HP introduced the concept of the durable business-class netbook, and the Mini 5101 raises the bar with a more compact design and even longer battery life. This $425 machine is slightly more expensive than other netbooks, and the touchpad is a little finicky, but the Mini 5101 will no doubt appeal to business travelers who need their netbooks to handle some abuse while on the road.
Design
The HP Mini 5101 should look familiar to anyone who has seen HP’s ProBook line. Unlike its previous business-oriented netbooks—which had a silver, brushed aluminum chassis—the 5101 is all black. While the lid is a brushed aluminum, the deck and underside (which is made of a durable magnesium alloy) are coated in soft rubber paint (called SoftTouch) that was very comfortable.
Measuring 10.3 x 7.1 x 0.9 inches, the Mini 5101 isn’t the sveltest of netbooks, but it’s still easy to carry. While it does have an extended battery, it doesn’t protrude from the back of the system, as with the Toshiba mini NB205; rather, it bulges slightly from the bottom. At 2.8 pounds, the 5101 is about average when it comes to netbook weight.
Keyboard and Touchpad
Also in a departure from the Mini 2140, the keyboard (which is 95 percent of full size) has an island layout. While there’s more space now between each key, it was still easy to reach all of them, and the right Shift key is in the correct place. The keys have a rough, textured feel that’s comfortable to type on for extended periods. Like HP’s previous business netbooks, the keys are coated with a finish that HP claims makes them 50 times more resistant to visible wear. Additionally, the keyboard can withstand minor spills.
The touchpad on the Mini 5101 is a bit small at 2.5 x 1.4 inches (compared to 3.1 x 1.6 inches for the Toshiba mini NB205). Moreover, the glossy black surface on HP’s touchpad had too much friction, making it somewhat difficult to move the cursor. Still, the mouse buttons, also covered in a soft rubber, responded crisply. We were more than pleased to see that the buttons were below—as opposed to astride—the touchpad, as they were with previous incarnations of HP netbooks.
Display and Audio
The matte, 10.1-inch display on the 5101 had good viewing angles both vertically and horizontally; its resolution of 1024 x 600—typical for a netbook—was crisp enough for us to enjoy watching movies streamed from Hulu, as well as downloaded high-def content. A 720p video clip (“Super Speedway,” from the Windows HD Content Showcase) played back smoothly, without any pauses or interruptions, and we could clearly make out the detail in the race cars.
The forward-facing stereo speakers, located under the front lip of the system, provided loud and balanced sound for a netbook. While watching a movie or listening to music from Pandora, we were able to easily make out lyrics from across a room, and the bass provided enough oomph to let us know it was there.
Ports and Webcam
The 5101 has the typical netbook array of ports: two USB and a VGA port are on the left side, and the right houses one more USB port, Ethernet, headphone and mic jacks, and an SD Card reader.
The 2-megapixel webcam offered excellent images when chatting with a friend over Skype; she could clearly make out the colored pinstripes of our shirt, and reported little in the way of motion blur when we waved our hand in front of the camera.
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