The HP Mini 210 netbook first launched in January. The 10 inch netbook has all-but-disappeared from the HP website, after having been replaced with a new version of the HP Mini 110 which can accommodate a 6 cell battery without looking like it has a tumor. But HP is still offering the HP Mini 210 HD, which comes with a high-resolution 1366 x 768 pixel 10 inch display.
The folks at HP sent me an HP Min 210 HD to review, and you can find my unboxing and first look video after the break.
Overall, I really like the sleek design of the HP Mini 210. The fact that the bottom surface is just as smooth as the top gives this netbook a more streamlined look than most. And I like the chiclet-style keyboard layout. But I’m a little concerned about the integrated touchpad buttons, and as you can see in the video, the glossy screen refelcts quite a bit of sunlight when used in a bright room.
The main thing I’ll be putting to the test is the high-resolution display. In the past, I’ve noted that netbooks with Atom processors and 1366 x 768 pixel displays tend to feel a bit sluggish. This is the first machine I’ve tested with an Intel Atom Pine Trail CPU, integrated graphics, and a high-resolution screen.
Although the HP Mini 210 HD can be configured with a Broadcom Crystal HD video accelerator to enable HD video playback, the demo unit I received doesn’t have one, and I’ve already noticed that while 720p video playback isn’t out of the realm of possibility, 1080p videos are choppy at best.
Now on to the unboxing:
Sluggish? Really? My Mini 110 with the 1366×768 display and the “old” 1.66 GHz Atom doesn’t feel sluggish to me at all.
It’s no speed demon, but switching workspaces, and compositing in X are all very smooth and programs launch faster than on my desktop. This is likely due to the SSD.
can’t view the video but could you tell me what kind of battery life do you get with it?
Please install Ubuntu desktop edition and report how well it performs.