After experiencing the “try” series of tablets and notebooks, I finally surpassed the appearance of the two-in-one ultrabook. From a mechanical engineer’s point of view, over time, more moving parts always mean more parts will fail, and I only need a 2-in-1 laptop to prove this theory. This brings me back to looking for a vanilla ultrabook that is portable, durable, anti-glare non-touch screen, and excellent keyboard and touchpad.
At that time, I met the Melbourne-based laptop manufacturer: Venom. This is a detour to the home laptop brand, but there is also a company that promises to put customer-centric products together instead of being dragged down by market trends and brand baggage. Can Venom BlackBook Zero 14 Phantom fulfill this promise? Let’s dive into it and find out.
Humble elastic structure
What do snakes and ghosts have in common? They are difficult to kill and difficult to find. The name of the BlackBook Zero 14 Phantom contains the words “phantom” and “venom” at the same time. It is worthy of the name. Its solid CNC machined magnesium alloy monolithic body is wrapped in a satin black finish. The coating looks particularly thick and tough, which shows that the Ultrabook is very wear-resistant. How this coating responds to daily wear and tear will be something I will pay special attention to in the follow-up long-term review.
The overall appearance is minimalist, the lid is mainly composed of right angles, the front of the base has some chamfers to make room for the speaker, and the simple circular hinge highlights a touch of brass. The appearance of the BlackBook Zero 14 Phantom is obviously without vents, because they are completely hidden in the hinge, adding a tough aesthetic.
Although the BlackBook Zero 14 Phantom has a slim body with a thickness of 16 mm (0.62 inches) and a weight of 960 grams (2.1 lbs), its lid and body have almost no bending. The ultra-portable body feels sturdy and reliable.
One of the small details that Venom is obviously paying attention to is the location of its rubber bracket. The trapezoidal rubber pads on the screen that prevent the screen from touching the keyboard are well integrated into the overall design, rather than being added after the fact.
Use the keyboard and touchpad correctly
For me, the most important function of a laptop is actually its keyboard. As mentioned in the introduction, this is the difference between an ultrabook and a tablet-a tablet may have an excellent display and stylish design, but it will never have a keyboard as good as a laptop. What surprises me is that the input effect of the BlackBook Zero 14 Phantom keyboard is so good.
Zero 14 Phantom’s keyboard feel, key travel and key position are very good, reminds me of the typing experience on the classic ThinkPad-arguably the best in the industry so far. Every keystroke has a “crunchy” feeling, typing is very enjoyable, and provides more tactility than Logitech’s flagship MX Keys that I use every day.
The keys are slightly smaller than the full-size keyboard, but due to the reasonable placement of the keys, my fingers quickly got used to it, and I quickly made typing errors. Perhaps the biggest sacrifice is the arrow keys, which must be scaled down to adapt, and it takes a while to adapt.
The touchpad is another thing that BlackBook Zero 14 Phantom is correct. Equipped with Microsoft Precision, there is no obvious delay, real-time detection of multiple gestures, and smooth response to two-finger scrolling.
No compromise on port selection
Because of the aesthetic-driven design after the MacBook, many Ultrabook designs resort to reducing port selection in an attempt to simplify the side design of the notebook. But the stylish design comes at the expense of user convenience, leading to the need for dongles and hubs.
However, BlackBook Zero 14 Phantom retains commonly used ports to improve work efficiency, without any type of dongle. It provides a classic full-size USB 3.2 (Type A) port on each side and a full-size HDMI output on the left. In order to extend some of the extended functions of this ultrabook, it also has a USB-C Thunderbolt 4.0, which has Power Delivery (which can be charged via an active docking station) and DisplayPort for external displays. It even includes a MicroSD card reader to easily download/upload media to mobile devices.
True all-day battery life and dual adapters
I am more interested in real-life situations, rather than battery ratings on paper. With a fully charged BlackBook Zero 14 Phantom, I was able to use it for 7 hours, including 4 hours of Zoom calls using Razer Kiyo Pro and Samson’s USB condenser microphone. This gives me confidence that by reducing the arduous use, I will be able to comfortably get a full day of battery life from the Zero 14 Phantom.
For those on serious business trips that may require more than 24 hours of travel time, the good news is that BlackBook does not include one, but two out-of-the-box adapters. So you can take one with you and keep the other in your home or office. The adapter is easy to carry, and it is not heavy to carry around.
Customized software for full hardware control
Venom runs its own software that allows direct adjustment of its fan/CPU strength, allowing users to determine the balance between processing power and fan strength. You can directly control the fan, or you can choose one of four profiles: quiet, performance, entertainment or energy saving.
Software is not a gimmick at all. The change in the intensity of the fan using the software is immediate, and the change in processing power is also obvious. For example, 4K videos on YouTube will freeze in quiet mode and there is no problem in performance mode. The mode the laptop is in has a significant impact on fan noise and battery life, but the advantage of this software is that the user has complete control over important things.
Final verdict
Although not a major laptop brand, Venom BlackBook Zero 14 Phantom managed to become a laptop that can handle many things correctly. It may actually be because Venom is not one of the professions, it feels like a wish-fulfiller of laptop consumers.
Because of its excellent keyboard, sturdy and compact structure, reserved useful ports and custom software for hardware control, we recommend the Venom BlackBook Zero 14 Phantom and award it the IBTimes recommendation badge.
Check out the BlackBook Zero 14 Phantom on Venom Official website.
Sam is a technical writer who has turned from a production engineer to a technical writer. He specializes in finding gadgets that can improve work efficiency while maintaining sharpness. This is a contribution to the ongoing IBTimes business traveler gadget review series.
