HP Mini 110 XP Netbook: Geekadelphia Tested, Bunny Approved

The HP Mini XP Netbook – As Photographed on my Couch

Ah, HP. It’s been a long time since I’ve experienced one of your computers. My parents used to have one of your PCs back in the 90′s. It was a 486, and I spent a lot of time taking it apart, playing Day of the Tentacle, and lurking around in AOL Chat Rooms. What? Don’t judge me! I was young, foolish, and in love. Her name was PrincessBlu32, and… hey, wait, a minute. I don’t have to explain myself to you, HP! I’m here to review your new netbook.

Hewlett-Packard recently sent me their new Mini 110 XP Edition netbook, a small, sleek, and surprisingly powerful little computer. With a large (by netbook standards) 10 inch diagonal screen, 160GB hard drive (what!), 1GB of RAM, built in Wi-Fi and SD card slot, three USB slots, a webcam, and a nearly full size keyboard, there is a lot to like about this little fellah.

HP’s webstore describes the 110 as “the perfect companion when you’re on the go. Whether you’re at home, around town, on campus, or across the country,” and I’ve got to say, they’re absolutely right. This little guy weighs in at a little more than 2 lbs! It also comes with Windows XP installed, a brilliant move on HP’s part. If it had come with Vista… well, I doubt I would have been able to turn it on. Thanks HP, you made the right choice.

Rory The Bun Approves of HP’s New Netbook!

Now, when HP emailed me the gift card to purchase this little machine, there were some significant funds leftover. Thanks to their kindness and generosity, they allowed us to spend the extra funds on several brand new printers that we’ll be donating to local in-need institutions. Updates on that in the coming days.

As for the netbook, full review with additional photos after the jump!

My particular model came with a 160GB HD. The base configuration of the machine will only run you about $320, and features a small, 16GB HD. But if you take the time to customize the netbook, the upgrade to 160GB is only $15 extra. Totally worth it, especially if you want to use the computer for more than just word processing and web surfing. Oh, and if you want to play ROMs on the thing.

N64 Emulator (Left), Netflix (Right)

That’s right. While I don’t plan on doing any high end PC gaming on this little guy, I do plan on taking full advantage of having a portable Super Nintendo or Nintendo 64. That picture above? That’s Ocarina of Time for the N64, running beautifully on full screen mode, using Ultra 64. I read a lot about people installing Playstation 1 emulators on their netbooks, but I’ve yet to try it.

It would seem a waste to have such a bright, large display on a netbook without the ability to play streaming video, so I thought I’d try out Hulu on the thing. And surprisingly, Hulu worked like a charm. But what of Netflix? Is this even remotely possible?

Surprise! It is. And yes, that’s The It Crowd I’m watching there. As long as you open up your browser full screen, Netflix works perfectly. Visually, watching streaming video is fantastic. Sound wise… well, that’s another story.

Unfortunately for this little netbook, the speakers are terrible. Even at full blast, it’s hard to hear audio on the machine. Luckily, there is a headphone jack available, which makes listening to music or watching movies significantly better.

Other Color Choices, All Two

Other drawbacks? There aren’t many. If you’re looking for another color other than the standard black swirl, you’ve got two choices… white and pink. The two later colors are, for some bizarre reason, an extra $20 to customize. You can check out the colors on the official HP store website. The standard black is by far the most attractive.

While it’s certainly a wonderful to have XP instead of crap-tastic Vista on the machine, Microsoft Office does not come with the computer. Just a trial period, which is a brutal tease. Luckily, there are plenty of free, open source programs available. Check out Open Source Windows for some.

So, what have we got? Excellent video, a large HD, light weight, large keyboard, three USB hubs, etc, etc… all in all, it’s an outstanding machine with very few drawbacks, and I couldn’t recommend it any higher, especially at the outstanding price.

More Info:

HP Mini 110 XP Netbook
http://bit.ly/134dpZ
Retail Price: $320+ (Depending on Customization)