The HP Mini 210, like the Dell Mini 10 (here's an idea: everyone name their netbooks the same thing!) can be configured with a $35 Broadcom's BCM70012 Crystal HD accelerator -- it's a slightly older model than the Dell's BCM70015. Released just yesterday, Flash 10.1 Beta 3 was optimized to support the Broadcom card, and the Mini 210 definitely reaps some of the benefits of it, but that's only after you download it from Adobe's site and then update the Broadcom drivers. When that was all said and done, the HP Mini 210 battery didn't have any issues playing back a 720p Avatar trailer on YouTube, but unlike the Dell Mini 10 it had issues going up to the 1080p setting. The video proof is below, but according to Broadcom the issues have to do with Flash 10.1 Beta 3's compatibility with the older version of the card. Though that's a bummer, we assume most will be content with the 720p playback considering the screen resolution and the Pineview chipset's lack of HDMI support. We should also note that Flash videos played much better in Google Chrome -- we got a few "Not Responding" errors in Firefox.
As we learned with the Dell Mini 10, playing local HD content is highly dependent on software. A downloaded 1080p Iron Man 2 trailer played back without pauses in the preloaded ArcSoft TotalMedia Theatre software, but playback of that same video was choppier in Windows Media Player 11 and VLC Player. There's no doubt in our minds that the HD playback experience on the Mini 210 is miles ahead of that of a Pine Trail netbook without Broadcom inside and that counts for something. However, we have to say that it isn't as seamless as it need to be for the end user and the solution continues to have more restrictions than NVIDIA Ion-based netbooks.
Here is a quick breakdown of our review unit:
Model: HP Mini 210-1003xx
CPU: Intel Atom N450
Chipset: Intel NM10 Express
Graphics: Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 3150
Display: 10.2-inch screen on 1024x600 resolution
Storage: 160GB Seagate Momentus 7200.4 SATA Drive
OS: Windows 7 Starter
Power: 40W AC Adaptor, 6-cell Lithium-ion hp mini 210 laptop battery
Human Input: Pointing device - HP Clickpad supporting Multi-Touch gestures with On/Off button, Keyboard - 93% Full size island-style keyboard
Others: Webcam with integrated microphone, 5-in-1 Card reader, VGA Out
Dimensions & Weight: 26.8 cm (L) x 17.8 cm (W) x 2.29 cm (min H) / 2.83 cm (max H), 1.22 kg
It will be available in a number of color options; Blue, Black, Red, Matte Black with Pattern, and Matte Silver with Pattern.
You will also be able to enjoy full 1080p HD content playback on both the HP Mini 2102 and 210, with the use of the optional Broadcom Crystal HD Enhanced Video Accelerator (add on card).
We've always been more partial to the Netbooks put out by HP's business side (such as the Mini 5102), but budget-conscious buyers can get largely similar systems from HP's consumer side with lower starting prices. The consumer lineup, previously anchored by the Mini 110, has gotten a modest makeover in 2010, morphing into the Mini 210 battery.
New to this version are Intel's latest Atom N450 CPU and optional lid colors. Most importantly, the awkward side-anchored mouse buttons have been moved to a more traditional spot below the touch pad, fixing one of the major annoyances of the Mini 110. There's also an option for the Broadcom Crystal HD video accelerator, which allows HD video playback (but is more of a mixed bag for streaming online HD video).
This allows the entire pad to be used for navigation, yet the buttons are still very easy to press. The only problem with this design is that you can't use separate fingers to navigate and click on the buttons at the same time. The pad itself feels very smooth and soft and it's perfectly responsive. It supports three gestures: pinching, scrolling and rotating. It doesn't get in the way when you type, but you can disable it by double tapping its top-left corner.
The touchpad buttons are concealed beneath the pad itself, which gives you more surface area for moving the pointer and makes the pad very comfortable to use.
The 10.1-inch display’s 1366 x 768-pixel resolution meant more screen real estate than the typical netbook resolution of 1024 x 600, but it also left us squinting at some dialogue boxes and articles. On blog.laptopmag.com, for example, we had to zoom in one level to read some posts comfortably.
Viewing angles were adequate when we streamed an episode of Leverage, but during dark scenes we saw some color distortion at more extreme angles. Under fluorescent lights the reflections from the glossy screen were distracting, though in dim lighting the issue went away. Horizontal angles were good enough for two people to watch video side by side. Vertical angles were also acceptable. During non-video use, viewable vertical angles are wider, but users may notice that colors on websites seem a bit washed out unless you push the screen back.
Battery life is a more important point for comparison, however, and aside from the design it is the HP Mini 210's main highlight. In our light use battery test, it scored a highly creditable 8hrs 39mins – two minutes shy of the Toshiba NB305 – good enough to facilitate an entire day away from the mains.
Good battery life, design and ergonomics, plus a reasonable £256 exc VAT price, mean that HP’s latest netbook immediately becomes one of our favourites. The Toshiba retains its A List crown thanks to a better trackpad and wireless, but it’s a close-run thing and the stylish HP is good enough to earn a Recommended award instead.
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