included heat and drop tests. While it’s not a completely rugged system, the 2170p should withstand more abuse than your typical consumer notebook. Like other recent EliteBooks, this notebook has a silver lid adorned simply with an HP logo in the center, a subdued look that executives will appreciate. Flipping the lid, a movement that felt somewhat stiff, reveals a matte, 11.6-inch display bordered by a bezel made of matte-black plastic. Along the top is a webcam. The magnesium deck, which is the same shade of silver as the lid, has a 3.7 x 1.5-inch touchpad, with a pair of dedicated buttons both directly above and below it. The HP Keyboard is recessed and has about a half inch of space on either side. A fingerprint reader sits just below the arrow keys. Keyboard and Touchpad The EliteBook 2170's island-style keys are well spaced and offered a good amount of travel, which made for a solid typing experience. On the Ten Thumbs Typing Test, we averaged 68 words per minute, with an error rate of 2 percent. That’s the same as our usual typing spped, but at a 3-percent error rate. The keys are backlit with a single brightness level that’s more than sufficient for working in dim environments. HP claims that the keys are spill resistant and that any liquids that seep through the deck will drain through the bottom of the chassis. The center of the keyboard like the Asus EEE Pc 1005ha 1005hab Keyboard stores a concave, textured pointing stick, whose slick surface caused our finger to slip off and onto the surrounding buttons. Lenovo’s TrackPoint remains the best in the business for this kind of cursor control. At 3.7 x 1.5 inches, the EliteBook’s Synaptics touchpad was pretty cramped. This is compounded by the fact that there are two sets of dedicated click buttons, one above the touchpad and one below. While the touchpad interpreted Windows 8 gestures — such as swiping in from the left, right, bottom and top — correctly, our fingers kept bumping into the mouse buttons. Verdict At $1,099, the HP EliteBook 2170p offers a durable build and above-average battery life in a lightweight design that’s easy for road warriors to carry. Our chief complaint is the liliputian touchpad and keyboard like the Dell Vostro 3700 V3700 Laptop Keyboard , which makes executing Windows 8 gestures somewhat of a pain. In this price range, we prefer the Lenovo ThinkPad X230, which, though slightly larger and heavier, costs about $100 less and offers longer battery life, a brighter display, and better pointing stick. But, as far as small, portable business notebooks go, the HP EliteBook 2170p is a strong contender.
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