My first impression of this laptop is its big size. I’m used to running a netbook, in terms of mobile pc. Examining the layout closely, the screen isn’t the perpetrator here- the speaker adds roughly 2 inches to the width. Although this is easily forgiven once I heard the sound quality, which is similar to an HDTV’s. This may make the laptop slightly bigger than regular 16in notebooks, but for an “entertainment”-advertised laptop, it was necessary.

I’m happy it has an eSATA port because this allowed me to couple my internal hard drives with a hard drive docking station (Thermaltake BlacX). Really helpful for storage and backups. The USB3.0 is a great addition as well. Makes it a bit more future-proof. As for the touchpad, my netbook had the same exact touchpad and I always turned it off because I was not a fan of it. Nothing beats a mouse!

Battery life depends on 4 settings through a power-managing software called Power4Gear. At “High Performance” setting, no power saving option is on and the battery life drains within 2 hours. The more balanced “Entertainment” setting, lasts 3 hours. With the power option set to “Quiet Office”, the battery life lasts 4 hours. Lastly, the”Battery Saving” mode increases the battery life even longer. What it does is it disables your wallpaper, gadgets, autohides the taskbar, lowers brightness to 20% and sets every setting to maximum power savings. Of course the realtime battery life will be ultimately affected by what task you are doing.

In terms of performance, this thing packs a wallop! It will not beat a same-priced desktop, but what’s important is portability. It’s a great purchase for the performance. Although keep reading to learn about the current GPU driver as a caveat emptor. Another warning: I believe this was first advertised as having bluetooth. I can confirm that it does not. While this is not a deal breaker, I feel it should have been included being an entertainment laptop. Some of the pre-installed softwares are helpful, like the Power4Gear battery managing software and the Splendid Utility which enhances the screen’s color/contrast/brightness settings with preset modes. The Cyberlink TrueTheater HD software is amazing. I popped in my “LotR: Fellowship of the Ring” DVD and with the smoothest playback settings (60FPS) and sharpest modes, it seemed like a whole new movie. I do not own a bluray player so I’m not used to this type of quality, but yes, it is better than any YouTube 1080p HD trailers or any HD channels I’ve seen.

Graphic Card Tests (Gaming):
All games were tested on the Geforce GT325m (Optimus driver version 189.07), running at 1366×768 native resolution, full screen, and with FRAPS frame counter benchmark. I wanted to keep it at native resolution to show the highest resolution capability of this GPU. Lowering resolution and some graphical settings will unquestionably increase the frame rates, but playing graphically-lush games is always a delight.

Batman Arkham Asylum: (Fight sequence VS 5 inmates at start of game)
Settings: VSync Off, Hardware PhysX Off, Detail level: Very High, 2xAnti-aliasing
Min FPS: 25, Avg FPS: 33 Max FPS : 50
Verdict: Smooth gameplay, lag-free.
–
Call of Duty 4 - Modern Warfare 2 : (Single Player: Heavy gun fight on “Act II: Hornet’s Nest” level)
Settings: VSync On, All Graphic Settings On, All Textures set to Extra, 4xAnti-aliasing
Min FPS 30, Avg FPS 35, Max FPS 60 (Remember VSync caps this at screen’s refresh rate, which is 60 in this case)
Verdict: Very playable considering it’s at max in-game settings. Will experience some tiny lag spikes, which I also experienced on my desktop PC which has better specs than this laptop, so it must be the game.
–
Mass Effect 2: (Gun fights on mission to recruit Prof. Mordin)
Settings: VSync On, All graphic settings on except for Film Grain, 4xAnti-aliasing, 8xAnisotropic Filtering
Min FPS 24, Avg FPS 38, Max FPS 49
Verdict : Smooth gameplay. Some random lags but does not ruin the experience.
–
Crysis: (From game start all the way to “First Light” gun fights)
Test 1: VSync Off, Everything to Medium, No AA
Min FPS 19, Avg FPS 26, Max FPS 34
Verdict : Smooth gameplay, lag free even if the FPS results seem low. Graphic texture pop-ins on some of the vegetation, especially when using “maximum speed” boost.

Test 2: VSync Off, All graphic settings to medium, except for Texture and Shader at High. 2xAnti-Aliasing .
Min FPS 13, Avg FPS 16, Max FPS 20
Verdict : Clunky gameplay. With these settings, the texture looked sharper and much easier on the eyes, and while there are no dramatic lag spikes that will get you killed easily (it’s a steady 15-16 frames on gun fights), the slow gameplay is quite noticeable.

