Exclusive: HP Pavilion dv2 laptop full review

Posted by Al Warmington on Tue 7 Apr 2009

HP bridges the gap between netbook and notebook

Although it’s technically classed as an ultra-portable, the Pavilion dv2 neatly bridges the divide between full-sized notebooks and low-powered netbooks.

This 12.1-inch lappie sports a glossy black finish, metallic trimmings and a few extra stylings to make it stand out aesthetically. The end result is a laptop that looks stylish but won’t break the bank either. At just £500, it’s already off to a very reasonable start.

While the screen size is larger than most netbooks, the Pavilion dv2 is remarkably thin, measuring just 23.7mm tall at some points and 32.7 at its thickest point (the battery). The weight is certainly not enough to put a strain on your shoulder either, at just 1.70kg.

So what’s on board? An AMD Athlon Neo MV-40 CPU designed for ultra-thin notebooks handles the processing muscle, bringing 1.60GHz of power and 512KB cache to the table. 1GB of DD2 RAM (with the option to expand to up to 4GB) and a 160GB SATA HDD support the Windows Vista Home Basic operating system.

The screen – an HP LED BrightView widescreen display – offers a sharp 1280 x 800 resolution and a decent level of brightness that’s useable even under fairly bright natural lighting. Graphics are handled by ATI Radeon X1250 with 348MB of video memory.

All in all the performance is pretty solid for such a diminutive notebook. The dv2 could certainly use an extra GB or two of RAM to really get the most from Windows Vista, but the AMD processor felt more than up to the normal tasks you’re going to put an ultra-portable like this through as well as more processor-intensive tasks like HD video playback.

We were particularly impressed by the quality and layout of the keyboard. Most ultra-portables have to compromise on the size of keyboard leading to cramped, fiddly typing. The HP Pavilion dv2 however, boasts a keyboard that is 92% full size.

It doesn’t offer the neat isolated keys the Sony VAIO P- Series boasts and most Apple products now, but the tightly space, slightly concaved keys proved to be a real pleasure to type with and probably won’t impinge on your typing speed in any noticeable way. The tactile feedback is excellent and the whole thing feels like a good, solid keyboard design.

Unfortunately, the same quality hasn’t quite carried over to the mouse trackpad. It has a shiny silver effect that matches the sides of the chassis, however it seems like a case of style over substance. Your fingers slip a little too easily over its polished surface, and at the same time the mouse buttons are just a little too sticky for comfort.

On a more positive note, if you don’t wish to use the track pad and are hooking up a USB or Bluetooth mouse instead, there’s a convenient button located above the trackpad that can shut it down so it won’t be disturbed as your wrists pass over it.

One of the main compromises of the ultra-slim build is that there’s just no space for an optical disc drive. You still get one in the box, but the LightScribe SuperMulti 8X DVD±RW is a separate USB powered device. We can’t hold that against it really – given the number of discs we use nowadays and the fact that it’s packed into a snazzy matching case of its own, it ticks all the right boxes.

The extra space has also allowed HP to pack in a decent number of ports. You’ve got three USB 2.0, one HDMI connector, a VGA output , Ethernet, headphones and mic sockets. WiFi is in too, of course, although it’s the older 802.11g rather than the more recent ‘n’ standard, and there’s a integrated webcam and 5-in-1 card reader.

The battery life is the only remaining low-point; the 4-cell device included was only good for a few hours of ordinary computing, even with the screen set to quite low brightness. Unfortunately you won’t find all-day computing here just yet.

The HP Pavilion dv2 is a solid little all-rounder that gives a lot more power than other ultra-portable netbooks and the kind of portability that used to be reserved solely for far more expensive mini-laptops. If it’s serious computing muscle you’re after, you’ll have to look elsewhere, but for day-to-day computing tasks, coupled with some entertainment functions to keep you occupied when you’re on the move it's ideal.

Buy one here: HP

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User Comments

By jvcruz

23|07|2009 05:45

has anyone seen HP's forums. It is filled with unsatisfied owners whose notebooks breakdown a few days after its warranty has lapsed. Hp has even admitted to its defects but doesn't stand by its product. they just say they do but do not repair their faulty products.

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