Head of the Business Class: Hands-on with the HP Mini 5101

Road warriors have plenty of compelling netbooks to choose from these days, but HP’s Mini 5101 makes other machines look like toys. We spent some alone time with the 5101 (starting at $449), which replaces the Mini 2140, and we like the durable new design, large and comfortable keyboard, and welcome features like hard drive protection. Check out our impressions, video, and gallery, and tell us if you think this mini is worth the premium. At first glance the Mini 5101 looks like a shrunken HP ProBook. The silver lid of the 2140 has been replaced with a black aluminum one and the edges are now more square. The bottom of the system is also extremely durable, thanks to a magnesium base, and we appreciate the soft touch finish. This is easily on of the sturdiest netbooks we have ever laid our hands on. Under the lid is a new island style, spill resistant keyboard that’s 95 percent of full size. Though some may prefer a more traditional layout, the keys are very comfortable and with a full size Shift key we expect touch typists to be able to jump right in. We were more impressed with the improved trackpad. Not only are the dedicated right and left mouse buttons now located below the pad (on the Mini 2140 they were straddling it), but they have a rubber coating that make them easy to hit with your thumb. We also liked the feel of the soft touch paint on the palm rest. The Mini we got to check out was running Microsoft Vista Home, but it will be available with Windows XP and SuSE Linux. It will also have Intel’s latest 1.66-GHz Intel Atom N280 processor and will be configurable with 1GB or 2GB of RAM. Also available are  160/250/320 GB 7200-rpm hard drives or 80/120 GB SSD options. The $449 basic configuration will pack 1GB of RAM, Windows XP, and a 160GB hard drive. The Mini 5101 looks and feels like a premium netbook. Though we need some more time with it to make a final call, we are fairly confident that its attractive, durable build, comfortable keyboard, and speedy hard drive options will make this system a knockout with the business crowd.