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If you're looking for a netbook with great battery life and good durability then the new HP Mini 5102 might be exactly what you need. You can even configure this netbook with a touchscreen for a tablet-like experience. Keep reading to find out if this business-class netbook is worth the price.
Our HP Mini 5102 features the following specifications:
Operating System: Genuine Windows 7 Starter (32-bit)
Processor: Intel Atom N450 Processor 1.66GHz (667MHz FSB)
Memory: 1GB 800MHz DDR2 SDRAM
Storage: 160GB 7200rpm SATA HDD
Display: 10.1-inch diagonal (1024x600)
Graphics: Intel GMA 3150 integrated graphics
Wireless: Broadcom 802.11a/b/g/n and Bluetooth 2.1 +EDR
Expansion: 4-in-1 media card slot
Dimensions (H x W x D): 0.91-1.25 x 10.4 x 7.25 inches (including feet)
Weight: 2.64 lb with 4-cell battery (not including weight of AC adapter).
Power: Standard 4-cell (28WHr)Lithium-ion battery or 6-cell (66WHr) extended-life battery like Hp OmniBook 6000 battery, Hp F1739A battery, Hp Omnibook XE battery, Hp F2024B battery, Hp F2024A battery, HP XH260 battery, HP Pavilion N5200 battery, Hp Omnibook XE3 battery, Hp 346970-001 battery, Hp HSTNN-DB02 battery, Hp F2019A battery, Hp F2019B battery
Warranty: One-year standard warranty
Starting price: $749.00 $599.00 $399.00 as of 2/1/2010
Our configuration of the HP Mini 5102 is not available for sale at the time of this writing. The closest configuration to our review unit currently available is the HP Mini 5102 model WH236UA ($899.00) which features a total of 2GB of system memory and HP Mobile Broadband (powered by Gobi) with GPS.
The HP Mini 5102 looks like a minor update to last year's Mini 5101 ... essentially a netbook version of HP's "ProBook" line of laptops designed for small and medium businesses. In fact, the Mini 5102 looks like what we would expect to see if someone shrunk down the HP ProBook 4510s to something small enough to fit inside a purse. The Mini 5102 is roughly one inch thick and weighs less than 3 pounds despite a very durable chassis that feels like it can handle years of abuse in your briefcase or backpack. The nearly full-size keyboard makes typing quick emails or editing documents a breeze ... even if you have to work on the tray table in coach class during a business flight. The traditional clamshell-like design gives the Mini 5102 a very clean look and the all-metal chassis means serious business. The brushed metal lid features a durable black finish and only suffers from a slight amount of flex under heavy pressure.
When open, the rubberized metal chassis and glossy black surfaces highlight the keyboard and 10-inch display. The thick bezel surrounding the matte screen offers additional protection and a place to keep your fingers off the screen when opening the netbook. The bezel is also needed in order to provide enough space for the larger keyboard. That said, I can't shake the feeling that the Mini 5102 would look better with either a larger screen or a smaller screen bezel. The screen hinges are made of metal and offer the perfect amount of resistance. You can pick up the Mini 5102 by the edge of the screen without feeling like something is going to break. While we're on the topic of carrying the netbook around, you can order the 5102 with an optional handle that is built-in to the chassis next to the battery for easy transport ... essentially turning the netbook into a tiny briefcase PC. The Mini 5102 is also available in red and blue just in case black isn't your color of choice.
HP engineers also added a few nice little features to the design of the Mini 5102 that I really appreciated. First, the battery features a button and LED meter so that you can quickly see how much charge is left in the battery. Four blue lights mean you've got a full charge and three blue LEDs and one blinking LED means you have somewhere between 75% and 100% remaining. Sure, the on-screen battery meter is more accurate but this little feature let's you know if you need to bring your AC adapter without powering on your netbook.
Another nice feature is the quick release switch for the RAM cover. Simply release the battery and then slide the right-side battery release switch all the way to the left and you can instantly pop off the cover for the RAM module. This makes upgrading the RAM nice and easy. I actually wish more netbooks made upgrading the RAM as easy as this.
When we first reviewed the HP Mini 5102 someone at HP had the bright idea to try and sell this netbook for twice the price of similar netbooks. Thankfully, HP has updated the pricing for this excellent business-class netbook and we can update our review. The current starting price of the HP Mini 5102 with 4-cell battery is just $399.00 ... making this one of the best values among current-generation, Atom-based netbooks.
The Mini 5102 offers fantastic build quality, delivers solid battery life numbers, and comes with some nice pre-loaded software. Unfortunately, the screen is only average, the touchpad is "blah" and the overall performance is no better than netbooks costing the same amount of money. We would have liked to see a higher resolution display, a better processor and better graphics, but the excellent build quality and reasonable price should be be enough to justify the purchase for most consumers and small business owners.
As long as you don't buy a configuration priced above $700 the the HP Mini 5102 is indeed a good value for a business-class netbook.
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