Desktop: Lenovo B500 Review

The Lenovo B500 IdeaCentre is a compact yet powerful desktop PC that delivers good performance and viewing space.

DESKTOPS tend to take up a significant amount of space in anyone’s room. You need to find a place for the CPU, monitor and all the cables running between them. This does not even include all the necessary accessories that go with any computer.

The Lenovo B500 is an “all-in-one” PC, meaning it’s a CPU built into a monitor with a retractable stand to keep it level. Now, the question is, can a slimmed-down desktop perform just as well?

Slim but busty

This model is no more than 3in thick but boasts a 23in widescreen full HD display. It is monstrous and covers almost the entire front frame. Watching movies in HD is simply exhilarating, so much so that you forget this is a PC and not a TV.

Beyond the movies, there is so much space for additional icons, files and folders viewable on a single screen instead of a list. This is excellent for those who enjoy having everything at a glance.

The set comes with a Bluetooth mouse and keyboard. Now, as much as I am a fan of all things Bluetooth, this model seems to have a pretty shoddy built-in receiver. Syncing the keyboard was troublesome and took a long time for reasons unknown.

The mouse lags whenever you wake it up from “idle” mode. It goes without saying that both these appendages are hugely important and you expect them to work above all else.

Nuts and bolts

The B500 has a set of illuminated touchscreen buttons on the bottom right of the frame. These control the volume, brightness and one special button turns the monitor on and off (but not the PC). The buttons are highly responsive and the monitor button is always illuminated so that you can see it at night.

The power button is on the side with the optical drive, card reader and two USB ports. There are four more USB ports in the back that reduces the need for a USB extender, eliminating more cables in the process.

The whole unit is held up by a retractable stand and I do wonder about the long-term strength of that stand.

Stellar performance

Moore’s Law is not just doubling capacity, it’s also about halving the space required to house all that power. This model is testament to that. The Intel Core 2 Quad processor certainly puts out plenty of performance and the graphics card is decent.

The startup time is impressive at roughly two minutes (not scientifically tested). If you are an ardent PC gamer reading this, I installed Supreme Commander 2 and the GT240M was still smooth at the highest graphics level. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare worked fairly well too — loading the levels took unusually long though.

With 4GB of RAM and half a terrabyte of space, it feels like a little command centre. What is even better is that it gives you that commanding feeling while allowing you to throw things that you need behind it because there is still so much space left.

Books can be piled on the space where the CPU used to be. If you spend a lot of time at your desk or if your job is built around one, you will really appreciate the benefits of having more space for important stuff.

There is ample room for storing fat HD movie files and a lifetime collection of music. No compromise on hard disk space here, which is a big plus.

The webcam takes up no space at all but still churns out fantastic pictures and really good video. Skype is the best way to test a mic — if your friends keep asking you to repeat yourself, you could have a bad mic. Suffice to say, this unit passed the completely made-up Skype-test with flying colours.

Silence is deafening

When I set up this review unit, only one cable ran astray across the back and into the ground — the speaker cable. It was necessary because the built-in speakers were plainly poor. It was the biggest disappointment and it was the only important thing missing from the all-encompassing IdeaCentre.

Lenovo actually managed to squeeze in a light to illuminate the speakers, which are at the bottom and they even built a touchscreen button for that light. But it is purely decorative. They should have mounted a small bass emitter instead. Wasted chance.

The optical drive pops out from the side. This may look cool but it means that you have to snap on a CD on the tray that it is suspended on the frame. If you try and do it with one hand, it seems like you can break it as there is very little plastic on that frame. Slot trays are better any day for me as they are also less likely to break.

For those who watch free-to-air TV, the B500 comes with a TV tuner to keep you covered.

Conclusion

Priced at USD1000, I believe the Lenovo B500 IdeaCentre is an interesting choice for a desktop. Gamers may be turned off by the graphics card and that is understandable.

However it could be an attractive proposition for students, working professionals and movie buffs from any category. Add a couple of hundred ringgit more for a good set of speakers and you’ve got yourself a pretty awesome wireless command centre. When they become cheap enough to buy on a whim, I will have three of these in every room.

Pros: Space saver; powerful performance; great design; plenty of memory.

Cons: Poor quality speakers; flimsy optical drive tray; unconvincing support stand.

