Sunday 28 August 2011

HP DM1-3100SA Netbook Review- Part 2

Mobility
When I first saw the subject of the review I immediately thought I’m going to find it difficult to find much to say.
After all, it is a netbook and common sense tells me it will be portable. Anything below 15” I would classify as something you could move around. The decent battery life does mean that if you plan to use it for less than 5 hours, you won’t need the charger. That is some bulk lost.

I took it outside to test the wireless and the screen. First issue- OMGZ glossy screen. As with all glossy screens the visibility in bright light is terrible. I don’t know why manufacturers still use it.

As for the wireless, it seemed to pick up the signal ok, nothing uber strong, but probably fine with what you’re used to. As an aside I’ve used the netbook with my HTC Desire S acting as a wireless hotspot and that worked well.

If I were buying a netbook, I would definitely like to see it before purchasing it, to get a feel for the size, weight, keyboard and screen. Yes, you could be plastered with numbers but you won’t get a real sense without seeing it. You will also get a chance to type and check out the screen, which play a high role in something you are going to be carrying out and about. As mentioned somewhere in another thread, the clicklet keyboard is good to type on, despite the small size.

Final Thoughts
Finally, I’ve been using it quite a bit this week. I’ve been rebuilding my desktop and checking out webpages / guides every now and then on the netbook. It has been nice being able to wake it from sleep, use it, then put it back to sleep, without having to think ‘is it going to run out of battery / do I need to charge it soon?’.

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