With its rounded corners and aluminium chassis, the HP Elitebook 840 G1 is one of the most attractive business laptops we've ever reviewed. At 21mm thick and with a 1.58Kg weight, the Elitebook is both light and easy to carry. The Elitebook 840 G1 is more than a pretty face, though.

I build computers. I have since very young, and have always been a desktop person. Over the years of a growing family, laptops have become more practical for us and I am very technical in general. This laptop is very good for the money (but I only paid $500 on a black Friday deal from Newegg).

This thing has an incredible battery life; Able to do lots of gaming, though this is not a "gaming laptop"; Probably won't handle the new high-end games, but I have played S.T.A.L.K.E.R Clear Sky, on Medium res settings..; no problem; I have also played F.E.A.R; 2, on higher res no problem.

The back-lit keyboard is really great for working in the dark; Perhaps I should list this in the cons, and may I will, but the only thing I don't like is it only lights up when you press a key..; for about 3 seconds (and continues to stay lit as you continue to press keys).

It is not always easy to find the perfect compromise between tradition and modernity – but HP did just that with the EliteBook 840 G1 . The predecessor was a heavy and bulky working device, but the new version makes a huge jump forwards in terms of mobility.

Sturdy chassis; Good build quality; Excellent input devices; Bright display; High application performance; Easy maintenance; Integrated UMTS/HSPA+ module; The bulky EliteBooks of the past are gone – the very mobile 840 G1 fits perfectly into this modern Ultrabook era

TN panel with limited viewing angles; Mediocre 0.9 MP webcam; Card reader hard to reach; High price; Especially small details should be improved by the manufacturer: A better webcam and a Thunderbolt port would be nice for the successor.

HP makes great mobile laptops and notebooks. To me, this is the go-to brand and type of product that has all the required specifications of value, robustness, design, long-lasting and overall options and capabilities. I have computers from all the top well-known brands.

Despite pushing into markets outside of its traditional PC base, HP's still got a strong track record of creating great work laptops and desktops. The EliteBook 840 G1 is a continuation of this legacy, being yet another unashamedly business-focused ultrabook .

Robustly built; solid security services; Haswell

Slightly chunky; battery life isn't as good as HP claims

It's a shame that the EliteBook doesn't include a solid-state drive that can really make the most of its powerful processor and GPU, but this is still a well-designed and versatile laptop that will appeal to many business users.

Beware that when I first received this laptop, it was.... slow. The laptop literally took full 2 minutes every time to boot up, and everything else seemed very laggy. After a couple of days, it got better so it might have been partly because of program installations.

For some reason this is classed as a business product. For that reason I am told it comes with Windows 7 Pro but also Windows 8 upgrade ready on the unit at no extra cost so you can choose. I was sent the non-touch version.

The HP EliteBook 840 G1 business laptop provides an outstanding keyboard and touch pad, long battery life, and a VGA port in a sleek, affordable package. Just be prepared to accept some compromises.

Affordable; Attractive design; Excellent keyboard and touch pad; VGA port included; Long battery life

1,366x768 non-touch screen; Tinny audio; No audio control software; Poor Webcam quality

The HP EliteBook 840 G1 is well-designed and versatile laptop with a powerful processor, GPU and high-quality display.