Prime Notebook Computer Review

The dream of low-cost, durable machines for kids in the U.S. as well as emerging markets isn’t dead, and HP’s newest offering embodies both goals. Starting at $299 (sold wholesale only), this netbook portable is designed for kindergarten through grade 6. It lacks special features found on pricier educational laptops like the Intel-powered Classmate PC, a convertible tablet notebook with oodles of bundled educational software and a steeper price tag ($450 to $600). The 100e delivers strong performance, however, and, much more important, it sells for a lot less, which may be a bigger selling point for school districts strapped for cash.

From the top down this netbook was designed to take abuse from any child, day after day, and keep working as intended. The Mini 100e has a white plastic exterior shell and a very consistent color scheme inside the notebook. The same plastic that is found on the outside is everywhere inside the netbook, including the touchpad surface and screen bezel, giving the system a very industrialized look. The body of the Mini 100e is made of a durable plastic that seems like it would be more at home on a rugged notebook instead of a netbook. When the system is open no area around the keyboard exhibited any sort of flex. The palmrest was rock solid alone with the keyboard and trim near the screen hinges. The hinges themselves were very strong, completely without wobble, and held the screen firmly shut when the system was closed.

The Mini 100e offers a considerable selection of ports, considering the age of the intended user. Included are a power port, a Kensington lock slot, two USB ports, a VGA-out port, an Ethernet jack, microphone and headphone jacks, and a two-format (SD, MultiMediaCard) flash-card slot. HP also squeezed in a modem jack, in case students without a broadband connection need to bring the Mini 100e home. There’s even wireless (the 802.11b/g flavor), but the system lacks a Bluetooth radio.

The Chiclet-style keyboard is spill-proof, just like the Classmate PC’s. The keys are decently sized for small hands, and may feel a tad cramped to an adult. The key plunge is a little shallow, but the keys are virtually silent when struck. Most important, this keyboard feels sturdy enough to withstand rough treatment from a child. Slightly sunken into the palm rests is a small touch pad that features a light, pebbly texture. It responds well to finger taps and scrolling but does not accept other multi-gesture input. The dual mouse buttons, which feel a little flimsy, have a deep plunge and are also responsive.

Above the deck is a 10.1-inch wide-screen LCD, surrounded by wide bezels. Thanks to the screen’s LED backlighting and matte finish, the picture looks bright, and the colors are rich on this 1,024×600-pixel display. However, the vertical viewing angle is tight, with the picture looking washed out when viewed more than 20 degrees off of the sweet spot. The screen handled video admirably; streaming online videos (via Hulu and YouTube) played surprisingly smoothly for this class of netbook.

The Mini 100e’s 10.1-inch, 1024 x 600 matte display has extremely wide horizontal and vertical viewing angles, so a small group of students should be able to share a screen without encountering distortion or obfuscation. The netbook handled a 720p trailer for “The Discoverers” without dropping frames. The audio quality isn’t powerful, but given the small speakers on the front edge of the system, this is no surprise. While watching an episode of “The Closer” on TNT.tv we had to turn the volume up to 100 percent and still had a hard time hearing softer scenes over the air conditioner on low in the background.

The Mini 100e is powered by an Intel Atom N455 with a clock speed of 1.66GHz and GMA 3150 graphics. Outside of decoding locally-playyed HD video or streaming HD flash, the system had no trouble with normal activity. Office-or classroom-productivity software was no problem for the 100e, making class presentations or typing assignments a breeze. This netbook is the first model that came with Microsoft Security Essentials pre-installed for virus protection, which ran quietly in the background. Compared to other AV packages that have endless user prompts or annoying popup windows, it actually went unnoticed for a couple of days.

In strenuous battery test, in which we stream video wirelessly, proved too taxing for the Mini 100e’s three-cell battery. The system lasted a measly 2 hours and 18 minutes on a charge. Even the Classmate PC lasted slightly longer than that (2:44). We expect netbook batteries to last closer to four hours. Then again, if this machine is to be used mostly in an elementary-school classroom setting, an hour is probably plenty long, since it would likely be brought out for one subject and then put away for charging for further use later.

The Mini 100e comes with HP’s standard one-year limited warranty. It also includes bundled software that educators will find useful. For instance, Computrace tracks and helps recover stolen laptops, while Microsoft Security Essentials provides antivirus and malware protection.

The HP Mini 100e is one of the more interesting netbooks we have reviewed in a long time. With a design that is very reminiscent of the original OLPC with a clamshell body and builtin carrying handle, the Mini 100e is designed to be very rugged and user friendly. We found the body to be extremely durable with very little flex and just about as rigid as a ruggedized notebook. The keyboard and touchpad felt more durable than the average ones found on consumer notebooks, which should hold up to the daily abuse of a classroom setting.