The HP dm1 is described by some as a netbook, which is an unfair label. The laptop provides enough power and battery life to do almost anything and has a good graphics core so that some gaming is also possible, all whilst maintaining a small footprint, making it ideal for my commutes to and from work.
My model is the dm1-4004sa, which was bought direct from HP, I can't see any difference between it and the other dm1 available from other retailers (dm1-4125ea).
Review Conditions
In the interest of "journalistic integrity", I will state here that I always format and reinstall on a new laptop to kill the bloat of the OEM software.
Unfortunately as HP wants circa £30 for a restore DVD, my laptop is running Windows 7 professional rather than the Home Premium available out of the box.
Specification
AMD Fusion E-450 APU 1.65 GHz with Radeon 6320M graphics
4GB DDR3 RAM
500GB Hard drive @ 5400rpm
11.6" Screen (1280x800px)
Physical and Hardware
This laptop is all shiny black and silver plastic, which looks fantastic. In practice it attracts dust and fingerprints like nothing on earth. The touchpad design is a series of bumps across the bottom bezel, but it is very responsive and beats the terrible all in one clickpad things that HP had in most of their laptops last year.
The keyboard uses the now-defacto "island" design, which keeps each key seperate from the others. The key size is slightly smaller than I would like, but this is down to the choice to use the island design.
The vents are located on the left side and unlike many other laptops, don't lend themselves to being easily covered up in use so overheating is not a large issue.
The display is excellent, even when brightness is turned down to minimum levels I could still use it fine. Some people with poorer eyesight may find this more of a challenge.
The sound quality of the system is phenomenal, the beats audio speakers put those in my larger laptop to shame. Using appropriate headphones only enhances the experience.
It is very lightweight and can be comfortably held in one hand.
Operating System and Software
The laptop comes with Windows 7 Home Premium preinstalled (as mentioned above) along with the usual OEM "goodies", including an Office 2010 home and student trial, Antivirus trial and lots of unnecessary bloatware.
One very good bit of software included is the AMD Fusion Catalyst control centre (or center, depending on which side of the pond you are reading this from) which enhances the power management and has allowed me to get over eight hours of battery life from the dm1, when doing basic office apps and watching some video.
Gaming has been pleasantly surprising on the machine. It's not going to run the latest Call of Duty/Battlefield at high framerate, but it ran The Sims 3 and Tropico 4 on standard settings without issue for me.
Overall
HP has scored a huge goal with this laptop, its ideal for those who want a portable Windows 7 device with the power of larger counterparts.
The laptop is lightweight, can hold a battery charge for a long time and (if you're OK with dust and fingerprints) looks very flashy too.
Buy one, buy one now!
IT GUY SCORE: 10/10
My model is the dm1-4004sa, which was bought direct from HP, I can't see any difference between it and the other dm1 available from other retailers (dm1-4125ea).
 |
| HP DM1-4004SA |
In the interest of "journalistic integrity", I will state here that I always format and reinstall on a new laptop to kill the bloat of the OEM software.
Unfortunately as HP wants circa £30 for a restore DVD, my laptop is running Windows 7 professional rather than the Home Premium available out of the box.
Specification
AMD Fusion E-450 APU 1.65 GHz with Radeon 6320M graphics
4GB DDR3 RAM
500GB Hard drive @ 5400rpm
11.6" Screen (1280x800px)
Physical and Hardware
This laptop is all shiny black and silver plastic, which looks fantastic. In practice it attracts dust and fingerprints like nothing on earth. The touchpad design is a series of bumps across the bottom bezel, but it is very responsive and beats the terrible all in one clickpad things that HP had in most of their laptops last year.
The keyboard uses the now-defacto "island" design, which keeps each key seperate from the others. The key size is slightly smaller than I would like, but this is down to the choice to use the island design.
The vents are located on the left side and unlike many other laptops, don't lend themselves to being easily covered up in use so overheating is not a large issue.
The display is excellent, even when brightness is turned down to minimum levels I could still use it fine. Some people with poorer eyesight may find this more of a challenge.
The sound quality of the system is phenomenal, the beats audio speakers put those in my larger laptop to shame. Using appropriate headphones only enhances the experience.
It is very lightweight and can be comfortably held in one hand.
Operating System and Software
The laptop comes with Windows 7 Home Premium preinstalled (as mentioned above) along with the usual OEM "goodies", including an Office 2010 home and student trial, Antivirus trial and lots of unnecessary bloatware.
One very good bit of software included is the AMD Fusion Catalyst control centre (or center, depending on which side of the pond you are reading this from) which enhances the power management and has allowed me to get over eight hours of battery life from the dm1, when doing basic office apps and watching some video.
Gaming has been pleasantly surprising on the machine. It's not going to run the latest Call of Duty/Battlefield at high framerate, but it ran The Sims 3 and Tropico 4 on standard settings without issue for me.
Overall
HP has scored a huge goal with this laptop, its ideal for those who want a portable Windows 7 device with the power of larger counterparts.
The laptop is lightweight, can hold a battery charge for a long time and (if you're OK with dust and fingerprints) looks very flashy too.
Buy one, buy one now!
IT GUY SCORE: 10/10
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