 I finally see the point of the MacBook Air |
| Review Date: August 3, 2010 |
| Reviewer: Mondoman, Seattle, WA |
When the Macbook Air first came out, I thought it was pretty pointless, with a fairly small 13" screen, no optical drive, and so forth. In the last few weeks, though, I've been working on different notebooks at various Starbucks, Peets and similar locations with free WiFi, and I'm starting to see the point.
Last Christmas, I upgraded from my tiny and very handy MSI Wind netbook to an HP DM3-1030us "ultraportable". Like the Macbook Air, it doesn't have an optical drive, it has a relatively small 13" screen, but it is pretty thin and light (and expensive-looking, even though it didn't cost more than a high-end netbook, and was 1/3 the cost of a MacBook Air.) What it DOES have is enough portability to easily fit in my soft briefcase and leave room for a textbook or two, it has a dual-core CPU and discrete graphics so it performs pretty well, but these are all low-power devices (the CPU maxes at 1.6GHz!), so the normal battery easily lasts for more than 3 hours even with full screen brightness, wifi, and normal surfing/app use. 4GB of RAM and 320GB of disk space on a fast 7200rpm drive are improvements over the MacBook Air, as well.
Even though we live in the modern Wifi cafe age, it turns out that *power outlets* are what are scarce. With this HP, I never have to worry about not being near an outlet, because I can do a whole morning's or afternoon's work on the battery. The keyboard is fine, and the notebook is small enough that it easily fits on whatever little euro-table the cafe provides, whether round, rectangular, or some funky shape. The screen is bright, and just big enough to allow proper viewing of web pages and documents, which the 600-pixel-high netbook screen never quite managed.
Unlike the MacBook Air, it's got lots of USB ports (one of which I use for a proper Logitech mouse), a memory card slot, and even HDMI to connect to a TV set! If I need to use optical media, I just plug in a portable drive to a USB port, but almost all of the time, USB flash drives are plenty.
Like I said, I finally understand the point of a MacBook Air, but I've found something even better. Thanks, HP!
|
Great compact laptop, buggy touchpad
|
| Review Date: June 20, 2010 |
| Reviewer: Pete G., Gainesville, FL |
I've had the DM3 for about 4 months now. I absolutely love its small form factor, fit, and finish. It serves my needs well, though I was hesitant to downsize from my old 15" to this smaller machine. My favorite feature are the metallic surfaces, that give it an elegant yet rugged feel. I haven't missed the CD/DVD drive at all.
I wish it were all good, but with any technological device, there are issues. The most prevalent is the touch pad. Ninety-five percent of the time it behaves flawlessly, but sometime for no reason it gets crazy, and it is impossible to navigate the cursor to where you want it. Restarting the computer seems to fix the issue. Also, the battery life is overstated. In real world usage I get about 3 hours from a full charge until Windows tells me to plug in or else.
All in all, I would buy the same one tomorrow, I just wish they would fix the touchpad. |
Worst laptop ever
|
| Review Date: April 8, 2010 |
| Reviewer: C. Young, Los Angeles, CA United States |
| My husband bought me this laptop in November to replace my 6 year old iBook. What a mistake. The mousepad is crap--it's impossible to use and jumps around and closes windows at the slightest touch. 2 weeks ago the battery died for no reason. It won't charge and the computer shuts down the second I unplug it. I will NEVER EVER use another HP laptop again. This is still under warranty but I just wish I could return it and never see it again. |
Keyboard Died
|
| Review Date: April 7, 2010 |
| Reviewer: C. Jones, Greenville, SC |
| Didn't have this laptop but for a few weeks. Got it for Christmas. Not long after I noticed that the space bar wasn't working. Then more keys and eventually the whole board. The mechanics might need a little work. [...] |
A fantastic, highly mobile laptop!
|
| Review Date: February 28, 2010 |
| Reviewer: G. T. Craig, Louisville, KY |
The first thing that you notice about the DM3 is the look, and feel. I've always been pleased with HP laptops (also have a DV7 and D9000), but HP has really outdone themselves with this one!
The brushed aluminum skin makes this laptop appear much more expensive than it is, plus it masks fingerprint and smudges perfectly! (Although the shiny trackpad is a fingerprint magnet.)
And the feel: this is a featherweight computer! (Bear in mind I'm comparing to my monster 17" DV7 though!) It is very thin, and at only 4.4 lbs, should be easily totable for most anyone!
Open the lid (nice smooth hinge feel), and you're greeted by a Macbook-like chicklet keyboard and more brushed aluminum. I really, really like the keyboard, and maybe even a bit more than my DV7s keyboard, which is itself a dream to type on. The individual chicklet style keys seem to reduce "fat-fingering" typing mistakes, and they're crisp and responsive. The only minor con I can think of here is they're a little loud if you are a hard typist (like myself). But on the plus side, they don't feel wimpy, and those of us who bang away on the keyboard need not worry.
The LED backlit screen is razor-sharp, and just seems easier-on-the-eyes than a fluorescent backlit LCD (though this could be a "placebo effect").
Boot time is very, very respectable, considering the AMD Neo is only running at 1.6GHz (dual core, though). The 4GB RAM and 320GB hard drive are pretty standard on mid to high-level notebooks these days, and perform as expected (which is to say nicely!).
I'm not a big gamer, so haven't attempted games on this, but I'd venture to guess if you're looking strictly for a high-octane gaming laptop, this probably isn't it. That being said, the ATI Radeon 3200 easily handles the photo-processing tasks I've thrown at it.
I could go on and on, but let me try to sum it all up via pros and cons:
PROS:
Lightweight
Nice look and feel, people will think you paid much more than you did
Highly capable for most computing tasks, possibly minus intensive games
Responsive keyboard
Outstanding value, you get a nice computer for not a lot of money
Really decent battery life: 4.5 to 5 hours average capacity in my experience
Enough screen real estate to not feel cramped, yet small enough to keep laptop highly portable
Integrated bluetooth: the ability to pair with a bluetooth mouse without sacrificing a USB port is great; haven't paired the bluetooth with headphones yet, though I wouldn't expect any issues
CONS (I had to be kind of nit-picky to even come up with cons, but here they are):
Power button could be easier to engage, you have to use a fingernail to slide it on; a push-button would have seemed more logical
Speakers are adequate, but don't plan on filling your room with music using them
Trackpad attracts prints, but I paired this with an HP bluetooth laser mouse, so I rarely use the pad
No optical drive. This keeps things thin and light, and is easily (and cheaply) solved with a USB slim external optical drive, for those times you need to load something off disc
WISH LIST:
A backlit keyboard would have made this nearly a perfect laptop, although I guess battery life would have suffered.
Summary: The DM3 is a fantastic marriage of portability and computing capability. You'll feel like you're using a larger laptop due to the nice screen appearance and pleasant keyboard, yet certainly would be right at home at your local Starbucks with this gem on your table or lap, looking hip and trendy!
I'm actually thinking of buying a second DM3 to replace the wife's aging desktop. (Bear in mind, I wouldn't really label this a "desktop replacement", but for what she uses a desktop for, it is.)
Get one of these, you won't be sorry! |
|
HP Pavilion DM3-1030US 13.3-Inch Silver Laptop – Up to 6 Hours of Battery Life (Windows 7 Home Premium)
No video reviews found for this product.