Test 3: VSync Off, Everything to High except Shader to Medium, No AA
Min FPS 14, Avg FPS 22, Max FPS 29
Verdict : Smooth gameplay, but sometimes has that laggy feel to it. No jittering lag. Pretty impressive for the High setting- I guess Shader is what really stresses the framerates.
–
World of Warcraft: VSync off, Effects at Medium-High, Window Mode + Maximized option to properly scale the resolution
Test 1: Riding mount around Dalaran’s North Bank steps with ~30 toons around me.
Min FPS 22, Avg FPS 33, Max FPS 39
Verdict: No lag

Test 2: Outside Dalaran, flying epic flight
Min 50, Avg 85, Max 150
Verdict: No lag

In instances, the gameplay is very smooth. Depending on the instance, some will be over 100FPS whereas the newer ones + raids, will be in the low 50s.
–
6008 pts in 3DMark06
–
10594 pts in 3DMark05
–

CONS:
Note: This part of the review will only be valid until Nvidia releases the proper Forceware drivers for the laptop’s GPU. The GT 325m series is relatively new; NVidia has one official release for it on their website: Optimus Driver 189.07. This driver is not bad. As shown by the benchmarks, 3D gaming works well. But here’s where things tend to get annoying: the Nvidia GPU, with its current drivers, rely on the Intel integrated graphics to handle screen scaling. Meaning if you connect this to a larger monitor, in my case an Acer 21.5″ 1080P native res widescreen LCD, scaling works well when the GPU running is the Intel IGP, but when you switch to games, you are forced to use the 1080p resolution through the in-game settings, which will be taxing on the framerates. I know the native resolution of the laptop does not match the monitor’s, but with the “normal” geforce drivers, scaling to fit the screen works well and allows the laptop’s native res to stretch the image onto the monitor. My ASUS 1201n netbook does this easily through it’s Nvidia Control Panel, with the same native res as this laptop. I hope NVidia releases this capability with the next driver update.

I still do not trust the current Nvidia driver for this GPU just yet. Once it is properly optimized and up to date, the fps will increase. I’ll update this entry if the graphic drivers are updated through NVidia or some modding website.

NVidia Optimus: This technology sounds great but I’m having a little problem with it. See, when my laptop is plugged in, the Optimus technology works just fine: the intel switches to the nvidia GPU when loading a 3D game. But when I load a 3D game while this laptop is unplugged (regardless whether battery is full or low charge), the GPU does NOT switch. It stays on the Intel GPU and I get low framerates. This problem occurs even if I use “High Performance” mode on the power settings, even if my preferred GPU is NVidia, even if I assign the game profile to load with Nvidia GPU, even if I right click and “run with graphics processor: High performance Nvidia processor”. I do notice that if I suddenly plug the laptop to the outlet, the frames will go up fast again (as if the Nvidia GPU was suddenly turned on). There needs to be a better software-based of forcing the GPU on since the NV Control Panel is faulty at this point. Isn’t the whole point of Optimus to provide performance when necessary and lengthen battery life, when available? Here is NVidia’s claim: “Watch a HD movie, surf the web or play top 3D games knowing that you’ll get the long battery life you need and the performance you expect from NVIDIA.” This technology should work even on battery, as stated there. I would like to know if this is just my laptop doing this- comment if you can help.

Update 1: there is a fix that works. Make sure your HDMI is in digital mode and not analog. This allows your monitor to do the scaling. Although, if you only have analog mode for HDMI, you can try using a DVI to HDMI cable. Or just wait for Nvidia to update the driver and you won’t have to go through all this.

Update 2: March 15, 2010. Well it seems that Nvidia actually listened. I opened a technical ticket on their website and though I can’t take credit for them actually solving this, I can tell you that they have put up a solution. New Optimus drivers are out on their website: version 189.42. The highlights of this release is eerily accurate to the issues I was having with my N61JV. It fixes the incompatibilities with the Intel IGP driver and corrects the Optimus Profile system. The sad news is I have already returned my N61JV almost 2 weeks before the release of this driver so I cannot personally test its reliability. I have since gotten a replacement laptop (Gateway NV5925u) or I would have loved to test this out.

Update 3: April 29, 2010. Another GPU driver is released on the Nvidia website: Driver 189.79. Although the main highlight is, “This is an Optimus driver update that fixes an issue with the beta release of StarCraft II.”

Hope this review helped those who may be thinking of buying this notebook!

