Review of HP Mini 1033CL Notebook (Intel Atom Processor 1.60GHz, 10.2" LED

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It is hard to believe that HP and other netbook makers packed so many features into such a small package. This HP netbook is a little bigger than the average DVD case. It is TINY...and slim too. At 2lbs and some change, you can carry this thing all day long and not even notice the weight.

The features in the 1033CL match up with other netbooks on the market. The hard drive is a bit smaller than average 60GB v/s 120GB. This model comes with 1GB RAM v/s 2GB RAM on most Vista-enabled netbooks. Not deal breakers by any means...but savy shoppers can get more bang for their netbook dollars.

Now, let's talk about this netbook. The keyboard is darn near full-sized which makes touch typing possible. I crank out 80wpm on a regular keyboard and can get near that speed on this netbook. There are a few compromises though. The touchpad has buttons on either side v/s on top like most netbooks and laptops. The arrow keys are smaller than regular keys. There is no dedicated home key and now requires two keys be pressed (fn-left arrow). Most people won't notice it but power users might have an issue.

The speaker sits directly above the keyboard and sounds great! Some laptops and netbooks put the speakers under the unit or in the palmrest (so your hand covers it!) but HP got it right. Volume is loud and sound is full. Not tinny.

The 1033CL has plenty of ports. Power, USB, headphone/mic, and Ethernet are on the left. Another USB port and a smartcard slot are on the right. The front has buttons for power and for turning off the wireless network card. (great for saving power)

Speaking of power, this netbook comes with a 3cell battery. It is good for quick trips but if you want long-term power, shoot for a 6 cell battery or better. The battery compartment is in the bottom of the unit for easy access. RAM can also be upgraded via the bottom of the unit.

The display is very crisp. 10.2 inches sounds small but the Windows XP resolution is 1024x600 so it's bigger than expected. Movies look great on it. The display has the a reflective coating on it (don't remember technical name).

A few minor annoyances with this netbook. The webcam requires a lot of background light just to get a half-way decent picture. There is a port for an external monitor but the dongle for it wasn't included in the box. HP charges extra for it. The touchpad includes a generous space for scrolling. Almost too generous. About 3/4 of an inch of the touchpad is reserved for scrolling down a page. Fortunately, it can be adjusted using software.

Overall, the 1033CL is a fun netbook. It isn't the fastest or packed with the most features but the crisp display, the almost full-sized keyboard, and the audio make this unit stand out among competitors. I'm happy I bought it. The portability of it is just addictive. I take it to the kitchen, the bedroom, the garage, the front porch, backyard and more.

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In addition to the HP, I have an Asus eee, which runs Linux and has a keyboard that's just a little too small for sustained typing. The HP Mini 1033CL has a very nice keyboard and good screen resolution. I added an external optical drive and loaded MS Office with no problem.

However, for whatever reason, HP saw fit not to include a VGA port. Instead, there is an "expansion slot" that claims to carry VGA output (though an incoherent HP representative told me that it did not). HP does not yet sell a cable or adapter for this bizarre proprietary expansion slot. Thus, if you buy this machine for its portability, hoping it will reduce your luggage on business trips, as I did, you must also hope that your business does not require you to use your computer to project PowerPoint. Sadly, my business travel always requires this, and is a key reason I would sacrifice the ease of a full-sized laptop for a mini. Therefore, until such time as HP releases a proprietary connector to provide a normally-standard output dock, I will be traveling with my eee. I'd rather take the HP, but it is useless if I can't project.

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I love this laptop! it's so miniature and light-weight. I just toss it in my back pack and off I go. I also have a wireless air card which I got from AT&T, so I had get 24-7 internet anywhere. There's also many wifi hotspots nowdays to take advantage of free internet.

I'm going to Japan in a couple months. I plan to put the laptop in hibernate mode, and when I need to look up a restaurant, or places to go, or translate something, I'll have the resource with me.

Things I didn't like about the laptop:

The laptop could use a built-in bluetooth. The laptop taskbar had a bluetooth icon, but it says it's disabled, but I might get one of those miniature blueTooth dongles that sitcks out only a few millimeters. I think HP could've put in a couple more USB ports, so I carry around a USB hub just in case. Other than that, you should consider this laptop. I give it a 9.5/10 for this laptop.

HP Mini 1033CL Specsby the way, I bought mine from adilux, he/she shipped fast and insured via UPS! thanks again adilux! Kudos!

Honest reviews on HP Mini 1033CL Notebook (Intel Atom Processor 1.60GHz, 10.2" LED

This netbook is everything you need in a netbook. Easy to type on keyboard. nice screen and battery life. All components are quality made. The only problem I have noticed is a line developed on the screen due to it rubbing on the keyboard. Other than that, this is great.

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Finding anything on this specific Hewlett Packard HP Mini 110-1033CL was a challenge. My wife just bought one for my Grandson from COSTCO and it appears to have more features than were available in the past. For one, it has a 160GB SATA hard drive, and for another the standard battery is a 6 cell which lasts way longer than the smaller 3 cell. I haven't had much time to work with this machine but the display is fairly bright and the keyboard easy to use. My only concern was how long Microsoft plans to continue supporting Windows XP. I may turn it back in in a couple of months if HP comes out with a mini that has Windows 7 loaded, along with 4 GB of ram to make it work correctly. I suspect it will cost more as well.