Most netbooks are designed to be cheap and portable above all else. As such, most netbooks are made of cheap and have inexpensive and often tiny keyboards that aren't really designed to stand up to a lot of wear and tear. And then there's HP's line of netbooks designed for business and education customers.
These netbooks tend to cost more than their consumer-oriented counterparts. But they also have premium features including faster hard drives, metal cases, and higher quality keyboards. HP's first netbook, the HP 2133 Mini-Note fell into this category, as did the HP Mini 2140, 5101, and most recently, the HP Mini 5102.
In some ways the HP Mini 5102 ups the game by offering an Intel Atom Pine Trail processor and a whole slew of options that you won't find on most netbooks including an optional touchscreen, Broadcom Crystal HD video accelerator, HD display, and a choice of operating systems ranging from SUSE Linux to Windows 7 Professional.
But even the base model has features that set this netbook apart from the competition, including a speedy 7200rpm hard drive, an accelerometer that shuts off the hard drive in the eventof a fall, and a sturdy magnesium alloy chassis. That netbook also has HP's Durakey finish on the keyboard, which HP says will prevent the lettering on the keys from wearing off. And you also get HP's QuickSync software which lets you synchronize your files with another PC, which is helpful if you're picking up the HP Mini 5102 to use primarily as a secondary machine.
These extra features come at a price. While some PC makers are selling netbooks for $300 or less, the cheapest configuration of the HP Mini 5102 costs $415. And if you want to add bells and whistles like the touchscreen, HD display, or an optional handle, the price can easily double.
But if you're looking for a durable netbook for use on business trips or in a classroom environment and don't care about the fact that virtually all Intel Atom powered netbooks are pretty much the same in terms of performance, then the HP Mini 5102 might be worth a look. While it's aimed at consumers, the HP Mini 5102 is available for anyone to purchase from the HP Small Business web site.
The demo unit HP sent me to review features a 1.66GHz Intel Atom N450 processor, 2GB of RAM, a 250GB hard drive, Windows 7 Professional, and a 10.1 inch, 1024 x 600 pixel touchscreen display. It also has 802.11a/b/g/n WiFi and Bluetooth 2.1 wireless.
FYI, this review is rather lengthy. If you want to cut to the chase, you can skip to the end for a video review.
Design
The HP Mini 5102 is the first business netbook from HP to come in a variety of colors. You can pick it up with a red, blue, or black case, although the keyboard, touchpad, screen bezel, and bottom of the PC are black no matter which color you choose.
These color options add to the price of the netbook, but they give the netbook a distinctive look. The HP Mini 5101 which was released last year looks almost identical to the 5102, but that model is only available in black.
The netbook features a magnesium alloy chassis that's just about as light weight as the plastic cases found on most netbooks. But it feels much sturdier. The lid has a brushed metal texture with the HP logo placed in the center.
Although I've found that it's not impossible to leave fingerprints and smudges on the lid, it's much more resistant to this kind of messiness than the typical netbook.
Overall, the HP Mini 5102 is a bit bulky looking, and while the corners of the netbook are rounded, the edges are a bit sharp, giving the netbook a boxy look. I suppose it's a matter of opinion whether this makes the netbook look more professional… or just bigger than consumer oriented models such as the HP Mini 210.
The bottom of the netbook features a single access panel for replacing or upgrading the RAM. As with the HP Mini 5101, doing this with the HP Mini 5102 is a snap, since there are no screws to remove.
You simply push the two switches holding the battery in place to remove the battery. Then push them again and the RAM access panel door pops open.
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