Products
Product: HP 5102 Touchscreen
1/1/0001 By:
www.hp.com/go/k12
Retail price: Starts at $415
By Ben Grey
With its magnesium-alloy case
and anodized-aluminum display
enclosure, the 5102 is an
extremely solid netbook.
QUALITY AND EFFECTIVE-NESS:
The 5102 is one of the bestmade
netbooks on the market;
it never once felt cheap or flimsy
during the review (though the
brushed aluminum display enclosure
and the touch screen are absolute fingerprint
magnets). The 95 percent full-size, spillresistant
keyboard is simply the best I’ve ever used on
a netbook.
The 10.1-inch (1,024 x 600), LED-backlit multitouch screen
provides good image quality, but the multitouch aspect
was not as useful as I had anticipated. Increasing the space
between icons would be a big step toward making it more
useful during standard navigation.
EASE OF USE: Because of a welcome change in the design of
the mouse from previous HP netbooks and the incredible keyboard,
the 5102 is a pleasure to use. Typing long passages and
navigating through a multitude of applications and Web sites
was both easy and efficient, and I seldom felt that a larger
laptop was needed to complete a task. HP also included in
the 5102 several intriguing tools, such as its QuickWeb feature,
which initiates a 20-second booting up into a Linuxbased
operating system that offers access to a Web browser.
CREATIVE USE OF TECHNOLOGY: The 5102’s sturdiness,
available Webcam, keyboard
design, long-lasting
battery, optional
handle, QuickWeb, and
ability to play high-definition
video make it a
standout in the netbook
market. These options
certainly come at a
cost, as a unit with
all the features
mentioned above
would cost $600 to $700. This begins to approach the cost of
a full-featured laptop.
SUITABILITY FOR USE IN A SCHOOL ENVIRONMENT: The
unit is unquestionably well built, and its design will allow it to
take the abuse prevalent in an educational environment. The
price, however, may prove prohibitive to districts looking to
enter the netbook market because of the units’ lower cost.
OVERALL RATING
The 5102 is one of the best-made, highest-performing netbooks
available. Using the unit is enjoyable, and when performing
most productivity tasks and surfing the Web, it’s
easy to forget that one is using a lower-powered
netbook. The touch screen is optional, and at
this point I’d recommend simply going with the
standard screen, as the new mouse pad works well in
navigating and operating the unit. The nine-hour battery
life is just outstanding. The only drawback of the 5102 is
the price.