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In any case, if you are considering a netbook, and you actually KNOW WHAT A NETBOOK IS, and what it should be used for, you will be happy with this netbook. I have owned it for several days now and I am loving it. Here are some of my thoughts on the subject:

1. The keyboard:
It is great. I have not yet sat down to serious long hours of typing. I will though, as this netbook will be my main tool for finishing my thesis and eventually writing my dissertation. For the page or so I have written on it, it has been extremely comfortable. I have found in the past that I can adjust pretty well to typing on weird keyboards. I had a first gen EeePC and I was able to get used to that horrible thing. This keyboard, however, required no adjustment. I was typing pretty easily from the beginning.

2. The screen size:
Works for me. It is a little cramped on certain websites, but a quick F11 to make the browser full-screen seems to usually do the trick.

3. The speed:
Here, and on point 4 (OS), is where my review may not be helpful to all readers. I immediately purchased the crucial 2GB memory upgrade. It actually arrived before my netbook did. I started up the machine right out of the box and ran through the first time setup before shutting down and installing the RAM, though. Everything seemed to be decently responsive. Nevertheless, people concerned with speed should read the next portion of my review where I talk about…

4. The operating system:
Windows 7 Starter seemed to work fine. Since, however, I am a grad student and get somewhat of a discount on Microsoft products, I opted to upgrade to Windows 7 Professional pretty soon after purchase. I have to say, I did not notice a huge leap in speed going from 1GB to 2GB of RAM on Windows 7 Starter. Yet when I upgraded to Windows 7 Pro, there was a noticeable overall improvement in the performance of the machine. I cannot explain this, as I am pretty sure that Windows 7 Starter has the same architecture as Windows 7 Pro. If anything, you would think the stripped-down Windows 7 Starter would be designed to operate efficiently within the limited resources of a netbook. In any case, I am not knocking Windows 7 Starter– it is the standard for netbooks– and it seemed to work fine. I just noticed an improvement when I upgraded.

5. other software stuff and notes
I also installed MS Office 2007 Pro from the web with no problems. That and web browsing are going to be my main uses for this netbook. I have yet to attempt an install of Adobe Acrobat Pro from an external DVD drive, but I will soon (the external drive is old, from my first-gen EeePC, so I hope it works). I have watched a lot of streaming Netflix content on this without any significant problems. I think that is a pretty good measure of the machine.

6. Battery
The battery life is amazing. I am reasonably sure it doesn’t quite live up to the ideal 11 hours under my normal usage. Still, the battery lasts so long I don’t even really know what to do. I am used to having to set a routine to charge my gadgets, like plugging in my iPhone before I go to bed, etc. This machine, however, has so much battery life left that it is actually confusing me. I am guessing for my usage, I’ll be charging it every 1.5 to 2 days.

7. Speakers or The Worst Part of This Netbook
Everyone has said it on here and I will repeat it. These speakers are pretty miserable. Not even just the speakers, but the maximum volume level as well. I knew it going in, so I cannot complain too much. I am able to watch Netflix stuff at night lying in bed, but only just. I am sure if there was any background noise (a fan, etc.) it would not cut it. The key though, is that this is a netbook. The combined forces of physical constraints (size and weight) and pricepoint make anything more substantial than these speakers nearly impossible. My advice is to get a good set of headphones, and also perhaps a nice compact set of speakers. I have a folding JBL On Tour speaker unit that is amazing for its size. I actually use it for most of my television watching on a regular basis.

8. Aesthetic appeal
I find this netbook quite beautiful. Though it is listed as “Java Brown” I do not think that is an accurate color name. I would have been totally happy with “java brown,” but the color of this netbook is more metallic. It is more like a burnished deep copper or bronze color on the outside, with closely spaced diagonal lines etched into it. When opened, the deep copper color which surrounds the screen is more glossy and the diagonal lines are a pattern of slightly lighter color, not etched. Very nice overall. It also just feels sturdily built.

In sum, I am very satisfied with this netbook. I hope my review helps!

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Feel free to ask me anything you are curious about.
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- I’m running Windows 7 Starter and I’m strongly resisting paying for an upgrade.
- I’m still waiting for my 2 gig RAM to arrive (grumble).
- I haven’t purchased an external DVD drive yet.
- I am not a power user. Office, Acrobat, & a browser constitute about 90% of my program usage.
- It’s not always possible (at least for me) to distinguish between device issues and OS issues. They do work together, so I haven’t shied away from making comments that may relate as much to Win 7 SE as to the Aspire 1.

