HP Mini 5103 Pro Reviews

Looking at the bigger picture, given HP’s various AMD-based laptop offerings—they’re one of the better sources for AMD laptops and notebooks—we also expect to see them jump on the Brazos bandwagon next year. That could mean improved performance in every area relative to Atom, hopefully without sacrificing battery life. It will be interesting to see if HP is willing to make a “business netbook” like the 5103 based on Brazos, or if they continue to stick with Intel offerings for business products.

If you can accept a consistently, on a low level, running fan then you will get a good netbook with a convincing battery life of up to more than 11 hours with the HP Mini 5103-WK472EA. The price for the netbook starts at about 405 euro. But the top model with a dual core Atom starts at a steep 637 euro plus extras. Among these: the touchscreen, a UMTS module or a Broadcom Crystal HD accelerator. All devices are now available, whereas a delivery time between 1 and 2 weeks has to be reckoned with for the WK472EA.

If you're lusting after a professional-looking 10.1-inch netbook we'd say it's worth selecting the dual-core option for the slight bump in processing power -- it means being able to run programs with less lag and watch Flash content at full screen, which we assume is pretty important to the suits out there using this on business trips and such. If full HD video is important to you we'd also suggest springing for the Broadcom Crystal HD option.

In the end, we have very mixed feelings about the HP Mini 5103. In terms of its aesthetics and features, it’s a top-notch netbook, but its relatively weak graphics performance and spotty CPU scores are very disappointing. At nearly $700, the omission of a dedicated graphics chip is unacceptable. Also, considering HP’s excellent line of TouchSmart PCs, the poor touch implementation on the Mini 5103 (and lack of relevant touch-centric software) is a letdown.

The HP Mini 5103 is still a solid business netbook with one of the best included software offerings in its class. Its relatively high price tag (starting at $542, $668 as configured) will deter those looking for an inexpensive netbook, but its dual-core Atom processor, rugged yet stylish frame, and security features will appeal to executives on the go. We wish the 5103 had the 10-hour endurance of the previous version, but overall, we're generally pleased with the system's performance and design.

Great security features and excellent video performance highlight this corporate netbook--but the display's too small.

The HP Mini 5103 offers a lot of features we like; good looks, great build quality, nice screen, good battery life, and high performance. With a starting price of $399 this system isn't that much more expensive than other consumer netbooks, meaning all those cool features don't come at a huge premium. HP has a good thing going with the current Mini 5100-series netbook and they understand this since they have kept the same design for three generations now. The brushed metal exterior finish combines good looks with durability and on the inside the rubbery paint gives a unique texture usually reserved for business notebooks. If you are in the market for a new netbook, don't mind the looks of a business notebook, and want excellent build quality... look no further than the HP Mini 5103.

Most users will be better served with less-expensive, consumer-oriented netbooks; however, the security and other corporate features make the HP Mini 5103 a no-brainer for IT departments - at least until they see the bill. Expand the screen to 11 or 12in, and there's little to quibble over.

The HP Mini 5103 comes fully-loaded with a dual-core Atom processor, Broadcom HD decoder chip, and touchscreen.

Overall, the HP Mini 5103 is an attractive and high performance netbook — which is to say, it’s still a pretty low performance laptop. With a dual core Atom N550 processor, the netbook is definitely faster than the average mini-laptop at some… maybe most tasks. But it’s not really that much faster, and it’s hard to say whether it’s worth paying for this upgrade option without knowing exactly how much HP will charge for the netbook with the Atom N550 CPU. The base price for the HP Mini 5103 is $399, but at that price you essentially get the same machine as the older HP Mini 5102 — just with a 1.66GHz Atom N455 chip instead of a 1.66GHz Atom N450 processor. The only difference is that the N455 supports DDR3 memory.