All-in-one PC

Manufacturer: Lenovo
PROCESSOR: Intel Core 2 Quad Q8400S (2.66GHz, 1,333MHz FSB, 4MB Cache)
MEMORY: 4GB DDR3 RAM
DISPLAY: 23in widescreen HD (1,920 x 1,080-pixels)
GRAPHICS: nVidia GeForce GT 240M 1GB
STORAGE: 500GB SATA hard drive
CONNECTIVITY: WiFi 802.11b/g, Ethernet LAN, Bluetooth
PORTS: PS/2 keyboard, AV-in, digital TV antenna socket, six USB ports, 6-in-1 card reader
OPERATING SYSTEM: Windows 7 Home Premium
OTHER FEATURES: TV tuner, built-in webcam
DIMENSIONS (W x H x D): 560mm x 25-38mm x 440mm

Buy from your local amazon:

Read more...

Netbook Review: Samsung N210

The Samsung N210 is a light and stable companion for those everyday surfing needs.

HAVING reviewed a few netbooks prior to this one, I had my reservations with the Samsung N210. However, all that was thrown out the window when I powered up the N210 and I have not looked back since.

Firstly, a netbook is really meant for simple, everyday tasks. This includes web surfing, watching videos online and offline, and maybe some light work.

At the end of the day, one gets a netbook for convenience, usability and portability. The N210 flawlessly excelled in everything even with multiple tabs open in my Internet browser. I have grown to love the machine. A lot.

The thing is, the N210 could be used as a workstation but the strain on the processor may mean a lag in performance and it’s difficult to work on a small LCD screen without crying out for more space.

Features

I think what made the N210 stand out from the rest of the netbooks and laptops I have tried before is the fact that it is running on Microsoft Windows 7 Starter edition.

This version of Windows 7 is optimised for netbooks, a stripped down version that will run smoothly on the Atom processor with minimum RAM.

In fact, the N210 only requires 1GB RAM and the experience is silky smooth without major glitches, hang-ups or hiccups.

The N210 has the same standard specifications one may find on other netbooks — Atom N450 processor, GMA3150 graphics chip, 250GB hard disk, WiFi, webcam and a 10.1in screen.

Mixed feelings

The 10.1in non-glossy LCD screen is actually very easy on the eyes and one does not feel the strain even when using the netbook for long periods of time.

It comes with three USB ports which is helpful and a VGA out.

The speakers are a bit of a disappointment as they sound tinny and airy but one cannot expect much bass from a netbook of this size.

Plugging in headphones or speakers would be a better bet if you want your music to sound better.

HANDY: The N210's touchpad is optimised for multi touch.

I could not find the power button when I first got the N210, probably because everything blended together so well on the white unit I got.

I had trouble locating the memory card reader as well.

The clean lines on the N210 prove that it is a winner in style, maximising space and creating a handsome netbook that you will be proud to tote around.

The good thing about the N210 is the touchpad, which is very well optimised for multitouch. It was easy to scroll up and down a webpage or enlarge photos.

The other thing that I liked about the N210 is that there was enough space to rest my wrists comfortably.

But the one thing I was most impressed with was the battery life. I managed to surf the Net for at least seven hours on the N210 which has to be a feat in itself.

None of the previous netbooks I tested before could beat this and that says something. Perhaps it is Windows 7 Starter edition or the bulky battery pack on the N210 but whatever it is, good job Samsung!

Conclusion

Overall, my experience with the Samsung N210 has been nothing short of fun, cool and easy.

Most importantly, I value the stability of the machine and the fact that it does not lag.

It beats my sluggish and slow AIO PC by miles. The Samsung N210 is definitely a winner in my book.

Pros: Stable; good looking; long battery life; ample palm rest.

Cons: Bulky battery pack; speakers too soft.

Netbook

Manufacturer: Samsung
PROCESSOR: Intel Atom N450 (1.66GHz, 667MHz, 512KB) processor
MEMORY: 1GB DDR2 RAM
GRAPHICS: Intel GMA3150
DISPLAY: 10.1in LCD with LED backlight (1,024 x 600-pixel resolution)
STORAGE: 250GB hard drive
CONNECTIVITY: WiFi, 10/100 LAN
I/O PORTS: Three USB 2.0 ports, card reader, VGA out, headphone and microphone jacks
OPERATING SYSTEM: Microsoft Windows 7 Starter edition
OTHER FEATURES: Webcam
DIMENSIONS (W x D x H): 265 x 29 x 189mm
WEIGHT: 1.33kg

Read more...

