HP's Mini 5102 raises the netbook bar

Anthony Caruana
Monday, 10 May 2010 19:12

Your IT - Mobility

In a market where the specification and performance of netbooks is largely undifferentiated it’s great to see HP do something a little different. The new Mini 5102 runs most of the usual netbook kit but ups the ante in a couple of important areas.

Outwardly, the 5102 looks like most other netbooks. Three USB ports, a D-SUB connector for projectors and screens, an Ethernet port, headphone and mic jacks and an SD slot. But turn the 5102 on and you’ll be stunned by the display.

Rather than running the usual 1024 by 600 resolution that most netbooks deliver, the 5102 weighs in at a healthy 1366 by 768. For business users, that means three extra columns and 14 extra rows of data on a spreadsheet. If you’re planning to watch a movie on the 5102 while in transit, you won’t get full 1080p but you will manage 720p - better than almost any other netbook, and many cut-price laptops, on the market.

The second surprise is that HP is including Windows 7 Professional rather than the pared back Starter edition. There are plenty of differences between the Starter and Professional editions but the the ability to access all of Windows 7’s graphical enhancements and screen gadgets makes this netbook feel more like a computer than a toy.

In a further effort to be a little different HP have delivered the 5102 with Corel Home Office. While it's not the same as Microsoft Office, it boasts full compatibility and we couldn't fault it with a variety of documents and spreadsheets. The software is easy to use although many of the commands and options are in different places to their Microsoft Office counterparts.