Pluses:
- Size & weight are perfect for me; not at all too heavy or large to carry with great ease, but big enough to work with comfortably.

- I love the keyboard; the smaller size is easy for me to type on and the feel of the keys is perfect.

- Start-up and shut-down are quick. (Oddly, my machine takes longer to start-up from hibernation than from just being off. Sleep is fast.)

- Nice-looking, IMO. Fingerprints aren’t too noticeable, and can easily be wiped off with a soft rag.

- Computer & power converter stay nice & cool.

- Very easy to connect to new networks. (I’ve connected to our locked home network, a locked coffeeshop network, and a library network so far.)

- I’m running Office 2010 Beta instead of the trial version of Office 2007 or MS Works. Even with 1 gb RAM, the Acer is not slowed at all by Office 2010, and I’ve had no problems at all. An aside: even though I’m not usually fond of learning new versions of software, I like Office 2010 very much & prefer it to Office 2007.

- You Tube, Netflix, & Hulu run just fine. The only online image issue that I’ve found so far is that Yahoo mail prefers a higher resolution screen. I went back to Yahoo Classic, which I prefer anyway. All of my photographs except one look fine (not ultra-sharp but quite good), and the one just has a re-sizing problem. The resolution on this netbook is not adequate for serious photo-editing, but it’s fine for an amateur like me to play with. It would also probably be useful for a photographer who just wants a place to dump, sort, & view a ton of photos without having to haul around a heavy, expensive laptop all of the time.

Cons:
- Comes with Win 7 SE instead of Home Premium. This issue has been flogged to death elsewhere.

- Though I’m getting used to the touchpad, it really is too small. I’m not sure why since there’s plenty of space to make it wider, but there you are. I find that I sometimes have to touch (jab) hard to get it to work. The scrolling is pretty poor to, IMHO.

- The button for clicking is quite stiff, at least on my machine. It’s difficult enough to use that it slows me down and is a psin. Hopefully I’ll get more comfortable with it, but it shouldn’t be this way.

- I’m getting about 2 hours of battery life surfing the web, using Word, and looking at pictures (not all apps at the same time). I’m considering a larger battery, but the weight is holding me back more than the cost. The 9-volt weighs as much as the machine!

- Speakers on the bottom, as funny as that might sound. Propping up the front a little bit helps, & the sound is decent via headphones.

- Doesn’t pick up low-signal networks as easily as my full-size Dell laptop.

- Bloatware, even on a little machine like this. I wish that MS & manufacturers could control themselves in that regard, but I suppose that they get paid a lot to include the wretched stuff. As another reviewer recommended, I’ve removed some programs, including the redundant anti-virus trials and the games (which IMHO suck anyway.) That helped the speed. I’ll probably remove Works and the Word 2007 trial as well. When I upgrade the RAM, this machine should work like lightening.

- External DVD drive required. When you set up, you’re prompted to make an optical copy of the original system. While I was able to back up Win 7 Starter etc to an external hard drive with no problem, the Acer files will only write to a DVD. (Actually, 2 DVD’s). No drive, no backup, no recourse if you need to do a clean install. Not nice. And yet Win 7 Starter won’t let you watch DVD’s, so unless you routinely burn DVD’s the money for the external DVD player may be wasted.

I plan to try VLC which seems to work for many reviewers. (The Win Media Player on my old laptop running Win XP doesn’t work, but VLC works perfectly so I’m optimistic.) I wouldn’t have purchased a player just to watch DVD’s though, as I can get all of the TV and movies that I want via the Internet.

- Lots of people have hissy fits over the inability to change the wallpaper or have a screensaver in Win 7 Starter so I’m listing this deficit, but for my part I could care less and anyway there are workarounds that are compatible with the Acer AOD250. I imported a large file of photos and had no problem running a slide show.

Conclusion:
Despite the drawbacks, this is one wonderful little machine and an incredible bargain to boot. I’ve seen other netbooks with apparently identical specs and lower ratings for significantly more money. I’m very happy with my Acer AOD 250 1695 and highly recommend it.
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It is ported out the yazoo beyond its 4 USB ports. This model is HDMI capable with an included remote control. Other DV6 variations can include satellite/cable receiver hookups and/or a built-in TV tuner. Since these features are not now in my radar, I would refer you to HP’s product site for the accurate details now that you know it’s possible.

