HP Mini 5101 user reviews (Intel Atom N280 1.66GHz, 1GB RAM, 160GB HDD, XP Home Basic)

4.0 stars

"More than I expected" on August 20, 2009 by mmeskill

Pros: Small, lightweight, easy to use on a plane.

Cons: Does not come with MS Office (installed with 60day trial) but found out my companies contract with MS meant I could get Office for $10!! The (95% keyboard takes some getting used to but a lot easier then my Smartphone.

Summary: I have been using it as a second laptop in lieu of my massive DELL laptop. It seems that the N280 is giving better speed then the N270. I have had no performance issue since getting the unit over a week ago. Have been running Office, iTunes (video), and lots of wireless web surfing with no problem running video.

3.5 stars

"I'm cool with this machine" on August 14, 2009 by geoff11b

Pros: Small - lite as a feather - nice looking. Solid performance. This is a net-book - I use it for the internet and Microsoft Office. I would not use it for music or photos or anything sizable.

Cons: Its a windows machine and as a mac user - its just a far inferior interface and usability.

Summary: Happy with it for what it is. I would not want it to be my primary pc - but its a very nice tool.

4.0 stars

"matte screen, metallic finish, ~P4 1.8GHz performance" on April 27, 2011 by netbookcoder

Pros: -Metal finish makes it look more expensive.
-Matte screen (1024x600 on my version) for use on trains.
-720p video trailers seem to run smoothly in WMP.
-Keyboard is large enough to use easily.
-Touchpad comfortable to use as well as touchpad buttons
-Easy

Cons: -Requires fan script in order to bring fan noise down in line with other netbooks (http://www.myhpmini.com/forum/silent-fan-mod-t3398.html) or google HP Mini silent fan mod
-Broadcom wireless so may bit more difficult to get to work under Linux, but I did

Summary: Performance seems to be similar to a 1.8GHz P4 hyperthreaded machine, which is fine for me developing and basic office and internet. I upgraded the hard drive to a Seagate Momentus 500GB with no problems by googling for the service manual.

The main criticism I have about this machine is that I had to run a fan script to get the idle speed down (script works well under Windows) - the fan setting in the bios seems to have no effect on the idle fan speed.

Updated on Apr 27, 2011

cnet has truncated my review so I've added the following:
-I did not try to get wifi working under Linux but it may be possible even with it's Broadcom chipset.
-Stock battery lasts 3 hours at best so I got a larger battery (about 5 hours).
-Had trouble booting from external flash drive, it maybe possible but booting is fine from external CD-ROM.
-This netbook drives an external 1920x1080 screen with no problems and can be used as my desktop replacement with external keyboard, mouse and subwoofer.
-I'm mainly using VS2005, Office 2010 and Chrome with no speed issues on this machine.

4.5 stars

"Only for the right price" on May 3, 2010 by SPA2TACU5

Pros: - Hi-res screen 1366 x 768
- Pretty fast, processor + memory
- Cheap Windows (25$ extra)
- Dedicated Brightness & Volume keys
- Good size keyboard

Cons: - SUSE Linux. This operating system is too slow to work the high res + webpages. Scrolling in SUSE Linux makes the screen lag.
- Dedicated keys. Like F5 = sleep, FN + F5 = refresh. Really really bad design decision...
- No HDMI out

Summary: I like the product, but the few flaws really stand out so much that I just can't fall in love with this one like I fell I love with my 701 EEE pc.
You accidently hit F5 without the FN key to refresh a webpage and the machine goes into sleep.
The SUSE Linux OS was a pain in the ****.
The screen res is great, BUT the font size is tiny on many sites because most websites are still designed for max 1280 (or 1024) width and use tiny fonts.
The keyboard size is great and the design of the keyboard is fantastic. The netbook is small, and light weight and has a nice sober looking design and it's case is solidly build.
With Ubuntu this machine becomes a lot more lovable.
Lacking HDMI out, which would've been great to easily connect it to another screen. 3 USB ports, enough for me. Oh and the sound of the speakers is loud enough but not really suited for listening to music. A headset + mic connection make up for that. The webcam is good enough too. The trackpad works fine and the look 'n feel of the left/right "mouse" button is fine.
Battery life, 3,5 - 6 hours.
Another little design error: the led of the "wifi on/off". How one know if blue is off or on if there's also orange?

But anyway the pricing, that's the issue, if you can find a similar machine for a lower price then by all means go for it. Otherwise there's no real reason not to buy this one if you're looking for these great specs.