Netbook Review: HP Envy 15

The HP Envy netbook costs a lot but it also has a lot to offer.

WHEN it comes to performance on the go, there are very few netbooks that can deliver the power needed to run heavy-duty applications.

The HP Envy 15 is one of the few exceptions to the rule. It is a ­powerhouse that has an impressive hardware specification that outclasses most other netbooks.

It’s got the looks

The Envy is a great looking machine with a nice curved body made of bonded aluminium and magnesium. It has really cool looking laser etched patterns on the entire lid and part of the palm rest on the inside.

A LOOKER: The Envy’s lid is adorned with fine
patterns that enhance its aesthetics.

The netbook bears a strong resemblance to the Apple Macbook Pro models as it has a similar glossy screen and chiclet keyboard.

Big as it is, the Envy is relatively slim, measuring just an inch thick, a feat it achieves by leaving out the optical drive.

However, the premium netbook is on the heavy side — it weighs 2.34kg so it isn’t the ideal netbook to bring along on every trip.

Around the sides, the Envy has two USB inputs as well as an eSata combo port that also doubles up as a third USB port for hooking up additional devices.

There is also an Ethernet port, an SD card reader and a HDMI out.

The features

The Envy’s large 15.6in widescreen has a full HD resolution of 1,920 x 1,080-pixels which is a lot of screen space — it almost feels like you are using a desktop PC.

We were quite impressed at how sharp and crisp everything appeared on screen from regular text to high definition videos.

The screen is amazingly bright and is visible even under bright sunlight.

However, colour shifts occur if viewed from extreme angles but it isn’t very bad. One downside though is the screen is too reflective and it is distracting at times.

The Envy has two stereo speakers above the keyboard. The speakers can be pretty loud when turned up all the way but still maintain very clear audio quality. It’s good for both music and movies.

The keyboard feels very nice and spacious, and the keys themselves feel nice to type on.

LARGE: The Envy features a large keyboard
and a multitouch enabled trackpad.

It has a few extra buttons along the sides that act as shortcuts to commonly used applications such as e-mail and web browser.

For a premium netbook it is a shame that it doesn’t have a backlit keyboard which is handy when typing in the dark.

The Envy also has a large multitouch trackpad which is great for controlling the cursor. Like most other multitouch trackpads it supports gesture commands so you can use two-fingers to scroll and pinch to zoom in or out.

The Envy comes with an external Blu-ray combo drive which is handy when you want to watch HD movies on the go.

The drive doesn’t require external power and has two additional USB ports.

Performance

When we powered up the Envy for the first time, we were quite surprised to find that it wasn’t Windows that booted up but rather HP’s instant-on QuickWeb operating system.

It is a simple Linux pre-boot environment that hosts a few simple applications that will allow you to browse the web, check e-mail, listen to music and even make a Skype call.

It’s a nice feature to have when you are in a hurry to surf the Web or listen to music but it is unbearably sluggish when browsing photos.

Without a doubt it is better to fully boot the netbook into Windows 7 from the get go. As mentioned before the Envy is a powerful PC with Intel’s top-of-the-line Core i7 processor (1.73GHz) and has 8GB RAM.

It’s great for multitasking as you can easily run Photoshop while web browsing on Firefox and playing a HD video.

And together with the ATI Radeon 4830 graphics chip, the netbook has enough firepower to handle even games.

We tried playing Left 4 Dead 2 and it looked really good with the graphics set on high. The Envy managed to keep a consistent frame rate without any hint of slow down even when there were dozens of zombies on screen at once.

For a real challenge, we installed Far Cry 2 to push the netbook to its limits. We ran the built- in benchmark and the netbook scored 15fps on the highest setting at 1080p resolution.

The game ran better when the graphics was set on high but on a lower 720p resolution.

However, one major drawback is the amount of heat the Envy generates when in use. It gets so hot that it is uncomfortable to place on your lap or even place your hands on the palm rest.