As a touch-typist, the keyboard is comfortable and responsive. I see touch-pads as necessary evils over a wireless mouse and prefer to turn mine off with the included and readily accessible nearby switch; no software clicking required. I’m using the touch-pad at this writing; it has a right-side scroll bar that wants to work when I don’t want it to and not respond when I do, but doubt this is much more than me and the nature of that beast on any model. The upper portion of the keyboard panel includes touch controls for the wireless adapter, volume and speaker mute. The speaker tone is respectably balanced for their size, notably not too tinny and very adjustable with the audio driver. As delivered, bass tended to splatter a bit, which adjusted out nicely.

The 15″ class 16:9 format wide-screen is just right for these 60-year old eyes that have worn glasses since dirt was made. At first run the screen was VERY bright with blacks a little washed. The Intel graphics driver offered a very nice adjust routine to bring things into a more pleasing balance. It even includes an effective text enhancement function and Win 7 lets you scale text size to your need. For now, I will say that my amateur DSLR photos display with good enough quality to permit effective editing, but a pro wouldn’t use it as an editor. A separate monitor port is included.

I have played a few of my homebrew HQ .WMV and DVD burned videos along with the store bought variety; it runs through them with ease and it all looks respectable. I was exceptionally pleased with the performance of HP’s N-draft wireless adapter that downloaded a 311MB printer driver under our 6mbps U-verse connection in about 10-minutes. Hot dog, Cat5 is now dead in our house with reliable performance at the farthest points indoors through several walls. Yippee! Just as nice, Windows 7 actually detected our AT&T U-verse router with ease and established connections with all of our networked devices without one complaint … what a breath of fresh air compared to my wife’s Vista machine, which refused to connect to anything under any circumstance no matter what without installing independent network control software (Network Magic).

The initial setup includes an HP routine that makes a one-time set of 3 x 4.7GB DVD factory-state restoration discs … your data is not included. Win 7 now includes a scheduled backup feature, which should automate nicely with a $100 external drive. An on-line service is now relegated to those worried about fire and theft. Regrettably, the routine does not appear to work over a network and I’m wondering why. Despite this nice feature, HP’s bloatware, which was actually within reason, includes a handful of on-line vendors ranting for your backup business immediately followed by Norton ranting at how stupid I am for not having activated its AV suite. Sorry, but the last time I gave Norton access to one of my machines it was like dealing with the IRS; once you buy into their system it is impossible to get out and I actually paid them to do this to my machine. Any vendor that makes life more complicated gets banished forever. Windows Defender is automatically included with Win 7 and AVG-Free is compatible.

This isn’t a Win 7 review, but you are likely buying this new OS with the hardware as part of the experience; Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit). I found Win 7’s migration features serviceable, but not for the feint of heart. The file migration doesn’t seem to offer enough ‘pick n choose’ options to eliminate that accumulated and unwanted garbage and requires transporting a file to your old computer with a flash drive or equivalent. As a result, I chose the ‘do-it-yourself’ method by network. There is no rocket science in migrating an Outlook or Windows Mail contact file. Either ‘export’ or search and copy the .WAB file from your old machine to a flash drive and ‘import’ it at the new machine.

If a performance rating vs. cost means something to you, then this is worth your time. Win 7 now includes a fundamental hardware benchmark routine. At this writing, the scale is 1-to-7.9 and designed to be adjusted as today’s fastest hardware becomes tomorrow’s slowest. As this feature gets updated, your computer’s score will gradually drop against newer improved systems and it is comprised of several ’sub-scores’. The overall rating is based on the LOWEST sub-score; it is NOT an average. I don’t see why you cannot check this on store displays as you review models. Here is where this HP falls:

Processor (i3): 6.2 RAM: 5.9 Graphics (Desktop): 4.2 Graphics (3D business and game): 4.9 Hard Drive (data rate): 5.8. The overall score is 4.2 for the Desktop Graphics score.

This HP is not the ultimate gaming smoker, but I would call it a ‘mainstream smoker’ for a laptop well ported to connect to about anything with the ability to run everything pretty darn well at a very good street price. Compare these relative scores with your primary, secondary and tertiary needs and you’ve picked your winner. You will find them under “Control Panel”.

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PROS: I was very impressed with the size of the screen, it does not seem like an 18″. The color is crisp, clear and the screen is wide. The whole unit has a very small footprint. The DVD player is also a burner, which was a surprise. The included SD card slot makes backup and document transfers very easy. Also, it is wireless so I do not have to have so many cords. The sound is great. There are a lot of added programs. I was very impressed with the quiet aspect of the unit. The fan does run loud when writing to the hard drive, but that does not last long and the majority of the time the unit is whisper quiet.

