NEW Reviews Beta Feedback
HP XT6200
-
Pending
- Avg User Rating
- 0 User Reviews | add yours »
HP XT6200 Review
by Carla Thornton
A well-priced corporate notebook that comes with a good selection of features.

WHAT'S HOT: As the midrange model in HP's line of business notebooks, the Omnibook XT6200 offers corporate users a few more perks than the almost-identical Omnibook XT6050, including an S-Video-out port, dedicated graphics memory, and an optional 15-inch screen (our review model came with a 14.1-inch screen). The XT6200 sports the familiar Omnibook design: a relatively slim case, a modular bay on the front with a push-in-slide-forward release switch, and a 6.9-pound weight (including the 8X DVD-ROM drive and the power adapter). Without the power brick and with a travel module replacing the optical drive, the notebook weighs 5.4 pounds.
The Omnibook XT6200's other warm-swappable bay options--a combination optical drive, an LS-120 SuperDisk drive, a Zip 250 drive, and a second 30GB hard drive--work across HP's Omnibook lines. Our review model came wireless-ready, including a handy on/off button for the antenna with a status LED on the left side of the case. The 802.11b wireless interface costs an extra $102. A good keyboard with a quartet of application shortcut buttons and a touchpad lock top it all off.
WHAT'S NOT: With the Omnibook XT6200, its lower-end sibling the XT6050, and the higher-end Omnibook VT6200, HP has phased out floppy drives as standard equipment; a floppy drive module for the warm-swappable bay costs $80. Although HP offers 24-hour, seven-day tech support, calls are not toll-free.
WHAT ELSE: The Omnibook XT6200 lacks the dual pointing devices provided in the older Omnibook models it replaces, but it has just about everything else most business users will need, and then some. All the usual notebook ports and connections come standard. Parts are easy to access, including the 30GB hard drive, which you can remove but not upgrade (30GB is the largest drive HP offers for this range). A combined toggle and mute button on the right side make it easy to adjust the volume of the stereo speakers, located at the top of the keyboard. HP provides thorough, helpful documentation in both print and electronic form.
The XT6200 introduces Intel's Pentium 4 processor into the Omnibook line, but we didn't notice any improvement in performance: With a PC WorldBench 4 score of 98, it barely outperformed its own little sibling, the 1.13-GHz Pentium III-M-equipped Omnibook XT6050, which earned a score of 96. The battery life was down: It lasted 3 hours on one charge, average for most notebooks but 90 minutes shorter than the XT6050's 4.5-hour run.
UPSHOT: Companies that have standardized on Omnibooks and want the option to have a larger 15-inch screen and an S-Video-out port might jump for this model. Otherwise, they should go with the XT6050, a just-as-fast, nearly identical notebook with a 14.1-inch screen and much better battery life.
|
People who looked at the HP XT6200 also looked at:
Latest Laptops Playing in PCW Video
- Micro Express' JHL9050 Laptop Is Speedy but Not Pretty The Micro Express JHL9050 provides power and performance in spades, but at the expense of design.
- Sony's First Netbook PC Sony's new Vaio W is a netbook powered by Intel's Atom N280 processor.
- How to Buy a Laptop Size, performance, storage options, and keyboard quality are all factors to consider when purchasing a laptop. Let us help you find the laptop that fits your needs.
Latest Laptops News, Reviews, How-To's
-
Dell May Test Google's Chrome OS Dell may consider testing Google's Chrome OS for future products.
-
Google Chrome OS, BlackBerry Tour, and CrunchPad on PC World Podcast 35 Join the editors of PC World for a frank discussion of the week's tech news.
-
Intel Is Working With Google on Chrome OS Intel says it is on board with Google's Chrome OS project.
-
Toshiba Satellite A355D-S6930 The A355D packs a nice screen, good speakers, and a price tag that's easy on the wallet, but it suffers from poor performance and a sluggish user experience.
-
Google Chrome OS Will Reshape Desktop Landscape The Google Chrome operating system will make serious waves in the desktop space. Here is how.




