This is one of the few PCs that has thunderbolt support and why I bought it.  However, it doesn't seem to work with any thunderbolt devices. In theory and according to HP level 1 support, it *should* work with everything on the thunderbolt certified list (https://thunderbolttechnology.net/products)  It does not.  I just bought two Spectre XT touchsmart PCs.  The thunderbolt port on it is worthless.  After many calls with HP they admitted there are major compatibility issues.  It doesn't work with the apple thunderbolt display despite that every other PC seems to and other users have reported problems with thunderbolt hard drives having similar issues.  http://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Notebook-Operating-Systems-e-g-Windows-8-and-Software/Apple-Thunderbolt-display-with-Spectre-XT-TouchSmart/m-p/2465647/highlight/true#M129511

 Good review, but your information is out of date, hp equips this laptop only with core i7   3517 processor which is way faster than i5 3317, plus notebook supports dual channel RAM memory and you can upgrade it to 8GB, so I guess users will not have any issues with system performance.

What about the newly added ASUS Zenbook U500VZ Touch, which is a 15" ultrabook with a touch monitor? How does that one compare?

Thanks for the perceptive review of an interesting class of thin & light 15"
but 3 queries:
a) how is it you measure higher noise in idle than under medium load ?
b) I would have thought Connectivity would rate higher than 77% with Thunderbolt
c) You speculate the lcd may be cause of the high dissipation for a ULV - any reason ? ... Interesting to know if the rare Thunderbolt chip adds much to the dissipation ?

Thanks for the perceptive review of an interesting class of thin & light 15"
but 3 queries:
a) how is it you measure higher noise in idle than under medium load ?
b) I would have thought Connectivity would rate higher than 77% with Thunderbolt
c) You speculate the lcd may be cause of the high dissipation for a ULV - any reason ? ... Interesting to know if the rare Thunderbolt chip adds much to the dissipation ?

Full-HD screen
Win8 Touch
under 33cm width (to fit nicely into a medium sized rucksack) - the 15 inchers dont fit.
under 2 kilos
backlit keyboard
SSD (even if small) + micro-SD slot
3G (with easily replaceable SIM Card)
"fast web" access and media player(ie without Windows 8, to conserve battery and no fan)
quiet fan, if at all...
HDMI socket
under 1,000 euros
I buy NOW.