Conclusion
The HP Mini 210 is a beautifully designed netbook. Its sexy, its solid, it has a good user interface and a competitive price. The only serious complaint I can level against this netbook is the display, which is far too glossy. However, many other netbooks have similar issues, so the glossy display isn’t a reason to disqualify the HP Mini 210 unless you have a habit of working near an open window on sunny days.
This praise aside, the HP Mini 210, like most traditional single-core netbooks, sits in a market position that is increasingly awkward. The problem is the lower prices of dual-core netbooks and budget ultraportables. The HP dm1z has now been reduced to an MSRP of $449.99, and the Eee PC 1215B’s initial price of $450 has already been knocked down to about $435 on Amazon. These dual-core AMD Fusion powered netbooks are substantially quicker than the HP Mini 210, but only $100 more. The value of all single-core netbooks, both those powered by Intel and those powered by AMD, is becoming harder to justify as the prices on dual-core models tumble.
Battery life remains dominated by Atom, however. No other netbook processor can remotely compare to the endurance offered by single-core Atom powered netbooks like the HP Mini 210. The 5700mAh battery seemed to last forever; I never once was worried about the battery giving out, even after spending most of the day using the netbook heavily for writing and (basic) image editing. However, I question the number of people that actually need a battery with this much endurance. Most users would likely be better of trading the battery life for a more powerful netbook using a dual-core processor.
The HP Mini 210 is a great netbook, but the hardware fails it. Single-core Atom processors simply can’t provide an adequately enjoyable user experience, if they ever could. Saving about $100 by purchasing the HP Mini 210 instead of a dual-core netbook, be it HP’s own dm1z or a model from a competitor, seems a poor choice.
It does look pretty nice for
It does look pretty nice for a netbook 🙂
Nice indeed. But I would
Nice indeed. But I would settle for a Fusion board since I’ll get a portable Blu-ray player besides having a Netbook.
Any idea of how it compares
Any idea of how it compares to a dual core Fusion? It seems the performance was to the single core E-240 (1×1.55ghz, 18w) instead of the dual core C-50 (2x1ghz, 9w).
I’m using a Acer AMD C-50 netbook with a 60gb vertex 2 SSD, 4GB RAM, and a 720p screen. The only thing that is frustrating is the lame keyboard. I think the model is the ACER AO522.
It seems that the netbook’s
It seems that the netbook’s temperatures can go to quite high a temperature. 50 degrees is quite hot to the touch if placed on someone’s lap. That is quite inexcusable. Furthermore, the huge battery and weight means that prolong usage on laps is not desirable. The redeeming factors are the efficiency, and the long battery life.
John – http://www.ldj-lights.co.uk
Wow, it looks gorgeous.
Wow, it looks gorgeous. What’s the color of this model? White crystal? Grey? Anybody knows?