If you’re looking for performance that’s slightly more powerful than a netbook can provide but aren’t willing to dole out the kind of cash most full-fledged laptops command, the Pavilion dv2 might prove a good option for you to look at. A 12.1-inch ultra-portable, it’s really one of the best purchases in its class.
Form is pretty snazzy, with just enough style without going overboard. It measures less than an inch at the thinnest point and about 1.29 inches at the thickest. Weight is a mere 3.7 lbs.
Hardware is just a tad above your standard netbook, with a 1.6 GHz AMD Athlon Neo MV-40 CPU, ATI Radeon X1250 graphics, 1GB of DDR2 RAM (with slots up to 4GB) and a 160GB HDD. For some reason, though, HP is shipping the device with Windows Vista Home Basic, an OS it really wasn’t built for. While the setup performed up to par for the most part, the memory is just too paltry for anything too intensive. In fact, I think I saw it bleed through the ports while trying its best to play HD video.
The 1280 x 800 resolution display is sharp and looks pretty good even under bright sunlight. Keyboard is not as good as some of the best performers in the genre like the P-Series, although the slightly concave design makes for pretty convenient typing. I’m not going to comment on the trackpad since I hate ALL trackpads. Needless to say, I hated it here too, especially the mouse buttons.
There’s no optical drive on board although it does ship with an external DVD writer. Given that I’ll only be using it to overwrite the Vista with an XP install, it should be fine. Ports are aplenty with HDMI, VGA, three USB ports, gigabit ethernet, multi-card reader and audio I/O.
For it’s price, the HP Pavilion dv2 is a great alternative to getting a netbook, allowing you the same portability with much more screen and a little more power. You’ll really need a memory upgrade to use the onboard Vista satisfactorily, though. Otherwise, use your magic, erase that darn OS and fit in an older build instead.
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