HP Mini 110 Netbook

I bought this HP Mini 110 primarily for writing. As a writer I wanted something very mobile with a great keyboard and the HP Mini-110 is heads above the competition when it comes to the keyboard.

All I really needed it to do was run Office 2003, Firefox for the Internet, and whatever else basic I wanted to toss at it... and a 1.6ghz processor and 1gb of RAM is more than enough for those basic programs. A 120gb HDD is a bonus, for something this small I would have been fine with a 60gb. But I was surprised with the overall speed of this little PC, it's not going to out-speed any full size laptops but for being 2-pounds it's pretty darn good. The WiFi works flawlessly, and the overall general construction is solid, the mousepad and clickers all work as they should.

The keyboard action is as advertised, but this is something HP has always been good at. As a writer I always prefer HP to Dell or Acer (or anyone) when it comes to laptop keyboards and this Mini-110 is no different.

As soon as I got it, I tore out the useless programs and installed MS_Office 2003 (from a USB stick) and I was up and running. Windows 7 Starter is a stable platform but it does run short on customization, you can't even adjust the wallpaper or colors etc... that's a little lame of Microsoft but the OS does run what I need it to so I'll deal with it.

PROS
- great keyboard
- fast enough to run office programs and web surfing.
- super portable
- nice display
- nice overall feel

CONS
- slight scratch on lid (this was a reman/refurb)
- Windows 7 Starter (somewhat limited user control)

Overall it's a nice little netbook that will do what you need it to. It won't replace my HP 15.4" laptop but it will get a lot of use as my primary writing device.

This would be a great netbook if all I needed was a netbook. I was trying to replace my 4-lb. HP nc4200 with something even lighter. It is very light and portable (<2 lbs). Battery life is a bit short though, but I bought mine used so this can be expected. The screen is barely large enough to be usable in some cases. A lot of my programs' windows were exceeding the screen size and I had to scroll or double-click to see the rest of the window. It's fine for internet browsing and email, though. It can be hooked up to an external monitor if you're using it for hours at a time.

I was able to get the latest version of Ubuntu Linux onto it, although I had to buy a USB Wi-Fi adapter when I upgraded the Linux (built-in worked fine under older Linux). Unfortunately, I need several Windows-based programs for my business that are not available for Linux. Windows 7 was installable under a Virtual Machine, but that left barely any room for software and documents on this 16-GB flash drive. If you need Windows, I recommend the hard drive version. It will be heavier, but at least it will run programs.

I bought a HP Mini 110 Model 1145NR on the eBay daily deal refurbished for $179.99. While I was shopping for it, I saw lots of units with Windows XP, but I did not want to go backwards, so I waited for almost a year before I saw this one with Windows 7 Starter. I wasn't checking every day, so maybe I could have found one sooner if I had searched more actively.
I wanted to use it while traveling outside the U.S. Taking into account what it is and the network speeds that are sometimes encountered in 3rd world countries, it performed very well. If you are used to a high-speed internet connection, and a high end processor with gobs of memory, it will seem pretty feeble in comparison. The startup seems slow, but that is the nature of the processing speed of the system.
I never got to the point where I could use all fingers for typing and I haven't used it enough to be very good with the touch pad. Maybe I will consider getting a mouse. The problem with using a mouse for a traveler is that it isn't easy to find a place to put your mouse if you are in a bar or restaurant that has free Wi-Fi. So the keyboard is not at a good level for touch typing, but when I tried it at home on the same table as my desktop keyboard, it worked fine for me.
Windows and other software products want to update themselves all the time, so I recommend turning automatic updates off until you are somewhere where you can be connected for a long time and use mains power.
In the context of traveling, I didn't use the Netbook for long periods of time, so battery power duration was not a problem for me.
I carried it in a neoprene sleeve in my backpack and had no problems with it being damaged. Of course, if you drop it far enough or often enough, you know what to expect.
On the whole, I am quite happy with the Mini 110.

I almost got an Android tablet, but since Netflix is not on Android, I got this little netbook. I feel free now, free from having to be sitting at my desktop. Mine has Windows 7, so thats cool. Also, the webcam was a surprise! Built in WiFi. I RECOMMEND this computer to people who expect quality at a low price and people who also expect to watch Netflix. Hope this helps you buy it, goodbye from Phoenix, AZ, USA.

Powered by an Intel(R) Atom(TM) N455 processor, the HP Compaq Mini 110 offers very high processing speed. The 160 GB hard drive capacity of this HP notebook lets you store a number of applications, files and more. With a full charge, this HP laptop offers a battery life of 9.5 hours, so you need not always carry the charger. The built-in webcam and digital microphone of the HP Compaq Mini 110 gives you an exceptional chatting experience. The Intel(R) Graphics Media Accelerator 3150 in this HP notebook has awesome graphics, so that you can watch fast action videos and games in high quality. Weighing just about 2 lbs, this HP laptop is extremely portable.