Editor's Note: Portions of this review were taken from our evaluation of the original HP Mini 1000.
What good is a netbook that you can take everywhere if you can’t stay connected everywhere? Enter HP’s Mini 1151NR, the first netbook offered directly from Verizon Wireless with integrated mobile broadband. Assuming you’re willing to pay $59.99 a month for 5GB of data, you can skip the bulky, awkward USB modem and get your Web fix on the go. You can also save some serious cash on the hardware. The Mini 1151NR sells for $199 (with a two-year contract and $50 online discount), versus $569 when similarly configured through HP.com. But while this netbook is a handy Web surfing companion, and we like the keyboard, the included 3-cell battery doesn’t last long enough on a charge. Plus, the device gets very warm during use.
Design
Like its predecessors, the HP Mini 1151NR is one of the most compact netbooks on the market, measuring only an inch thin and weighing 2.4 pounds. The swirl pattern on its glossy black lid gives this machine subtle elegance, as do touches such as the silver speaker bar above the keyboard (which reminds us of a long shaver foil) and the 10-inch screen’s flush display bezel. Up front you’ll find two switches with their own LEDs, one for power and another for wireless.
Keyboard and Touchpad
Ergonomically, this netbook is a mixed bag. The 92-percent size keyboard remains one of the best we’ve tested in the 10-inch netbook class, complete with large Shift keys and just the right amount of tactile feedback. Touch typists will love this layout. On the other hand, the Mini 1151NR retains the awkward touchpad straddled by two mouse buttons. We’d prefer that these buttons reside beneath the touchpad; and if you’d rather use an external mouse, you can easily deactivate the touchpad with a dedicated button just beneath the keyboard.
Display and Audio
The Mini 1151NR features a bright, glossy LED-backlit 10.1-inch screen with a resolution of 1024 x 576 pixels. The picture looked crisp and colorful when streaming a Saturday Night Live clip from Hulu.com. But we noticed a fair amount of distracting glare, especially during a morning bus ride from New Jersey to New York City. Those who plan on using this netbook outdoors will want to invest in a filter or film.
The speaker bar above the keyboard delivered plenty of volume but tinny sound when streaming Green Day from Pandora. An episode of 24 streaming from Hulu.com sounded loud and clear, including the crashes and explosions.
Ports and Webcam
Because the Mini 1151NR is so thin, it doesn’t have as many ports as other competing netbooks. And while the system features two USB ports, Ethernet, and a 2-in-1 memory card reader, it lacks a VGA port (an expansion port on the left will fit a VGA-out adapter that is available from HP for $79), and it has only a combo mic/headphone jack, rather than one dedicated for each.
The integrated 0.3-megapixel Webcam on our review unit provided decent images in a video call over Skype; our caller could see our face clearly. The microphone, located to the left of the Webcam, picked up some background noise, but our caller could hear us just fine without our needing to speak up.
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