In terms of battery life, the power hungry Envy’s consumes a standard six-cell battery very quickly.

After a full charge, the battery lasted barely an hour when we played a Blu-ray movie. The netbook also didn’t fare too well when it came to just surfing as it lasted only 1.5 hours.

You can’t really get serious work done on the go with the netbook unless are you willing to lug a power adaptor.

To extend the Envy’s battery life, HP included an additional nine-cell battery pack that conveniently attaches to the underside of the netbook.

While it significantly improves the Envy’s battery performance by a few hours, it comes at a cost of making the netbook more bulky and heavy.

Conclusion

The HP Envy 15 is a classy netbook that has a lot going for it.

It is a multimedia powerhouse that’s great for running all sorts of applications, watching movies, surfing and even playing games. Plus, its stereo speakers are pretty good as it delivers crisp, clear tunes.

However, the Envy isn’t very portable and the battery life suffers due to its demanding processor and graphics chip. But the biggest issue with the netbook is the amount of heat it generates.

Also, the Envy is a very expensive piece of hardware that costs as much as two to three mid-range netbooks.

Still, you are getting a lot with the price tag: A powerful Core i7 ­processor, dedicated graphics chip, an external Blu-ray combo drive and even an extra nine-cell battery.

All in all, the HP Envy isn’t a netbook that’s designed for everyone — but if you can afford it, you’ll be pleased with what you get.

Pros: Great performance; nice speakers; large trackpad.

Cons: Heavy; runs very hot; battery life could be better.

Premium netbook

Manufacturer: Hewlett-Packard
PROCESSOR: Intel Core i7-Q820M quad-core processor (1.73GHz)
MEMORY: 8GB DDR3 RAM
GRAPHICS: ATI Radeon HD 4830 graphics chip with 1GB RAM
DISPLAY: 15.6in LCD with LED backlight (1,920 x 1,080-pixel resolution)
STORAGE: 500GB hard drive
CONNECTIVITY: WiFi, gigabit Ethernet, Bluetooth
I/O PORTS: Two USB 2.0 ports, 1 combo USB/eSata port, HDMI out, 3.5mm headphone jack
OPERATING SYSTEM: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium
OTHER FEATURES: SD card reader, webcam, external blu-ray combo drive
DIMENSIONS (W x D x H): 380 x 243 x 26mm
WEIGHT: 2.34kg (with standard six-cell battery)

Read more...

Keyboard Review: Microsoft Arc Keyboard

Microsoft’s Arc Keyboard earns points for style but loses some in terms of usability.

THERE is a very fine line between having something designed to look really good and something that is unusable because of it.

Well, let me present to you exhibit A — the Microsoft Arc keyboard, the company’s attempt at keeping a delicate balance between usability and a product that looks good.

Like the Arc Mouse, the Arc Keyboard is all about design in a compact form factor — say what you will about it, you certainly can’t deny that the Arc Keyboard is one hot little number.

The question is, is it a matter of form of function? Read on to find out.

Tiny package

In the box, there’s very little that comes with the Arc Keyboard — you get a driver disc, two AAA-size batteries, the keyboard itself and attached magnetically on the back, a nano transceiver.

The keyboard itself is very light and compact as it’s certainly one of the lightest keybaords I’ve ever tested.

Design-wise, it’s very nice — true to its name, the Arc keyboard has a gentle vertical arc with an apex somewhere near the middle of the keyboard.

The keyboard isn’t rectangular either as it tapers on either end while the keys themselves are arranged in an arc.

The overall effect of all this is a very eye-catching design and I really like the look that Microsoft has achieved with this keyboard.

However, some concessions have been made to make the keyboard as compact as possible — for one thing, there’s no number pad, so if you use the number pad a lot, this isn’t the keyboard for you.

UNIQUE: The directional pad on the Microsoft Arc Keyboard is great for your HTPC, but is unusable for gaming. The tiny USB transceiver is also shown here.

For another, the Delete, Home, End, Page Up and Page Down buttons have been arranged in the same top row as six F-keys — yes only six F-keys as the F7 to F12 are accessed using the same keys but with the FN key as a modifier.

Finally, and perhaps most significantly, the arrow keys have been replaced with a four-way directional rocker switch.

