Review of HP Compaq Mini 110

I purchased a HP Compaq Mini 110 this past Christmas season from Best Buy. I kept an eye out for inexpensive mini laptops on sale during the holiday season. Although I had seen several on sale, they would sell out before I could purchase one. The other members of Slick Deals announced a sale for this HP Compaq Mini 110 at Bestbuy.com for under $200. I jumped at the prospect of getting a mini laptop so cheap and purchased it on the spot. I picked it up in the store and was pleasantly surprised at the item I had received. It was so lightweight and portable, I knew that I had made the right decision.

It was incredibly difficult to adjust to the smaller keyboard of a mini laptop rather than a full sized one. It is still difficult for me to write on it, but I imagine all mini laptops are similar when it comes to keyboard size. The computer itself didn't come with a lot of programs, but it had the two essential items I needed: Microsoft Word and Internet Explorer. What I soon discovered is that the ability to pick up a nearby wireless network was incredibly difficult, unlike my regular laptop. The only place I could really pick up a signal was at home where I have Wi-Fi set up. I have had no issues with it being slow when I use it with my home wireless network. However, anywhere else it is painfully slow and not even worth the effort of using the internet. Seeing how there is no CD-ROM on the laptop, I had to use the internet to download programs, so the ability to connect to a wireless network is essential for me.

Unfortunately, the battery life is also quite slim. I had to keep it plugged in while use or else the battery would die within an hour's time. It is also programmed to hibernate all the time to save energy, which can be extremely annoying since it will not return back to normal unless you restart the computer each time it hibernates. After messing around with the settings, I finally got it to stop hibernating, however, this only made the battery die faster if it was not connected. Although there were several things I disliked about the computer, they were all things I could live with. I still prefer my regular laptop, but do find my mini laptop useful in certain situations, such as when I need a second computer to put on YouTube cartoons for the kids or to take a laptop on the go, rather than lug around my large laptop. However, the saddest part of this story is that I accidentally stepped on the thing and now I need to find a screen replacement. Oh well, at least I will get it fixed, someday.