Long term hardware impressions — HP Mini 1000 MIE

Screen

The screen on the Mini 1000 MIE looks great. The 10″ or 8″ screen (mine is 10″) runs at 1024×600 resolution which is generally regarded at the lowest practical resolution for a real web experience. I’ve been using the 1024×600 resolution for a long time on my VAIO UX180 so I’m used to adjusting content to fit this view. Full screen mode in Firefox will be your friend! The small bezel around the screen does not stand out like it does on many other netbooks because it is essentially on the same plane as the LCD, and it is underneath the same plastic that protects the screen. Although the screen has a glossy covering, it is anti-glare and seems to do well in that aspect. Outdoor readability might be a slight bit better than non anti-glare LCDs, but in general most LCDs don’t work particularly well in full sunlight. Outside in the shade shouldn’t be an issue. The screen has 11 levels of brightness (who decided on 11?) with the top one being adequate. Contrast ratio on the screen doesn’t seem particularly good, but this is netbook hardware and I didn’t quite expect it to be. For any normal use the contrast ratio won’t be a problem, but this might not be the netbook for pro photographers.

Built into the top center of the screen’s bezel is the obligatory low resolution web-cam. Nothing special to see beside a neat LED that indicates when it is in use. If low-resolution web-cam chatting is your thing, this and just about every other netbook out there would probably do you well.

I prefer a hinge strength on laptops that is strong enough to keep the screen up, but weak enough that I can lift the screen lid independently with one hand, and not have to hold the body of the laptop down with a different hand just to open the lid without the body moving with it. Unfortunately with the small body size of netbooks, this is very difficult to achieve. The Mini 1000’s screen hinge is tight enough that the body will travel with it for some time, but at least there won’t be much screen wobble.

Two additional (small) complaints about the screen. The hinge looks wonderful, but the way it is designed doesn’t allow it to tilt back very far. From a 90 degree position it seems to only be able to tilt back about 30 or 35 degrees. Not a big issue, but I noted in my review notes that I would sometimes want quick information from the Mini 1000 and I wouldn’t sit down to use it. The height at which I stand, and the inability of the screen to tilt back very far, puts me at a poor viewing angle. When sitting, this isn’t an issue. The second problem I have is that the vertical viewing angle is pretty small (which compliments the small tilt range of the screen). Not as bad as I experienced on the Acer Aspire One [Portal page], but maybe a bit smaller than what it should be. As you move out of the viewing angle, contrast breaks down, and at extremes, colors invert (this happens with all LCDs; viewing angle describes how large the range is before it begins to happen). Horizontal viewing angle seems very broad (that’s good).

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