HP Mini 2140 review

£380
Price when reviewed

For a machine aimed at professionals, the HP is uncommonly good looking. The brushed aluminium chassis looks fantastic, and what’s more feels sturdy enough to survive life in the fast lane.

HP Mini 2140 review

Glance down the specification list and it’s clear HP has carefully tailored the 2140’s specification to its target market. Gigabit Ethernet makes a rare appearance alongside draft-n wireless networking and Bluetooth, and, miraculously, HP finds room to squeeze in an ExpressCard/54 slot.

The glossy 10.1in display is a more questionable choice given its increased reflectivity, but image quality is good enough for office tasks. The tendency to wash out images at the brighter end of the scale is more disappointing, however, as is the comparatively low resolution 1,024 x 576 screen. This feels cramped; given the budget we’d opt for one of the forthcoming models with a higher resolution display.

Ergonomics are a mixed bag too. The keyboard is fantastic, with a spacious layout, and generously-proportioned keys make typing a doddle. It’s simply the best we’ve encountered on a netbook. The touchpad, however, is an entirely different kettle of fish. Its wide and excessively squat shape doesn’t make for the easiest cursor control, and the soft, rubberized buttons on either side are fiddly to operate.

The final moan comes courtesy of the 2140’s battery life. It’s not a cheap netbook, and to find a small 2,600mAh battery at the rear is disappointing. Four hours and 48 minutes of light use isn’t terrible, but it falls well short of the best.

Were it not for these faults the HP would compete with the best here. As it stands, however, it can only be considered a worthy ultraportable-substitute for businesses looking to cut costs.

Warranty

Warranty 1 yr return to base

Physical specifications

Dimensions 261 x 172 x 35mm (WDH)
Weight 1.160kg
Travelling weight 1.5kg

Processor and memory

Processor Intel Atom N270
RAM capacity 1.00GB
Memory type DDR2

Screen and video

Screen size 10.1in
Resolution screen horizontal 1,024
Resolution screen vertical 576
Resolution 1024 x 576
Graphics chipset Intel GMA 950
VGA (D-SUB) outputs 1
HDMI outputs 0
S-Video outputs 0
DVI-I outputs 0
DVI-D outputs 0
DisplayPort outputs 0

Drives

Capacity 160GB
Hard disk usable capacity 149GB
Spindle speed 5,400RPM
Internal disk interface SATA
Optical disc technology N/A
Optical drive N/A
Battery capacity 2,600mAh
Replacement battery price ex VAT £79
Replacement battery price inc VAT £91

Networking

Wired adapter speed 1,000Mbits/sec
802.11a support no
802.11b support yes
802.11g support yes
802.11 draft-n support yes
Integrated 3G adapter no
Bluetooth support yes

Other Features

Wireless hardware on/off switch no
Wireless key-combination switch yes
Modem no
ExpressCard34 slots 0
ExpressCard54 slots 1
PC Card slots 0
USB ports (downstream) 2
PS/2 mouse port no
9-pin serial ports 0
Parallel ports 0
Optical S/PDIF audio output ports 0
Electrical S/PDIF audio ports 0
3.5mm audio jacks 2
SD card reader yes
Memory Stick reader no
MMC (multimedia card) reader no
Smart Media reader no
Compact Flash reader no
xD-card reader no
Pointing device type Touchpad
Integrated microphone? yes
Integrated webcam? yes
Camera megapixel rating 0.3mp
TPM no
Fingerprint reader no
Smartcard reader no

Battery and performance tests

Battery life, light use 4hr 44min
Overall application benchmark score 0.42

Operating system and software

Operating system Windows XP Home
OS family Windows XP
Software supplied Roxio Creator 9

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