NEUTRAL: The OS is Windows XP Home. I beta tested Windows 7 and really like it better; however, Windows 7 is a memory hog with a requirement of 1 Gig ram. This machine has 1 gig standard and works great as is with Windows XP. The added programs also are listed as a neutral because I had to remove excess programs that I did not need, but that is common with all new computers.

CONS: There are only four USB slots and with the wired mouse and keyboard, that leaves only two. If you have a wireless printer this will help but you may need a USB hub if you use a lot other devices. Even though this unit is not a touch model, it comes with all the software for that. You can delete it from the startup. Microsoft Office 2007 came installed, but without any codes, so the use is limited to 21 times. It has a built in camera, but i have not figured out how to use it yet…maybe it is only available with the included Skype?

Overall, this computer is exactly what I ordered and needed for now. After receiving this computer I have recommended it to at least two other family members. This is a good model for college/school, home office, kitchen, study and even can be placed on a wall mount…but the touch variation would be better for that. I am giving this a five star rating because it is exactly what I wanted and as the description stated.
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Confused about all the different HP Mini 210 models? Check the bottom of my review for a comparison chart.

WHAT I *LIKE* SO FAR:

- It’s small and lightweight, like any other netbook
- The screen is LED backlit and very bright and colorful
- The keyboard has good tactile feel, and isn’t noisy while using it
- I almost always touchtype the correct key on the keyboard (even the Backspace and Delete keys), even though the keyboard is smaller than my 15″ laptop computer’s keyboard
- It’s not sluggish using Office 2007 programs
- You can upgrade the RAM yourself (without tools!)
- Streaming of my in-home, High-Def home videos went perfectly smoothly
- No vents on the bottom of the netbook, only on the sides, so the netbook doesn’t gasp for air circulation while sitting on your lap
- I could upgrade the RAM with a 2GB memory module
- The upgrade to Windows Professional edition went without a hitch
- The oversized battery tilts the keyboard a bit so it’s easier to type on
- Nice audio sound from the earphone jack

WHAT I *DISLIKE* SO FAR:

- The battery is huge! Check out Amazon’s product pictures and you’ll see it’s oversized — great for long battery life, but *awful* for aesthetic reasons. The bloated battery ruins the svelte form factor of this netbook. Worse, HP currently makes no provision to buy a second, smaller, 3-cell battery that would fit the natural contours of this device (I checked with HP about this, and they confirmed they have no stock of 3-cell batteries for the Mini 210). The upside? It gives the keyboard a pleasant tilt to type on.
- The battery lock is spring-loaded on one side, but not on the other. The side that’s not spring-loaded can be unlocked accidentally and easily, causing the whole battery to half fall-off the back of the netbook (this actually happened to me).
- It uses a power-on switch you have to slide with your fingernail, rather than using a simple, power-on button
- Some indicator lights, like the disk activity light, are placed on the side of the unit where you can’t see them, rather than above the keyboard where you can see them
- I’m not a fan of glossy screens — too many fingerprints to clean!
- HP replaces my [...] homepage with an HP version of [...], and that version doesn’t render reliably when I fire up Internet Explorer
- The edge of the netbook below the keyboard is uncomfortably sharp when you rest your hand on it while typing; I wish HP had used a smoother, tapered edge for hand-resting comfort.

BACKGROUND:

This is my first netbook purchase, although I’m a very experienced computer user. I bought it to use at work to replace my paper notebook and to use Microsoft Office products common in the workplace. I sought for a very lightweight netbook with long battery life, good performance for its size, and a good feel to the keyboard. I looked online and in brick-and-mortar stores, and ordered this HP netbook from Amazon after first examining it in a local retailer who had it in stock (though with the battery removed, which is why I was surprised at how big this netbook’s battery really is).

INSTALLATION & CONFIGURATION:

The out-of-box experience started off well. HP includes a big, can’t-miss-it poster that you see immediately after opening the packing box. It concisely describes how to start configuring your new HP netbook. Basically, plug-in your netbook and turn it on, then go through the configuration steps — like choosing your computer’s name and your timezone — to setup Windows 7 Startup edition.

When it comes to setting up the wireless network, I dispensed with HP’s hand-holding setup program since I know how to setup wireless network connections on a computer. HOWEVER, I was baffled for a while trying to figure out how to turn-on the wireless card. I’m used to my Dell laptops, where there is a hardware switch somewhere on the side of the computer. With this HP netbook, there is no WiFi hardware switch. Instead, you have to use an HP software utility for enabling the wireless card. Then, you also have to press F12 to turn-on the now-enabled WiFi card. I’d prefer a slide switch to enable/disable the WiFi card. BTW, the WiFi is b/g/n-network compatible.