In use

Having spent a few days working with the Microsoft Arc Keyboard (including typing out this review) I have to say that this keyboard isn’t for everyone.

For example, if you use your PC every day for gaming or even word processing, the Arc Keyboard isn’t for you. The shallow key travel, lack of number pad and proper arrow keys makes gaming and extended word processing uncomfortable at best.

The problem is also that as you move out towards the keys at the corners, they tend to be squashed closer which means that if you’re a touch typist, you might very well miss the keys on the outer edge of the keyboard.

However, as a small, easily portable keyboard that works better than the built in keyboard on your netbook, the Arc Keyboard passes with flying colours — the keys are certainly more comfortable to type on and better spaced than on any of the current 10in netbooks I’ve tried.

There is also one computing scenario that the Microsoft Arc Keyboard would be great in — as a wireless keyboard for your HTPC (home theatre PC).

In this case, the Arc’s design really comes into its own — it’s light and fits on the lap, the 2.4GHz wireless technology works very well even when transceiver is placed down and out of the way and the directional pad ­actually works well for navigating in Windows Media Center.

Conclusion

So is the Microsoft Arc Keyboard a case of form over function? Well, yes and no, depending on what you intend to use it for.

If you’re looking for a cool-looking wireless keyboard for the desktop PC you use every day, then I’m afraid the Arc Keyboard just won’t do.

However, as a keyboard designed for light use, such as in your HTPC or as a better keyboard for your netbook, then it’s actually pretty good.

Pros: Attractive design; lightweight; good wireless reception.

Cons: Missing number pad; directional pad is not for everyone; shallow key travel.

Portable wireless keyboard

Manufacturer: Microsoft Corp
Operating system: Windows XP/Vista/7, Mac OSX
Interface: USB (nano transceiver)

Read more...

Netbook Review: Acer Ferrari One

The Acer Ferrari One netbook certainly stands out from the crowd with its personalised racing red cover and zippy performance.

Inspired by Scuderia Ferrari elements, the Ferrari One definitely sets itself apart from the rest of the netbook field with its scarlet red lid and famous prancing horse badge.

To complete its sporty look, the netbook also features a carbon fibre-design for the palm-rest, Ferrrari-engraved touchpad with multi-gesture functionalities and... get this, four rubber feet that look like tyres.

That’s not all, the Ferrari experience even extends to exclusive Ferrari calendars and themes for the desktop.

Under the hood

This netbook is not just banking on just its sporty looks to entice customers. With a dual-core 1.2GHz Athlon X2 L310 CPU and 1MB L2 cache in the driver’s seat, it feels snappier and more powerful than a netbook with an Intel Atom processor.

Of course, having 4GB of RAM and an ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3200 integrated graphics comes in handy, especially when running high definition (HD) movies.

It also has a 320GB hard drive so there’s plenty of storage space for all your documents and multimedia files.

The netbook also has a built-in Crystal Eye VGA webcam with a low-light enhanced feature that allows it to be used even in a dim environment.

TOUCH HERE: The Ferrari-engraved touchpad supports
multi-gesture functionalities.

Also available are a myriad of wireless connectivity options including Bluetooth, WiFi and even a HSDPA slot. The latter means users can insert their SIM card directly for connecting to a 3G broadband service.

It takes about one minute for the Ferrari One to boot up to the pre-installed Windows 7 Home Premium operating system.

The netbook has a 11.6in WXGA LED-backlight screen, which produces sharp and clear images at a native 1,366 x 768-pixel resolution.

The keyboard offers comfortable typing with good tactile feedback and is also quite responsive. The multi-gesture touchpad supports two-finger scroll, pinch, rotate and flip features for faster access to the netbook’s functions. All worked quite well, we might add.

STYLISH STOPS: Even the Ferrari One’s
rubber feet look like car tyres.

Start your engines

I had no problems playing my current favourite test game Spore on this machine. Viewing YouTube videos and movie trailers were also not a problem.

I installed the KMplayer app to play a 720p version of the Transformers movie and am happy to report that the playback went smoothly with no dropped frames although there was some minimal jitter on some of the frames.

The Ferrari One also has an ATI XGP port, which allows users to hook up an external graphics solution directly to the machine to boost the existing graphics performance.

