Products
Product: HP Mini 100e
1/4/2011 By:
www.hp.com Retail price: sub-$300
By Ben Grey
The HP Mini 100e netbook features up to 9.5 hours of battery
life and has no internal optical drive.
Quality and Effectiveness: The HP Mini 100e’s design
and feature set clearly show HP’s intent to target the education
market, and overall, the product proves a solid option
for schools looking to equip K–6 classrooms with low-cost
netbooks. The unit has an integrated handle that will allow
students to carry the netbook safely from cart to desk, or
even from classroom to classroom. The case is constructed
of a durable plastic that will withstand rough handling
by younger students, and HP has
utilized its Mylar-film spill-resistant
keyboard. The six-cell battery
provides enough power to last
eight hours between charges.
Ease of Use: Essentially, the
Mini 100e provides many of the
same functions that other netbooks
on the market do. The 92 percent chiclet
keyboard generally felt comfortable, and
its smaller size may make it most beneficial for
younger students, who have smaller hands. The trackpad
is integrated into the housing using the same plastic as
the case, though it is recessed and given a slightly bumpy
texture to provide sensation. It isn’t HP’s best trackpad
design, as the tactile user experience it afforded proved
frustrating. The unit provides only the slower 1.66 GHz Atom
process instead of the faster 1.83 GHz model available on
other netbooks.
Suitability for Use in a School Environment:
Teachers will appreciate several small touches, like the
small LED located on the lid that will light up when the Mini
100e is connected with a network. The unit also has an integrated
Webcam for recording and Web conferencing. The
Mini 100e does not come with an option for Bluetooth or
with a wireless-n connection (the unit does have wireless-g). Though its plastic case provides
durability, its form factor is rather thick at 1.57 inches, and
the unit is a bit heavy at 3.19 pounds. HP is setting a target
sub-$300 price point, but the final price is to be determined
by the size of a bulk purchase. HP does not sell the units
individually.
Overall Rating
The unit is well built and integrates several features that
will provide nice solutions for an elementary classroom,
but the 100e seems to sacrifice other key features, the
lack of which keeps it from being a truly compelling
option for the elementary netbook space.