I encountered a problem with the battery receptacle on the netbook. When I first tried inserting the battery, it just didn’t seem to fit very well. Mind you, I am *careful* with new electronics I buy, so I didn’t want to force the battery without knowing what kind of force was really necessary. I did apply a fair amount of pressure to insert and lock-in the battery, but after the first reboot, the whole netbook appeared to have just died! All I saw was a black screen and a white cursor after I slid the power-on switch. I was nearly ready to pack the whole thing back to Amazon when I returned to the battery that was hard to install. I detached the battery and looked at the netbook’s pin receptacle — one of the pins was bent! I used a steak knife to unbend the pin and tried reinserting the battery once more — it slid more easily this time, and the netbook subsequently powered-on normally. I’m convinced the pin was bent off the factory assembly line. So, if you buy this netbook, examine the battery pins at the back of the netbook to make sure they’re straight!

Once you connect to the Internet, you have to do all the latest patching of Windows 7 (other programs will automatically try to get updated, too, like Java and Adobe Reader). I did the essential patching to Windows 7 only, because I needed to deal with the bloatware.

This HP netbook comes with some bloatware and assorted shortcuts that I immediately removed, including Norton Antivirus (*hate* it - use Microsoft Security Essentials, which is free, instead), a 60-day trial version of Microsoft Office Home & Student Edition, Adobe AIR, Times Reader, a bunch of Windows Live programs, and a bunch of HP programs. I uninstalled everything except the HP stuff, since I’m not certain what each HP program does at this point. HP is baked-in to Internet Explorer, too, in ways that make it hard to remove. There are a few other unknown programs I’m leaving for the time being. I’ve seen worse cases of bloatware on a new computer, so this actually wasn’t too bad.

After uninstalling what I could, I installed Microsoft Office 2007 Enterprise Edition, Microsoft Security Essentials, and my favorite utilities. The installation of Office went smoothly, including the subsequent Internet activation of the software.

Even after uninstalling a lot of crapware, I used MSCONFIG to find more than a half-dozen, non-Microsoft services that automatically start-up when booting this netbook (these aren’t in the Startup folder, either). One of these services — I suspect the HP service that enables the WiFi card — interferes with my automatic backup to my Windows Home Server. I tried disabling all these services, but then the audio sounded *awful* without the “IDT Audio” service, so I re-enabled that service. What does this mean to you? Use MSCONFIG (Click the Start button, then type MSCONFIG) to disable these unnecessary, mostly HP services unless you really have a reason to use them.

All of this takes several hours to do.

USABILITY:

I’ve only owned this HP netbook for two weeks, so I can’t say I’ve had a lot of experience with it as yet. So far, I like using it well enough. It boots up to the login screen in 45-50 seconds (Note: after I upgraded the RAM to 2GB, it takes about 35-40 seconds to get to the login screen). It takes about another minute after you’ve logged in to start-up Windows Desktop and the start-up programs. Starting Microsoft Word 2007 takes 10 seconds. In my home, where I have all g-network devices (but an n-network router), this HP netbook will connect with a speed of no greater than 65Mbps — slightly faster than a g-network device. If I was able to convert all my devices to n-network connections, I could turn-off mixed mode on the router and achieve much faster n-network connection speeds. Be aware of this if you have an n-network router with g-network devices attached to it — you won’t get the benefit of this netbook’s n-network capability.

In general, the speed is good enough for regular computing needs. My general purpose computer is a 2.5Ghz, Core 2 Duo, 3.5GB RAM, 15″ Dell XPS M1530 laptop. This netbook obviously is slower than my 15″ laptop! Sometimes scrolling large Amazon product sheets takes a bit of time, and sometimes I have to wait a bit while this netbook chugs away at some compute-intensive tasks. In general, though, I find the speed to be suitable for my casual work.

Playing audio and video through Windows Media Player was a pleasure, thanks to WMP’s audio Enhancements (which are hard to find, sadly).