Unfortunately, this feature couldn’t be tested because there was no compatible graphics card available in the office at the time of this review.

Moving on, this model does not offer any HDMI port, which is a shame because now users need to connect two different types of cables — a VGA and an audio — when they want to view movies on a bigger HDTV screen.

It ships with the Dolby Home Theater v3-certified sound system but the problem is that the speaker doesn’t seem loud enough to let users really enjoy the experience.

Even at the highest setting, you need to be really close to the netbook to clearly hear the audio details.

I also noticed that the fan seemed to be constantly running to cool down the processor.

It is a well-known fact that AMD laptops tend to run warmer than their Intel counterparts but the noise was really quite loud at certain times.

When it comes to the test of endurance, the Ferrari One passed with flying colours as it managed to clock up to five hours of battery life on a single charge, which is in line with Acer’s claims.

The netbook was mainly used for wordprocessing and heavy photo-editing during this time. But when WiFi was switched on, the operational time was reduced by an hour or so. Still, this is not too bad in our book.

The finish line

If you can look past the missing HDMI port, noisy cooling fan and a price tag that’s not too wallet-friendly, the Ferrari One is really one good-looking and well-designed machine.

It also has enough firepower to run HD movies and regular office productivity applications smoothly.

A brain and looks, all in one package. What more can you ask for?

Pros: Impressive Ferrari themed design; dual-core processor on a netbook; smooth HD movie playback; good battery life.

Cons: Noisy cooling fan; no HDMI port; slightly pricey.

Netbook

Manufacturer: Acer
Processor: AMD Athlon X2 dual-core processor L310 with AMD HyperTransport 3.0 technology
Chipset: AMD M780G chipset
Memory: 4GB DDR2
Graphics: ATI Radeon HD 3200 Graphics (up to 2,047MB of HyperMemory)
Display: 11.6in WXGA Acer CineCrystal LED-backlit TFT LCD
Storage: 320GB hard drive
Connectivity: WiFi, 56K modem, 10/100 Ethernet, Bluetooth
I/O ports: Three USB 2.0 ports, VGA, ATI XGP socket
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium
Other features: Memory card reader, built-in webcam
Dimensions (W x D x H): 285 x 204 x 30mm
Weight: 1.44kg

Read more...

Netbook Review: HP ProBook 5310m

The HP ProBook 5310m is a sleek and very thin netbook that is not only pleasing to the eye but also packs plenty of punch to satisfy even the most demanding business user.

IS IT me or are netbooks getting sleeker and thinner with the release of newer models? Case in point is the new Hewlett-Packard ProBook 5310m business netbook, which is a mere 23.5mm thick.

As a comparison, Apple’s slimmest model, the MacBook Air — which the ProBook will always be compared to — is only a mere 0.41mm thinner.

Of course, sacrifices had to be made to achieve such feat and in the 5310m’s case, it doesn’t come with a built-in optical drive and the legacy VGA port.

But fret not. To make up for those missing items, this ProBook comes in a trendy design with user-friendly keyboard and touchpad, the latest Intel i7 processor, new DisplayPort and hosts of other interesting features too boot.

A stunner

In terms of looks, this is one stunning business netbook. Period.

It is encased in a durable black anodised aluminum and magnesium frame and is wrapped in soft-touch paint that proves one can look glamourous and yet mean business.

SLIM: The 5310m is HP’s thinnest business netbook model to date.

The 5310m also features a maintenance-free, full-size island-keys keyboard which have a clear coating applied over them that HP says makes them 50 times more resistant to visible wear than standard keyboards.

Thanks to strong tactile feedback we found the keyboard quite comfortable to use too.

Its multi-touch capability touchpad works with the preloaded Synaptics Touch software that allows us to zoom, rotate and even scroll photos and webpages by simply pinching or gliding our fingers around.

The LED-backlight display looks bright and clear, that is, if you look straight at it.

Viewing from it the side is a different matter altogether as it loses a lot of the brightness and colours begin to fade.

For added security, the drive is protected by HP’s 3D DriveGuard technology against impacts, bumps and drops — it works by temporarily parking the disk’s head when it detects sudden movement.

Gamers will probably shy away from this model since it only offers an integrated Mobile Intel GS45 Express Chipset. But bear in mind, this is targeted at business users and these people seldom have time to play games.

