HP Pavilion dm3-2010us 13.3-Inch Laptop (Silver) Review

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(More customer reviews)This size computer has become popular because it hits a sweet spot between portability and functionality. I first purchased an Asus ultralight 13.3 inch notebook last fall, and it has been terrific. When my daugher needed a new notebook, she wanted one like mine due to its portablity, light weight, full web-page-sized 1366x768 screen, low power use, and higher processing power when compared to a netbook. (Netbooks, with their smaller 1366x600 screens and single core processors, are less functional in my opinion, although they can weigh a pound-or-so less.)
As compared with my Asus UL30a-X5, this notebook is similarly priced and has nearly identical specs. I purchsed the DM3 due to a local sale, and with a trade in on an old notebook it ran 450. The differences between the Asus and this notebook are as follows. The Asus is a square, flat, brushed metal finish while the HP has an elegant curved style with a design etched into it...win: HP. The Asus weighs 3.75lbs and has slightly longer battery life, the HP weighs 4.2lbs....win: Asus. Both with 1.3 Ghz dual core processors (although Asus is Intel C2D, HP is AMD X2 K325), both have 4ghz RAM, both have full versions of Win7 Home 64-bit, both have 13.3" LED LCDs...tie. Unexpectedly, the HP has a marginally faster 320gb 7200rpm HDD, the Asus a larger 5400rpm 500gb...winner=your choice.
Functionality of the notebook is great, as long as you're not trying to do processor-intensive tasks. Nice clear, bright screen. Boots up quickly, and the initial screen gives you a choice of a proprietary Linux-like web browser-email-picture viewer-music-video player OR Win7. The 4gb ram allows quite a bit of multitasking without a noticable decline in performance. I notice no difference in speed between the two notebooks, and they both work great for word processing, web brousing, and playing video and music. I've loaded the FREE Microsoft Security Essentials, and it does not seem to slow down the machine at all. (Unlike some other resource hungry anti-virus-spyware program suites.) Chicklet keyboard is typical of this style (I prefer a regular keyboard) and the touchpad is easy to use. None of these UltraLights have DVD drives, so if you need one figure that into the price if you need one. It is helpful to have one because you should either make a set of restore DVDs from the factory HDD, or you can use a (very large) USB drive.
Overall a fine computer with exceptional design and finish. Recommended.

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HP Pavilion dm3-2010us Notebook PC. Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit; VISION Technology from AMD with AMD Athlon II Neo Dual-Core Processor K325; 1.30GHz; 2MB L2 Cache; Up to 2.0GT/s system bus running at AC/DC mode 18 watt; 4GB DDR3 System Memory (2 DIMM) Max supported = 8GB; 2 Accessible Memory Slots; ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4225 Graphics with 128MB Display Cache Memory with 128MB GDDR3 (sidepart memory) with up to 2046MB total graphics memory; 320GB (7200RPM) Hard Drive (SATA); Brushed aluminum finish with the stream design in argento; HP TruVision Webcam with integrated digital microphone; 13.3 diagonal High-Definition HP BrightView LED Display (1366 x 768); Integrated 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet LAN (RJ-45 connector).

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