The leather-wrapped Spectre Folio isn't just a pretty face – it's a great 2-in-1

High-quality leather provides a luxury feel; Convertible 2-in-1 design keeps keyboard protected; Battery life is outstanding; Precise keyboard; Excellent low-power display

The touchpad is small and doesn't support Microsoft Precision; Y-series CPU limits performance

On the other hand, if you're looking for a beautiful laptop to serve as an executive status symbol, a sometimes movie-watching machine, and an email platform-and price is not an object-the Spectre Folio is hard to beat for eyeball impact.

Stylish, protective leather exterior; LTE connectivity option; Included digital stylus with sturdy holder; Comfortable keyboard; Silent operation; Excellent battery life

Expensive as configured; Cramped, clumsy touchpad; No fingerprint reader; Heavy for the screen size; Mediocre computing performance; No USB Type-A ports

There's nothing really quite like HP's new Spectre Folio. For the past few years, the concept of a "laptop" has been constant. There are the traditional, clamshell designs, which are largely derivative of Apple's MacBook Air design.

Unique design and leather finish; Flexible hinge; Great battery life and solid performance

16:9 screen is dated and cramped for productivity work; Speakers are tinny; Trackpad is horrible

The problem with laptops in general is that even the high-end premium ones all tend to look and feel the same after a while. It's clear when a laptop is trying to be a MacBook Pro or an XPS 13 .

An excellent, premium-looking design with a leather outer shell over a metal frame; Good stylus response and excellent battery life

The rotating hinge design is too fiddly for its own good and the dual-core processor is a letdown for this price range; The stylus has nowhere to live, except in an awkward leather loop hanging from the side

I did a lot of comparisons and read many reviews. I am very happy with my purchase. The build quality and feel of the folio is awesome. The leather feels very nice. When flipping to tablet mode, I really like that the keyboard is hidden. Plenty of processing power for me as well. Awesome device!

Note that I purchased tow of these as refurbs on Amazon's Woot site. Having used this for just over a week, I consider it to be one of the best laptops I have owned or used to date. I originally picked one up for my daughter and was so impressed that I bought a second for myself.

There aren't many better-looking laptops around than the HP Spectre Folio. Its leather exterior is more mature than the Dell, more eye-catching than the Microsoft Surface and subtler than the Asus Zenbook.

Luxurious leather design; Superb 1080p screen quality; Responsive in general-purpose apps; Spectacular battery life

Low-power; dual-core CPU; Shallow keyboard; Reasonably expensive

The HP Folio Spectre is a gorgeously-designed convertible laptop that looks – and feels – incredibly premium. That's just as well, really, as the price tag is just as luxurious.

Stunning design; Impressive build quality; Silent; Lovely screen; Stylus included

Very expensive; Speakers aren't great; Battery life isn't as long as promised

Taken at face value the Spectre Folio is an odd device. For its price, it doesn't offer much in the way of performance when compared to rival 2-in-1 and ultraportable laptops.

Very good display; Niche; slick design; Excellent battery life

Trackpad isn't great; Expensive for the spec; Dodgy spacebar on our model

Excellent