HP Mini 5101

HP pioneered the notion of transforming a netbook into a corporate raider. The idea seems like a budget-conscious no-brainer now, but 18 months ago the HP Mini 2133 was a wolf pack of one. Since then, the netbook market has evolved–and so have HP’s entries in it. The Mini 5101 is a smart update, with slickly styled lines, a batch of business-ready apps, and finally a serviceable touchpad.

The gunmetal black magnesium alloy casing on the Mini 5101 stands in stark contrast to the shiny, silvery sloped exteriors of previous Minis. The unit measures 10.3 inches by 7.1 inches by 0.9 inch and weighs about 2.6 pounds, making it an ideal traveling companion.

Two other big changes await you beneath the lid. First, the flat, wide keys of earlier HP Mini models are gone, replaced by cut-out keys that float like tiny, springy islands amidst a sea of black plastic (the keyboard configuration resembles that of the HP Probook 4510s). The coated, 95-percent-of-full-size keys are textured enough to permit comfortable typing (abetted by the rubberized textures around the wrist pad), and they don’t smudge easily. Camping atop the keyboard are two lit-up quick-launch buttons and the power button.

The second major change: HP moved the mouse buttons from their old location flanking the touchpad to a position below it. That may not seem like a big deal, until you cut and paste documents for a while. HP was the only netbook maker that hadn’t dropped the older style (presumably because the company’s designers needed so much room for the huge keyboards on their netbooks). The mouse buttons feel great, too: firm and rubbery-textured. If the touchpad were a little larger, the input system would be perfect. (The Toshiba NB205-310 has shown everyone how a netbook touchpad should be designed.)

Under the hood, beyond the 1GB (upgradable to 2GB) of RAM and the 1.6GHz Intel Atom N280 CPU, lie a couple of tasty tidbits. First, the default hard drives spin at 7200 rpm (or you can upgrade to solid-state drives). As a result, our test machine scored a 35 in PC WorldBench 6. That falls right in the average zone for performance. I think part of the reason it didn’t fare as well is the battery life. you see, while HP claims its six-cell battery will last 9 hours, the 5101 fell just short of 6. Not bad, but with machines like the NB205-310 lasting almost 10 hours, the 5101 just can’t hang in as long.

The default Mini 5101 screen uses a 1024-by-600-pixel, 10.1-inch LCD panel, but for just $25 more you can upgrade 1366-by-768-pixel, 10.1-inch screen. Images on the latter looked razor-sharp, though the fonts and icons seemed almost microscopic. The resolution is certainly precise enough for viewing high-definition content onscreen. Some 720p test video took a second or two to start, but looked immaculate once in motion. And the colors, though a little muted, popped with enough clarity that we could make out inky shadows in dark corners.

The Mini 5101 handles audio through front-firing speakers. Though a little tinny, they have enough gusto that you won’t mind listening (for a while) without headphones. The remaining I/O ports consist of a VGA-out, three USB ports, an SD card slot, headphone and mic jacks, an ethernet jack, and a 2-megapixel Webcam.

HP has gathered a fairly robust collection of business-friendly hardware and software features for the Mini 5101. One of the three USB ports is a pass-through charger, which lets you charge gear while your netbook is powered off. HP Fast Charge reloads the standard battery to 90 percent of capacity within 90 minutes. The company’s 3D DriveGuard accelerometer protects the hard drive. Security tools enable you to scrub data from prying eyes. HP also throws in Corel Home Office suite, which includes word processing, spreadsheets, and presentation apps.

So how much would you pay for this machine? The Mini 5101 starts at $399 and maxes out at $599. As the price goes up, HP stacks on larger hard-disk (or solid-state) drives and more RAM. HP has succeeded in delivering a smarter netbook, but it doesn’t take top honors in battery life just yet.