The Pavilion dm1z represents our first shot at AMD's new Fusion platform. HP sticks to its single audio jack standard for smaller laptops, and there do not seem to be any mobile broadband options available on HPs Web site right now, although that seems like a natural fit for such a portable system. There's a basic set of ports and connections here. Stereo speakers, headphone/microphone jacksĮthernet, 802.11n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, optional mobile broadband We like the large surface area, but the built-in mouse buttons can be tricky to use, and the multitouch gestures don't come close to Apple's, although that's a complaint we can level at every PC maker. The touch pad is of the same large clickpad-style seen on many recent HP laptops, and the design has its fans and detractors. The page-up and page-down keys, for example, are completely unlabeled (they're mapped to the Fn+up-arrow and the Fn+down-arrow). Some keys, however, get slightly lost in the shuffle. The keys are firm and well-spaced, with large Shift keys and no keyboard flex. The available space is put to good use, however, with a large island-style keyboard that goes all the way to the left and right edges of the keyboard tray and an oversize clickpad. But perhaps we've been spoiled by thin ultraportables from Lenovo, Apple, and others. It isn't actually ugly at all it just feels a bit unwieldy. A large battery bump protrudes upward right at the hinge between the chassis and screen, and the entire package is thick and bulky. The body is made of plastic, and looks and feels it, although it has a nicely curved shape and patterned lid that fits in with HP's current design aesthetic. The designs of 11-inch laptops run the gamut from plastic cheapies to brushed aluminum works of art, but the HP Pavilion dm1z is clearly more focused on what's going on under the hood. Based on this one initial review unit, AMD-shy shoppers should at least give Fusion laptops such as this one a serious look. With Intel lacking a halfway point between its Atom processors and the mainstream Core-i-series (except for the too-expensive and underpowered ultralow voltage Core i3 ULV), there may finally be a spot at the table for AMD, which has been seriously underrepresented in laptops of late. We played some basic games and full-screen HD videos with no problems, which is something Netbooks typically can't do. The biggest needle-mover may be the AMD graphics, which aren't meant for serious gamers, but still offer a solid alternative to low-end solutions such as Nvidia's underused Ion GPU. At the same time, there's no mistaking the experience of this computer for a high-end 11-inch, such as Apple's MacBook Air (except when it comes to battery life, where the Pavilion dm1z was easily one of the best performers we've seen). In practice, it gets the job done, and it certainly feels a world away from Atom Netbooks. It's about $100 more than an entry-level Netbook and $50 to $100 less than previous premium Netbooks that had AMD's previous low-end dual-core CPU. It's an 11-inch laptop with a decent design, but one that doesn't hide its budget origins. It's called Fusion, although confusingly, AMD doesn't play up that name or the processor model number, instead choosing to label laptops outfitted with the technology with a sticker that says "AMD Vision."Īs the first of these systems to cross our desk, the $450 HP Pavilion dm1z is an interesting test case. Second, the PC makers who only begrudgingly released many of these Netbooks in the first place knew selling a low-power $299 laptop wasn't exactly a money-making proposition.ĪMD has been promising a hybrid platform for years now, combining a workhorse CPU with better-than-integrated graphics in a single package. First, Netbooks, though great for specific tasks such as basic Web surfing and e-mail, simply aren't suited to being full-time PCs, which is something many users discovered after buying one. The trade-up makes sense for two reasons.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |