Netbook computers

Product Description

Prepare to be noticed when you take this Netbook out on the town. Small, slim and stylish, the HP Mini 210 lets you surf the web, stay connected, and be entertained wherever you go. Amp up the fun by playing videos and music or showing off your photos. Exclusive, integrated software keeps you in sync with your life by letting you e-mail, chat, and instantly access your files from anywhere. Take just what you need And leave the rest on your primary PC. At less than one inch thin and starting at just 2.69 pounds, this ultra-compact PC won’t weigh you down. You’ll enjoy a 16:9 10.1" diagonal BrightView Infinity display and nearly full-size keyboard.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2552 in Personal Computers
• Color: Blue - Faster Wireless
• Brand: HP
• Model: WH684UA#ABA
• Number of items: 1
• Dimensions: 1.11" h x 6.90" w x 10.55" l, 2.69 pounds
• CPU: Intel Atom N450 1.66 GHz
• Memory: 1GB
• Hard Disk: 160GB
• Graphics: Graphics Media Accelerator 3150 256MB
• Native resolution: 1024 x 600
• Display size: 10.1

Features

• Intel Atom Processor N450 (1.66 GHz, 512 KB L2 Cache)
• 1 GB DDR2 System Memory (1 DIMM); 160 GB (5400RPM) hard drive (SATA)
• Wireless LAN 802.11b/g/n; Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 3150 (shared) with up to 256 MB Total Available Graphics Memory
• 10.1-inch diagonal WSVGA LED Anti-glare Widescreen Display (1024 x 600)
• Genuine Windows 7 Starter; Up to 9.75 hours of battery life

Customer Reviews

Most helpful customer reviews

329 of 333 people found the following review helpful.
Confusing model lineup, reasonable netbook
By James Sanford
Trying to buy a netbook after their explosion in popularity is proving to be difficult, as manufacturers pump out far too many variations.

In addition to the listed specifications for each model of the HP Mini 210 (cpu, memory, disk, exterior color/finish), there are other physical variations depending on model number.

Depending on which HP Mini 210 model you get, some differences are:
- A different keyboard ("island" keyboard or traditional keyboard)
- A matte or glossy screen
- A different physical size of battery
- Different wireless support (802.11b/g vs 802.11b/g/n vs 802.11b/g+bluetooth)

At the time of writing, existing reviews and photos make it difficult to tell what you'll end up with. According to the HP website, there are a dizzying one hundred ninety different HP Mini 210 models.

Some of the popular models that I saw had these attributes:
210-1010NR: Matte screen, traditional keyboard
210-1030NR: Matte screen, traditional keyboard
210-1040NR: Glossy screen, island keyboard

I ended up with a 210-1040NR. I prefer the island keyboard, it seemed to have less flex than the traditional keyboard. Touch typing on either keyboard was not an issue, punctuation is in the correct place, and both the shift keys and the spacebar are nice and large. The multitouch touchpad works better than the competition. I installed Ubuntu Netbook Edition 9.10 and everything works out of the box. (Although the internal fan appears to be on regardless of temperature)

For me, knowing the limitations of the cpu, keyboard, and build quality, the 1024x600 resolution of the display is the weak point. I see there's also a HP Mini 210 HD lineup with a higher resolution display, which may be worth considering.

As far as 10.1" netbooks on the market as of February 2010, after handling and typing on competing models from Acer, Asus, Toshiba, and Sony, for me the HP Mini 210 is the winner.

101 of 104 people found the following review helpful.
Great Netbook
By J. Lambert
I shopped around looking for deals and at different models for about 2-3 months. Did lots of research on features and performance, and was overwhelmed at how man of these netbooks have the exact same internals as all the others. I finally went with the HP Mini 210-1055NR because it has the full glass over the entire screen and bezel that makes it look so much better than the 110 or similar dells. This just creates such a more aesthetically pleasing look to the entire netbook. It also had a little better specs than all the other clones that were budget priced all over the web (Acers, Dells, HP 110s) and with the extra RAM I bought for it, and the easy access panel that allows you to remove the entire bottom cover of the netbook, the upgrade was simple and performance is great!

I recommend this to anyone looking at getting a netbook for either easy writing or surfing. I haven't played with HPs linux instant on software that comes preinstalled, but Windows 7 starter works just fine, despite previously hearing bad things about its limitations, I with it and am happy I chose it over the severely outdated XP.

One thing that is crucial to do is remove as much of the bloatware that HP installs by default on their new systems. You will see a significant performance boost and less harddrive space taken up by clearing off all the trial games and software that come with your new HP.

178 of 189 people found the following review helpful.
Warning About Windows 7 Starter
By E. Pavan
I just wanted to warn others about a major drawback of the Windows 7 Starter Operating System that this netbook comes with. I wasn't aware of it when I made my purchase, and I wish I had been. Windows 7 Starter is a very scaled back version of Windows 7 that is only available pre-installed on netbooks. It does not have full-featured functionality. It does not, for example, allow a user to change their desktop background. The stock blue Windows background it comes with is what you're stuck with, unless you use third-party workarounds. You also cannot change window colors or sound schemes. Additionally, it does not offer DVD playback. So, if you had planned on attaching a portable drive to watch movies--think again. I highly recommend doing your own research into the limitations of Windows 7 Starter before you buy, if you plan to use it as your primary operating system.