HP Mini 210-1030NR 10.1-Inch Black Netbook - 9.75 Hours of Battery Life Reviews
HP Mini 210-1030NR 10.1-Inch Black Netbook - 9.75 Hours of Battery Life Reviews
Other products by Hewlett Packard Ratting 3.5 Out of 5.0 Special Offer Total New 22 Total Use 0
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Prepare to be noticed when you take this Netbook out on the town. Small, slim and stylish, the HP Mini 210 lets you surf the web, stay connected, and be entertained wherever you go. Amp up the fun by playing videos and music or showing off your photos. Exclusive, integrated software keeps you in sync with your life by letting you e-mail, chat, and instantly access your files from anywhere. Take just what you need And leave the rest on your primary PC. At less than one inch thin and starting at just 2.69 pounds, this ultra-compact PC won’t weigh you down. You’ll enjoy a 16:9 10.1" diagonal BrightView Infinity display and nearly full-size keyboard.
Technical Details
- Intel Atom Processor N450 (1.66 GHz, 512 KB L2 Cache)- 1GB DDR2 System Memory (1 DIMM)
- 160GB (5400RPM) Hard Drive (SATA)
- Genuine Windows 7 Starter, * Up to 9.75 Hours of Battery Life
- 10.1¿ Diagonal WSVGA LED Anti-glare Widescreen Display (1024 x 600)
- Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 3150 (shared) with up to 256MB Total Available Graphics Memory
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By Sandra J. Twait (Tampa)
we wanted a small computer to travel with to get emails....we are pleased...it was recommended by our daughter when she had to purchase one quickly to work on when her personal work computer went on the blink and had to be repaired...it did the job
By J. Wilson (USA)
First of all, this is a decent computer that will allow you to view video content, listen to music, do some word processing, read and send email, etc. Fine. It does all of that well. HOWEVER, due to a wimpy amount of RAM and a weak processor, it frequently CRASHES when I'm using Skype. It just can't handle it.
Other issues: There is NO WAY it has 9.75 hours of battery life. Maybe with the lid closed.
Also, the data transfer software for transferring files from your main PC to this one was IMPOSSIBLE to use, and I use computers a lot. I just could NOT figure out how to make it work, and I searched all over the Internet for advice. That is, the manual that comes with this unit SUCKS. It tells you virtually nothing.
Furthermore, online support is also virtually useless, so if you have a problem with this unit, you'll be talking to a person in India, which I've done about 4 times regarding the crashing problem. One guy claimed it was my Avast antivirus program that was incompatible with Windows 7 (I found out on the Windows 7 website, afterward, that in fact Avast IS listed as compatible). This tech talked me into buying McAfee from him (at an inflated price...what was I thinking?), which I returned after my discovery. Probably just lying for cash as he'd been instructed by his boss. Nonetheless, I was pissed, and I had to pay for shipping.
Other issues:
1. This computer gets HOT on the bottom, and has no vents there, only one on the left side.
2. The battery jiggles, as it has an imperfect fit. This is actually rather annoying.
3. You cannot open up the screen more than about 75 degrees, so it won't open flat or anywhere near it. Sometimes, due to my viewing angle, I can't open it wide enough to see the screen as clearly as it could be. Annoying.
Overall, it works great as a second computer, which I keep on my coffee table in the living room. Fine. I browse the Internet with it for hours, listen to all of my music files, read and send email, check bank balances, etc. I watch Hulu videos with it, I download content with it at acceptable speeds, etc. The screen resolution is great, and the keyboard is actually excellent for a netbook--way better than other models. Just know that it's not a workhorse, like all netbooks, so it has limited multitasking capability, and if you overload it, apparently it'll just crash on you.
By dana
Before i start, i should say something about the rating i gave: If i were to rate this computer absolutely, as if in a vacuum, i would give it 3 or maybe even 2 stars. But i want to be fair and compare this to other netbooks, not to a full lap-top or my iMac or whatever. So we'll say 4 stars -- good as far as netbooks go.
One additional disclaimer: I actually got the Mini 210 HD, not the Mini 210. This is essentially the same machine, but the HD has a better screen with a higher resolution and viewing angle (and the option for an HD video decoder). So i'll try not to comment too much on the screen, since that would make the review inaccurate.
Anyway. Let's start with the GOOD things:
1. Aesthetically, the lap-top is gorgeous. Most netbooks i've seen (especially the eeePC) are hideous, but this one looks fantastic. The keyboard is beautiful, the shape is nice, the materials are nice, everything looks great.