WINDOWS 7 STARTER EDITION:

Know what you’re buying when you get this (or any other) netbook with Windows 7 Starter Edition. This edition of Windows has fewer features than even Home Basic, and much fewer than Home Premium or Professional editions of Windows 7. You *can*, however, use Microsoft’s Anytime Upgrade to move from the Starter edition to a higher-level edition. It took me one day to decide to spend and extra $119 to upgrade from the Windows 7 Starter edition to Windows 7 Professional (upgrading to Home Premium costs $79). With the Starter edition, there is no Windows Aero user interface, you can’t choose themes or even Desktop wallpaper, you don’t get Windows Media Center, no Sticky Notes, and you can’t even move the Taskbar (I like my Taskbar on the vertical left rather than bottom horizontal). You can use Windows Briefcase — which has been around since Windows 95 — to synchronize data with other computers, but it’s a pretty wretched, problem-filled technology (as I found out this morning while synchronizing with my home server). Windows Professional replaces Briefcase with rock-solid Offline Files & Folders (my favorite feature of the Pro edition) which is what corporate America uses to keep data portable and synchronized.

The battery life is advertised at 9.75 hours, but that would only be true if you are playing Solitaire on the dimmest screen setting possible, with no disk activity and Internet connection turned off. I use Battery Bar (freeware) to watch over battery power. It reports I get a little more than 6 hours of power from the battery (I’m using WiFi half the time, and the screen is lit at 50%).

UPGRADABILITY:

You *can* add more RAM to this netbook. Do a Google search on “how to upgrade RAM hp mini 210″ to see a great video on the details of that. I performed an upgrade to this Mini 210 netbook, swapping out the 1GB memory module for a 2GB module (Crucial 2GB 256Mx64PC2-5300 CT25664AC667 DDR2 200-Pin SODIMM Laptop Memory. For that matter, the process for upgrading would let you swap out other internals, too, like a different network card or different hard drive. Pulling off the back of the netbook is a little unnerving because you don’t want to bend or break the back cover, but I was able to do so without a problem — the cover just snaps on/off.

CONCLUSION:

The one thing I dislike most about this HP netbook — the huge battery — is the one thing I’ll appreciate at work, since I won’t have to recharge the battery between or during meetings anymore. In fact, after two weeks, I’ve made friends with the oversized battery. I think the problem with being unable to get a second, smaller, 3-cell battery is a temporary issue related to the January 2010 release of the Mini 210 netbook line. It’s the little design quirks — placing indicator lights where you can’t easily see them, battery lock switches that too easily unlock — that make this an almost-perfect little netbook rather than a perfect netbook.

Recommended!

COMPARISON CHART AMONG THE HP MINI 210 MODELS:

Model Number, Color, RAM, Screen, Hard Drive, Network, Battery:

210-1010NR, Black, 1GB, anti-glare matte, 160GB / 5400 rpm, b/g, 4.25 Hrs
210-1030NR, Black, 1GB, anti-glare matte, 160GB / 5400 rpm, b/g, 9.75 Hrs

210-1050NR, Silver, 1GB, glossy BriteView, 250GB / 7200 rpm, b/g/n, 9.75 Hrs
210-1070NR, Black, 1GB, glossy BriteView, 250GB / 7200 rpm, b/g/n, 9.75 Hrs
210-1080NR, Blue, 1GB, glossy BriteView, 250GB / 7200 rpm, b/g/n, 9.75 Hrs
210-1090NR, Red, 1GB, glossy BriteView, 250GB / 7200 rpm, b/g/n, 9.75 Hrs

210-1055NR, Silver, 1GB, glossy BriteView, 160GB / 5400 rpm, b/g, 9.75 Hrs
210-1075NR, Black, 1GB, glossy BriteView, 160GB / 5400 rpm, b/g, 9.75 Hrs
210-1084NR, Blue, 1GB, glossy BriteView, 160GB / 5400 rpm, b/g/n, 9.75 Hrs
210-1085NR, Blue, 1GB, glossy BriteView, 160GB / 5400 rpm, b/g, 9.75 Hrs
210-1095NR, Red, 1GB, glossy BriteView, 160GB / 5400 rpm, b/g, 9.75 Hrs

WINDOWS EXPERIENCE INDEX:

Processor = 2.4
RAM = 4.5
Graphics / Aero = 3.1
Gaming = 3.0
Disk = 5.9

Read More Reviews HP Mini 210-1050NR 10.1-Inch Silver Netbook - 9.75 Hours of Battery Life

Was able to move all of my photos, video, large slideshow files, and music onto the drive without a hitch.

It is a little slower retrieving files than the hard drive on my pc, but I am very glad I purchased the drive.

Only drawback might be that it has a powercord. Some of the other models I considered drew power from the USB port.

Read More Reviews Cavalry Storage CAUE Series 320 GB USB External Hard Drive CAUE37320