is it easy to tell if one of these is the new Haswell version?
ie, if i was to buy one how could i make sure it was the newer haswell version and not the older version?
Make sure it's one of the ones that come in different colors, like white, turquoise, or coral. Those all have the Haswell processor (Celeron 2955U). The older HP 14 is called a Pavilion 14, and has the older Celeron 847, and only comes in black.