However, we are happy to report that non-graphics intensive games like Spore can play well on this machine.

While you can watch movies on the ProBook, the viewing experience is marred by the the netbook’s built-in speaker, which sounds muffled even at the highest setting.

EASY ACCESS: The 5310m offers a comfortable full-size
keyboard as well as a multitouch touchpad.

Missing what?

Conservative users may moan on the lack of an optical drive and a VGA port but ask yourself when was the last time you needed to use one.

An external DVD burner does come in handy when the need arises though but this means spending a little extra on getting one.

In place of the legacy VGA port, the 5310m has the latest DisplayPort that is able to stream data at high resolutions.

It is supposed to be the future standard and currently not many devices carry that option. We did not have a compliant device in the office so we couldn’t try it out.

If a VGA port is important to get your job done then you need to buy the optional VGA-to-DisplayPort adaptor or else the 5310m is probably not the suitable netbook for you.

Moving on, the netbook comes standard with three USB ports, a card reader as well as WiFi and Bluetooth. All which we found to be working quite well during the course of this review.

Battery life is up to five hours but this can be slightly extended if you switch off the WiFi connection.

Direct Internet connection

Booting up the machine was really, really quick. It took us less than a minute to log on to Windows and another minute to connect to the Internet via either WiFi or LAN cable.

This is all thanks to Windows 7 Home Premium and the netbook’s fast Intel Core 2 Duo P9300 processsor.

If that wasn’t enough, this HP offering also includes a quick boot-up options called QuickWeb for accessing the Internet; and Quicklook, which is a compatible offline version of Microsoft’s Outlook e-mail application.

All you have to do is press the dedicated buttons on the right side of the keyboard to access these functions during the booting process.

QuickWeb is a lighter version of the Firefox browser and you browse the Internet in less than 30 seconds as long as there is an Internet connection available.

It supports Flash, meaning you will have no problem watching YouTube videos.

However, the app does not support third-party plugins so you will not be able to view videos on websites which require a special player.

Quicklook is actually an offline Microsoft Outlook-compatible e-mail application, which limits users to only the reading and composing functions.

It is not connected to the Internet so newly composed e-mail will not be sent out until the users boot up to the OS and synch the app withOutlook.

As a business netbook, users would likely store lots of highly sensitive data on it.

To protect these from falling into the wrong hands the included ProtectTools can be quickly set up.

Amongst others, it can password-protect the netbook during preboot as well as encrypt the hard disk when it boots up to Windows.

Once secured, HP claims that a netbook thief will not be able log into the system or access the hard disk, even if he removes and tries to use it on another PC.

Also available are the File Sanitizer feature to “shred” (securely erase) files thus making them unrecoverable; and the ability to add a layer of security in the Device Access Manager to prevent unauthorised USB device attachments or Bluetooth pairings.

For keeps

Have you ever borrowed something and felt like not giving it back? Well, this is one of those occasions for us.

Apart from the netbook’s slight weight issue and missing optical drive, the 5310m seems like the perfect step up from the mini netbook models.

Frankly speaking, its design and fast system boot-up alone are enough to make anybody fall head over heels with it.

If you have the dough (RM3,299 to be exact) and are seriously looking for the perfect travelling companion, you should really give the ProBook 5310m a serious look.

Pros: Fast boot-up interface; cool design; good keyboard; plenty of security features

Cons: Poor quality speakers.

Ultra-thin netbook 

Manufacturer: Hewlett-Packard

Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo P9300 (2.26 GHz, 6MB L2 cache, 1,066 MHz FSB) 

Memory: 2GB DDR3 SODIMM

Graphics: Mobile Intel GS45 Express Chipset 

Display: 13.3in (1,366 × 768-pixels) glossy LED-backlight 

Storage: 280GB hard drive 

Connectivity: WiFi, Bluetooth, 10/100 Ethernet 

I/O ports: Three USB 2.0 ports, DisplayPort

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 

Other features: 2-in-1 Flash card reader (SD and MMC), built-in webcam, QuickWeb and Quicklook fast-boot options 

Dimensions (W x D x H): 328 x 221 x 23.5mm

Weight: 1.72kg 

Read more...