My Review of Vivienne Tam HP Mini 1000

When I said ‘these days it’s all about mobility’ back in January, I had no idea just how much mobility I was about to experience. In January I received the Vivienne Tam edition of the HP Mini 1000 for review. I had never done a computer review before, so wasn’t sure how to determine if a computer was useful in a few days, so I went about integrating it in my daily life.

In the month of February, I started off in Paris, went home for a few weeks in Frankfurt (Germany) went to New York, then London, then back to Paris, and made it home in March. Never in my life had I had such an intense travel schedule, and never in my life had I been so tied to the internet…where surviving without a computer was impossible. For my trips to Paris and London I only brought the VT Mini, and in New York I brought both my computers. I have to say that the VT Mini made it easier to travel.

The Pros

It’s small. Fits in a clutch… literally, I tried it. But honestly I’d use it only in a regular handbag.  It weighs 2.5 pounds (1 kilo)  so even a weakling like myself can schlep it around.

This little computer has a lot of  curb side appeal. Any time I took it out I’d get some stranger complimenting the computer, stopping and looking at it, even when I went through the security check both the male and female security officers stopped and ogled it… ‘this is a computer?’ ‘where did you get it?’ ‘ohh pretty’ I teach part time, and when I brought it in my class, instead of my regular computer, my class had thought it to be a pencil case and was surprised it was a computer. It’s sleek, it’s shiny… beautiful. The peony pattern on it is based off Vivienne Tam’s current collection, so if you can even get a matching dress.

It’s a powerful machine. With 1GB RAM and 80GB memory you can do a lot with this. I’m not Windows user, so fumbling around in the operating system was tricky for me. But it was able to handle all the image importing I did. While it was  hard to work on images due to the screen size (even a 13′ monitor is pushing it) it was achievable. I had installed GIMP the open source photo editing software instead of Photoshop (because I don’t have a license) and decided I don’t like GIMP… or it’s going to take a while to get used to it. ANYWAY before I digress, handling the images aside from awkward software was good. Yesterday, I had to import a bunch of photos and for some reason my Mac wasn’t having it, and then I tried the VT mini and it worked. It was able to read 3000 images off a card no problem.

Blogging is possible. Probably the most mobile and comfortable way to blog without the every day computer. Click this link for a sample post I did with the mini. Now if internet cafes were easier to find.

The keyboard is almost as big as a full size keyboard… and big enough to type comfortably.

The screen is small (duh) but it’s browsable. I found the F11 key to be very useful, it hides the navigation bar in the browser. The screen also has this handy privacy feature where you can only see the screen properly if you are directly in front of it. Nosy neighbors, no thank you. I had no problem running internet browsers, Filezilla, GIMP was tricky due to all the windows, but manageable. And  I was able to browse photos in the finder (what do you call the PC finder?).

The speakers are built into the hinge of the machine. See the silver hinge? That’s the speaker, and it’s pretty loud, enough to hear from 10 feet away, if necessary.

The Cons

It’s shiny. I know, listed it as a ‘pro’ but the shininess has a dark side. The shiny surface of the keyboard makes it kind of slippery and if I type (which I will) it leaves fingerprints. And my fingers slide off the keys. I make a lot of typos as it is, an this is really frustrating.  Also I don’t know why computer makers sell the shiny screen,  it sucks. I want to see the screen, not a reflection of myself. The only time it doesn’t have a reflection is if I’m in a dark room, which leads me to my next point.

The keyboard is too smooth. I can’t really feel where the keys are, something I never thought about before until I tried typing in a dark room. It might help to have some kind of back light feature so the keys are at least visible, but it doesnt. I ended up angling the computer to light up the keyboard, which didn’t help because I needed to see the screen. So I turned on the light, and woke up my boyfriend. Heh.

The webcam is too dark, but I think they are fixing that. New models will probably have it fixed.

I still haven’t figured out how to get out of sleep mode. I think it’s one switch, but sometimes it will wake up, then go back to sleep. It might be just me.

While this machine has a lot of curbside appeal… I’m not sure if it sends a sophisticated message. While I’m glad it’s not pink… It’s plastic, it’s got flowers on it, the ad campaign is really cartoony. I have a mall girl accent, I dress somewhat unconventionally but when it’s time to get serious, I get serious. I’m not sure if I would take the VT mini on a business meeting. I’d certainly to a cafe with it, and take it with me to fashion week, go traveling with it…  the mini just doesn’t send a ‘take me seriously’ message, unfortunately, a battle a lot of women have a hard enough time with (myself very much included).

Would I buy it?

Yes and no. Yes, because it’s a great computer for the money. It’s pretty, it’s powerful, it makes my life easier. I really loved it when I was on the road. And when I’m home, it’s great to have. Rocky’s parents are currently using it to check their emails while they are visiting us. They like it. And I am able to properly  blog with it.

With the exchange rate, I think you can actually get it cheaper in Europe but in the US it’s at a good price.

The only reason I wouldn’t buy it, is because I use a Mac. But that’s the only reason.

A more detailed tech review on notebooks.com and Vivienne Tam Mini on HP.com and to see more photos visit my flickr set.