2. Aesthetics aside, i like the keyboard. I'm not sure why other reviewers don't, because i find it very nice for a netbook, or a lap-top in general. It's got 'island' keys (similar to a Macbook's), which are my favourite kind. These aren't as good as Apple's, but it's a netbook, it's made to be inexpensive. I only have one problem with it (see bad things below).
3. Almost all netbooks really have the same hardware inside -- same CPU, GPU, &c. -- so this isn't different from any other netbook of the same generation. But just in case you need confirmation: It's what you'd expect. You can watch YouTube and play medium-range games, you get Aero in Win7, &c., but HD video is going to be more of a struggle, and higher-range games are out of the question.
In case you're wondering, the 'Windows Experience Index' scores for this netbook (with the factory hardware) are as follows:
Processor: 2.3
Memory: 4.5
Graphics: 2.9
Gaming graphics: 3.0
Hard disk: 5.3
4. The internals are easy to get to and it WON'T void your warranty to upgrade your RAM, unlike with the Dell Mini. The entire back of the machine comes off, so you can easily access the memory, card slot, &c.
5. Sound quality is pretty OK for a computer in this price range.
6. Battery life is great, and the extended battery (if you get it) isn't too bulky or ugly.
Now the BAD:
1. HP support is terrible, as it always is with any Windows PC manufacturer. If you have any issue that isn't very obviously a hardware problem, you are going to have trouble getting anything resolved, because HP will tell you that it's Microsoft's fault, and Microsoft (if they even talk to you) will tell you it's HP's fault, and so on for ever. Additionally, their support forum is terrible compared to Apple's (and that's saying something, because Apple's isn't even that great).
2. Related to the above: HP's Web site is god-awful. For example, i wanted to find the drivers for my computer, but it wants an exact model of HP Mini 210 (of which there are literally DOZENS). I looked everywhere -- in the box, in the manual, on the packing slip, under the battery, &c. -- and there is not a single model number anywhere on any of my documentation. The site had a 'how do i find my model number?' page, but of course it only lists Pavilions and printers, so it was completely unhelpful. What an idiotic system. I ended up using my product number, which was also difficult to find, but it ultimately worked.
3. The reason i've come to know the above is that my brightness controls don't work in Windows 7. They worked in Linux, and i think they worked in XP (which is what the machine comes with), but despite having all the correct drivers installed i get full brightness all the time. This is incredibly irritating and so far i have not been able to get a solution. I think it's an ACPI driver problem.
4. Although the keyboard is generally pretty nice, i have found after 2 or 3 months of use that the space bar squeaks a bit on my usual space-bar-hitting side (the right). I'm not sure if this is my fault somehow or if the keyboard is poorly designed, but it's somewhat irritating.
5. The touch pad is usable, but not great. It doesn't have physical buttons, which would be fine, but the Synaptics options for this model are horrible and don't let you use gestures for anything useful (why can i use three-finger tap to launch Notepad, of all things, but not to produce a middle-click?). Also i hate the implementation of two-finger scrolling on touch pads in Windows, but i guess that's kind of a Windows/Synaptics issue.
6. I said i would try not to mention the screen, but the following applies to both the HD and the normal Mini 210: The viewing angle on this is TERRIBLE. I mean, it stays readable for the most part (unless you tilt it up), but even the SLIGHTEST movement will cause the entire screen to change colours wildly. Obviously you shouldn't be using a netbook for graphics design or anything, but it's irritating even in normal usage. I assume this is the same for most netbooks though.
7. Unlike the Dell Mini 10v, this machine won't run OS X very well. It does run, but many things don't work, including wireless and graphics.
Overall, as a netbook, it's good. I would recommend it to anyone who wants a Linux or a Windows netbook. I wish Apple made a (real) netbook though, i def would have got that instead. :/
By Gail F. (California, USA)
I checked out different Netbooks before settling on the HP 210. It does everything that is said it would, quick on, quick off, you can watch both Hulu and Netflix movies on it, it's great!
By Will (Ithaca, NY)
Not only is this a very good looking device, it has a great keyboard for a machine this size. I had nearly no difficulty switching from my full-size keyboard.
In case you're wondering about Linux support: I swapped my drive from my laptop with Ubuntu 9.10 (64bit) in the mini 210 and it just worked. No installation, no configuration. The only two minor issues are that you have to enable a restricted driver for the Broadcom wireless device and need a small hack to make the touchpad work. This minor annoyance will likely be resolved in the distributions quickly enough.
I'm using it with an Intel X25-M SSD and wholeheartedly recommend that, if you're willing to pay for it. The computer is extremely quiet and quite snappy (for a netbook).
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