HP Mini 5103 - Intel Atom

Overview

TechSpot Metascore

Based on 18 expert reviews

Excellent:

4
Good:

6
Average:

6
Bad:

2

Pros:

Very Durable Aluminum And Magnesium Design, Excellent Keyboard, Faster Hard Drive
Great looks for a business machine; rock-solid build quality; better keyboard than many full notebooks; 3 USB ports(!); excellent general performance for a netbook; solid battery life; excellent balance of features and connection options
Professional-looking brushed-aluminum top lid; excellent keyboard; business-centric features; offers slew of optional addons.

Cons:

Above Average Price, Upgrade Features Price It Too Close To Better Performing Ultraportables
Did you say $750 for a netbook?; Too little memory to take advantage of processor; average gaming performance belies need for better graphics processor; touch screen is an ergonomic nightmare; at this price it should have the nVidia ION.

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Last revision on March 6, 2012

Reviewers Liked

Very Durable Aluminum And Magnesium Design, Excellent Keyboard, Faster Hard Drive
Great looks for a business machine; rock-solid build quality; better keyboard than many full notebooks; 3 USB ports(!); excellent general performance for a netbook; solid battery life; excellent balance of features and connection options
Professional-looking brushed-aluminum top lid; excellent keyboard; business-centric features; offers slew of optional addons
Cool and quiet, Touch screen, Looks great and is well made, Nice keyboard
Good keyboard, Robust multimedia performance, Excellent SMB software and security package
Ultra-durable; excellent keyboard; good looks; long battery life
Great battery life, Good performance and ergonomics
Lightweight & sturdy design, Dualcore Intel processor, 2GB of RAM, Widescreen with option of touch input
Dualcore N550 improves system responsiveness, Higher resolution screen reduces need for sidescrolling, Good battery life
Dual-core Atom. Sweet 1,366 by 768 resolution. Speedy hard drive. Touch screen is finger friendly. Sleek aesthetic. Big battery. 2GB of RAM
Faster dualcore Atom N550 processor, Same great, solid chassis as the Mini 5102, Broadcom chip adds 1080p playback

Reviewers Didn't Like

Above Average Price, Upgrade Features Price It Too Close To Better Performing Ultraportables
Did you say $750 for a netbook?; Too little memory to take advantage of processor; average gaming performance belies need for better graphics processor; touch screen is an ergonomic nightmare; at this price it should have the nVidia ION
Expensive; tiny touchpad; dual-core Atom processor doesn't provide significant performance boost; subpar battery life
Idered high with touch screen, Battery life isn’t the greatest
Doesn't last as long as predecessor, Expensive, Small touchpad, Narrow viewing angles, Middling performance scores
Poor screen; no discrete graphics; spotty CPU performance; expensive; no bundled touch software beyond Windows Touch Pack
Smallish display, Pricey
No HDMI port, Hardware processed HD playback
Nonmultitouch touchpad, Touchscreen could cause problems with small buttons
Expensive once you pile on all these features. No HDMI port with HD decoder card
Not as fast as AMD and NVIDIA Ion netbooks, Shorter battery life than the 5102, More expensive than the competition

Expert reviews and ratings

Most users will be better served with less-expensive, consumer-oriented netbooks; however, the security and other corporate features make the HP Mini 5103 a no-brainer for IT departments--at least until they see the bill. Expand the screen to 11 or 12...

By InfoWorld on April 16, 2011

Feb 14 2011 - HP's Mini 5103 is a minor update that adds DDR3 and potential dual core Atom support to their already excellent business class netbook. Performance remains mostly unchanged from the past model but the larger faster hard drive does make...

By About.com on February 20, 2011

HP's Mini 5103 is a gorgeous, luxury item that makes a netbook desirable again. You'll still need to ask yourself if the small size is worth the cost; however, for portability, battery life and features, the 5103 is on our wanted...

By ZDNet Australia on February 09, 2011

100

I love netbooks, and I am a proud netbook owner. For me there is nothing like having a small computer that I can comfortably use on a 6 hour flight. But while I am a proud netbook owner I often feel like I am using a Playsckool toy computer. It’s...

By HardwareGeeks on January 20, 2011

The HP Mini 5103-WK472EA business netbook has convincing buying arguments, but also a few drawbacks that should be considered. The design, the high-end case made of an aluminum-magnesium alloy and a good workmanship are on the pro side. The...

By NotebookCheck on December 17, 2010

Despite not being very different to the HP Mini 5102, the HP Mini 5103 is still one of the best netbooks money can buy... if you don't mind forking over so much cash for a netbook, that is. It's solidly constructed, has 2GB of RAM and a fast...

By Good Gear Guide on December 10, 2010

The latest iteration of HP's business netbook adds some useful optional features including an HD 10in. screen and a dual-core Atom processor. However, it's looking dated next to faster 11.6in....

By ZDNet UK on November 04, 2010

While we like the solid metal design, at S$699, it is pricey for a Netbook with middling battery life....

By CNET Asia on November 02, 2010

I really like the looks of the HP business line of notebooks and netbooks, the brushed aluminum tops just look great and the keyboards are excellent truly. The overall build quality is very good, it’s thin and lightweight.The included touch screen...

By Testfreaks on October 20, 2010

HP's durable but pricey netbook gets serious with a dual-core processor and robust software...

By LaptopMag on October 07, 2010

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