HP Mini 5102 Review (Updated) Discussion

If you're looking for a netbook with great battery life and good durability then the new HP Mini 5102 might be exactly what you need. You can even configure this netbook with a touchscreen for a tablet-like experience. Keep reading to find out if this business-class netbook is worth the price.

Read the full content of this Article: HP Mini 5102 Review (Updated)

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Ew, netbooks already suck, but with that price tag...

 

how about $749 for 2, then we can talk.

 

is that price a joke? what idiot executive thought that a $750 price tag would be a good idea. I got my asus ul20a which is wayyy better for $579 CAD. they really need to rethink this product.

 

Price = FAIL

 

In your opinion netbooks suck. They remain practical and useful for a lot of people.

 

The 5101 was also quite similarly prices in the beginning. I paid my own 250 euros in september (about 3 months after release) and it has hd screen and 6 cell battery included.

Expect actual retail prices to be much lower after few premium months

 

The 5102 indeed shares the ProBook design, and this is the nicest-looking netbook I have seen to date. The design is very professional and if the keyboard is like the ProBooks' it has the best keyboard on a netbook as well.

That said it is still a netbook, which I believe to be a fad on the way out. The Atom processor is just too gutless - it even lags during basic web surfing. Additionally, the screen resolution (1024x600) is a formidable productivity barrier. And for the as-noted ludicrous pricetag . . . you can get a great CULV notebook for that amount of money with the same amount of battery, a better screen resolution, more processing power, and more expandability.

 

I have both the Mini 5101 and the ProBook 5310m. The Mini actually has a nicer finish on the keys, as it's sort of pebble-grained.

The 5101 started at around $400 on HP's website when it was first released. I don't know what the hell they're thinking, charging $750 for what's essentially a minor refresh.

 

They're too slow for most people lol, they just don't know any better.
Chaz is right, they lag during basic web surfing....but that point aside, this needed to be priced around ~500 at most.

 

They are a perfect compromise for students, especially when they already have a 2nd more powerful computer. I have plenty of friends who definitely know better, but chose to buy netbooks for what they offer. Netbooks are great as a secondary machine, and more than capable for taking notes, basic entertainment and browsing the web. They are the perfect size for the minuscule desks found in lecture halls.

 

I know that, I never said they weren't useful at all. When I said they suck, I meant they're slow.

 

Question, can this thing play Hulu 480p at full screen? Anandtech says N450+3150 can do it, but not great, I am wondering how bad it is.

 

I agree. My brother loves his combination of the Core i7 + GTX275 desktop at home and his $99 Dell Mini 10v that went along with it. He finds it very convenient to bring to meetings, friend's houses, etc - in fact, he often uses it at home.

I love the look of the HP Minis, especially the ones taking ProBook elements. But the price tag is much, much too high.

 

This is wayyyy too expensive. PC Mag's review made the machine seem WAY less expensive-at $400 dollars with a 4 cell battery. Even THAT price point seems a bit "up there."

It sucks even more because, I think it looks great, esp. in blue.

 

$400 would be great for a netbook with this durability, but since the 5102 showed up for purchase on the HP website it has listed for between $749 and $899:

http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/us/en/sm/WF25a/321957-321957-64295-3841267-3955550-4094022.html

As for the ability to watch 480p HULU, it plays fine in windowed mode but you get dropped frames when you watch it full screen. It's still watchable if you don't mind the occasional dropped frame, but the playback is noticeably less than perfect. You also get even more dropped frames/stutter if you move the mouse cursor around on the screen when 480P Flash video is running in full screen mode.

 

Surely the price can't be right. $749 starting price for a netbook????

 

They need to milk the fad for all it's worth before it dies.

 

Thanks for the answer. I guess Atom is still not quite there, then. I was considering getting a no-frill netbook, particularly Asus 1005PE, for the long flight across the Pacific this summer then tape it to our home elliptical when we are back so I can watch hulu while working out. Oh well.

 

Maybe they just heard Acer's (or Asus?) complaints and decided to be a good sport to help Acer (and Asus) selling CULV notebooks...

 

HP SmartBuy SKUs launch on February 1st and the price for this configuration with the 4-cell battery will be $399.

This is a great companion notebook and comes with HP QuickSync which allows you to sync e-mail, files, etc. with your primary PC. It also comes with HP QuickWeb which launches a web browser from off in about 15 to 20 seconds. Not to mention Corel Home Office pre-installed ($69 retail value).

 

How do you know this? If you are on official representative of HP, then you should contact the site admins to update the price in their review.

 

Interesting ... I woke up this morning to discover HP lowered the price on their website to $599 ... the same price I mentioned would be more reasonable for a business-class netbook.

Interesting coincidence indeed.

I'll update the pricing in the review to reflect the new $599 price tag.

 

Still too expensive for a netbook!

