Product Review of the Top Selling HP Pavilion DV2410US 14" Laptop

Notebooks that are light weight and compact have always been the most popular and often demanded a premium. Recently HP has released a number of highly mobile 14" notebooks at a reasonable price. As a result these notebooks have become wildly popular and difficult to keep in stock. I've been lucky enough to get my hands on the HP Pavilion DV2410US. I'm going to give it a quick review and let you know how well it performs for me and what kind of consumer will get the most out of a purchase.

Hardware:

Processor: 1.8 GHz AMD Turion 64 X2 TL-56

Storage Space: 160 GB hard drive

RAM: 1 GB installed RAM (Further expandable to a 2 GB maximum)

Optical Drive: a CD R/RW with an integrated LightScribe dual-layer DVD +/- burner

Graphics Accelerator: Nvidia GeForce Go 6150 video card (using up to 287 MB shared video RAM)

Dimensions: 13.15 x 9.33 x 1.54 inches and weighs 5.4 pounds.

The 14" LCD display is exceptional for such a small unit. The screen is crisp and bright with a glossy, glare resistant finish. The bezel comes covered with a high glossy Asian inspired Zen wave imprint. I think it looks alright, and a nice departure from the typical gray and silver that is the usual style. I would just be sure to see one of these notebooks in person to ensure that this design is in line with your personal tastes.

The notebook has good performance out of the 1.8GHz AMD. It is held back by the RAM, it desperately needs more, 1GB isn't enough to take full advantage of and operate Vista smoothly. The hard drive is also a little on the smaller end. The video card is alright, but thanks to the lack of RAM and shared memory I wouldn't expect to do much in the way of computer game playing on this notebook.

Connectivity:

Integrated Wireless

1 Ethernet port (This is used to connect this notebook to wired LANs)

3 2.0 USB ports (The gold standard in peripheral connectivity use with the likes of scanners, keyboards, printers, and iPods)

1 FireWire port (these ports are used for high speed data transfer typically between digital camcorders or other compatible PCs)

1 VGA port (this is a typical monitor connection)

1 S-Video port (this is used as a typical projector connection, and sometimes a compatible TV)

1 ExpressCard slot (to add temporary hardware like a Bluetooth adapter or cellular modem)

1 audio out / 1 microphone in

5 in 1 memory card reader (these slots allow users to directly insert the memory from their mobile devices into the laptop)

The connectivity is very standard on this notebook. The notebook I took home is missing Bluetooth capabilities; however this can be remedied by adding a Bluetooth adapter for about $40. However when you add that in with the price of a RAM upgrade the current average retail price of $920 is a little high for the performance you get.

In the end it is small enough to make those with mobility as a priority happy. I wouldn't recommend this for individuals that need to do a lot of high end computing - like graphics / video editing, or enjoy high end gaming. Students that need to take a notebook to class, or a professional that needs mobility - this is for you.