HP Mini 5101

There are plenty of netbooks around, but those aimed specifically at businesspeople are few and far between. Hewlett Packard’s Mini 5101 is just that, though, and we like it.

You have to be prepared to live with Windows XP Home, Windows 7 Starter or Linux and deal with the usual netbook constraints such as a 10.1-inch screen, no optical drive and an Intel Atom N280 processor.

But a good netbook isn’t just about these headline specifications. The screen, for example, delivers a very clean and crisp 1024 x 600 pixels. We found Web browsing, doing webmail, and editing text to be a pleasure.

The chiclet keyboard is very well made, and we found typing at our normal touch-typing speed no problem. Other features include 1GB of RAM, a 160GB hard drive, memory card slot for SD and compatible formats, three USB 2.0 ports, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and Ethernet, and a 2 megapixel webcam. And the weight is just 1.2Kg.

The four-cell battery won’t keep you going all day, but for the odd bit of work between meetings this could be a better bet than a larger, more weighty notebook.

Prices start at £327 ex VAT and full details of the various models available are here.

Snadra Vogel