 

We have also confirmed that the price will start at $399 in February.

We will update the price when the HP website updates, but we feel wrong telling people they can buy something for $399 if they can't actually buy it for $399 when we publish the review.

 

Ya took the words right out of my mouth

Though it is nice the price has apparently dropped...... (wonder how many other manufacturers troll this site? lol)

 

Honestly, I just don't see the value in a $599, or even $399 (base model) netbook. Considering I got a fully loaded Asus 1005HA from the Egg for $335, it's hard to justify a higher price to me for a netbook.

 

HP's CTO website is now showing the faster N470 Atom available. I wonder how that will improve performance given the HD display option and hardware video accelerator.

I managed to price out a top-end 5102 configuration, but it came to a horrific $1071!!! No netbook, no matter how nice or powerful, is worth that much. I remember the HP 2133 sold in 2008 was priced at over $800 as well for certain configurations.

So sad HP overprices these well-built and great-looking executive toys. I love the dark red metallic finish.

 

Very sweet looking netbook!

I agree though - the price is ridiculous....

 

Any ideas on how adding multitouch can affect battery life?? I am seriously considering this netbook

 

UPDATE: HP just changed the starting price of the Mini 5102 and it's now officially $399 ... and much more appealing.

I've updated the review and conclusion to reflect the new price.

 

Okay - that is a little more in the ballpark ... still not too crazy about the screen res, but otherwise a nice netbook offering imo.

 

While I think $400 is a good price for the netbook, the fact that the smart buy only comes with a 4-cell battery is disappointing. A big part of having a netbook is portability and being untethered for long periods of time. While a 4-cell will get you a decent amount of time, it's nothing compared to the 6-cell. The small increase in weight means I don't have to carry around a power cable most of the time. I would buy one right now, if I could get the $399 and shell out a bit more ($30-40) for the 6-cell. But as it stands, you can't with the smart buy, and customization of your own configuration is minimum $518. You're better off getting the $399 and buying an extra 6-cell which costs $130 by itself. Not cool. I guess it's the Asus Eeepc 1005PE for me. Unless someone at HP wants to contact me and work out that deal for me, I'd happily buy right now.

 

agreed, if the screen res was 1366*768 it would be a lot more compelling.

 

I would even settle for 1200 x 800 ... 1024 x 600 just does not cut it for me.

 

Hello, people!

I am seriously considering this netbook...
I wonder if the battery life will be strongly affected by the touchscreen??

I read it on Amazon, that a guy regrets buying the touchscreen version, for it cut the battery life to about 5-6 hours?

 

Usually, I openly express my dislike of netbooks and 16:9 - still, if this has a 1366x768 I think I would actually buy it.

 

It would be a good idea, esp. given the added benefit of the mini 5102's more rugged construction.

 

I was going to say, your bumping the lower end of the CULV thin and light market so look at those too.

 

wow best looking netbook ever!
i just check online with Hp Canada and this netbook is no where to be found

nvm found it

 

What is with HP's pricing??? Now it's up to $415, and that base model doesn't include bluetooth.

 

Does anyone know if having the higher res screen has a significant impact on battery life? I can't find any reviews with battery life tests that are based on the high res screen configuration.

I assume it will have some impact, but not sure how much.

 

I know...it's ridiculous. I tried to configure a blue one with a extended life battery and it was the price of a mainstream full size laptop. No thanks.....

It's negligable at best really, I have a high resolution screen on my 14 inch laptop and it still gets good battery life (5-6 hours with a good battery)

 

Saw one of these in a store the other day ... it is a NICE looking netbook! I especially liked the keyboard.

 

I would call and see if you could do an exchange, or return it for a refund and re-order.

 

Glad to hear it worked out ... many of your impressions about the netbooks external feel match my experience I had handling it at the retail store....

What kind of battery life are you able to get out of it, and with what settings?

 

If you actually went to a store and purchased it, I don't see why they wouldn't let you open up another one and first test if it has dead pixels or not. I would have personally gone that route and exchanged it if it were possible.

 

hey friends, does anyone else experiences overheating issues with this thing?

I got this netbook with 1 gig of CL7 ram and replaced it with 2 gigs CL5 ram from my old macbook. Now I often get weird bluescreens if I watch youtube or do any other CPU-heavy tasks (e.g. a backup). I did nothing to the software, so I am sure it's a hardware issue.

 

Sorry about the confusion - I was referring to your general overall assessment of the machine as opposed to the particular defect you encountered.

 

Well, I'll try to switch to another RAM and check the stability. In the meantime I've found my "F" key (not fn, just regular "F") bloated and right frame of the keyboard broken. There's a small "teeth" that keeps keyboard frame fixed on chassis. So it is broken now. And I am pretty accurate user and my lappie wasn't carried out of my home at all.

I am missing my HP Compaq 2510p that was rock-solid...