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Can an ultrathin notebook be sophisticated, simple, and not cost an arm and a leg? After using the new HP Pavilion dv2 for a few months, I would say, “yes”. Since I did my first blog on it back in January I even found some new tricks with the HP dv2. I was also amazed at how many ways the dv2 exceeded some of the specifications outlined in my “My Perfect Mini-Notebook”. Finally, I was surprised how much more I could do with the dv2 when compared to some of the pricey $2,000 ultraportables.
HP dv2 (.9" thin) next to BlackBerry Bold
For The Record
I have a mixed family of systems from many manufacturers. I use these to help with my day job. (No, I don’t blog or tweet for a living. J ) I also want to say that I have been immensely impressed with many of those $2,000 ultraportables on certain usage models like basic couch web surfing, writing emails, and social media sites. Finally, I am not a mainstream user; I am a media geek and a mid-range gamer. I do many things most non-geeks won’t do.
HD Video
- Blu-ray: My dv2 came with the optional Blu-ray drive. It’s simple; plug the drive into one of the 3 USB ports, pop in a movie, the HP player pops up, and watch it. Some of the pricey ultraportables don’t even support Blu-ray or come at an immense price adder.
Blu-ray drive next to a Blu-ray case
- HD video off hard drive: I wrote earlier on the fun and implications of the new breed of inexpensive HD palmcorders. Whether it’s the Kodak Zi6 or the Flip Mino HD, which capture video at 720P, or the Sony Webbie, which captures video at 1080, I can play these files back flawlessly on my dv2.* I use Cyberlink 8 playback these files and my CPU utilization is around 35%. In my personal experience at home with one of my ultraportables, CPU utilization sometimes ran as high as 75%.
Inexpensive HD Palmcorders at 720P or 1080P under $200
TV Connection
- Single HDMI cable: I connected my dv2 to my TV and got digital video and digital audio. Why? My family and I like to watch Blu-ray movies and Hulu together on a 60″ display, not 12″. Many advanced users are doing this today and our research says more and more people are doing this. Why? It’s one cable and they can get content on their PC they can’t get on their TV. Many of the current HDTV models even feature an HDMI port on the side panel to facilitate this usage model.
HP dv2's HDMI port for one cable digital video and audio
To accomplish this on some of the pricey ultraportables, a user could be required to buy additional cables and adapters, increasing cost and difficulty to setup. Would your wife prefer one cable or five cables in the living room?
Real Games
- ATI Radeon TM HD 3410 graphics: It’s generally understood that typical netbooks cannot play “real” J games well, and some say they aren’t intended to. The dv2 can because it has discrete graphics that you might expect to find in a larger, more expensive notebook. Not only could I play mainstream games well like WOW and Spore, but I could also play first-person-shooter PC games like Left 4 Dead and Call of Duty 4, albeit at lower settings than I could on an ATI RadeonTM HD 4000 Series card. The fact that I can even play these games is impressive. Some of the pricey ultraportables have Intel integrated graphics that may struggle to effectively play real games at a level I prefer to play. Ian McNaughton will be covering gaming and the dv2 in depth in a later blog.
3G Connectivity
- Integrated 3G: My HP dv2 came with 3G support capabilities, built-in! All I needed to do was remove the battery, plug in my AT&T SIM card, run HP connection manager to authorize my card (one click) with AT&T, and I was surfing in my car (while my wife was driving, of course). Alternatively, with some of these pricey ultraportables, I needed to plug in a relatively large external dongle into the side USB port.
HP dv2's Built-in 3G
The alternative 3 G dongle, NOT Built-In
Memory Card Connectivity
- SD card: The dv2 has a built-in memory card slot for devices like digital cameras and video cameras. It supports SD, MMC, MS/Pro, and xD. I take my pictures and videos, pull out the SD card from my digital still camera or video camera, and transfer it to the dv2. With some of the pricey ultraportables, you might need to buy an external SD card reader. By providing a built-in card reader at no extra cost, the dv2 may be able to save you time and money.
HP dv2's built-in memory reader
I like my expensive ultraportable for basic couch web surfing, writing emails, and social media sites. For more sophisticated tasks, I prefer my HP dv2 ultrathin notebook over my expensive ultraportable. It’s sophisticated in that it I can play HD videos and Blu-ray movies, play “real” games, and connect with 3G, yet it is simple enough to quickly connect what I want, when I want it, helping me save me time, hassle and even money. Oh yeah, and did I mention that you may even be able to buy two HP dv2’s and some Blu-ray movies for the price of one of those expensive ultraportables?
* Standard HP dv2 screen resolution is 1280 x 800; 1080p playback is possible when connected to an external 1080p display.
(4.43 out of 5)
#1 by Cliff Forster - April 13th, 2009 at 13:52
When you consider how much greater the total experience is on this platform, its really not that hard to justify the extra couple hundred dollars over a netbook.
To me, a netbook is a year to year replacement platform with its underpowered guts, it gets you from A to B now, but a year from now, you likely to be left wanting more. The netbooks lack of multimedia muscle has kept me from taking the leap with everyone else. The DV2 looks like my answer.
To me, visual content matters, and this platform looks like it is geared to generate much more of it than any netbook can. That being said, its also a platform that looks geared to last a couple of years longer, really making it easy to justify the extra couple hundred dollars when compared to an underpowered netbook that your just going to want to replace this time next year.
I can’t wait to get my hands on the dv2. It looks like everything I want in an ultraportable.
#2 by Patrick Moorhead - April 13th, 2009 at 21:09
@Cliff Forster, Cliff, thanks for the positive feedback on this. We think Yukon and Congo will help create the new “ultrathin” market, right i the middle of the netbook and pricey ultraportable market.
#3 by wpeltola - April 13th, 2009 at 14:09
Yet more great info on the HP dv2. Every time I read about this unit, I get more excited!
While I’m a network and security admin during the day, I’m a PC gamer in the evening. Hearing that this ultrathin has the ability to play some games, has a ton of features along with a proven battery life AND costs less than 1K really peaks my interest.
This sounds like the portable I have been looking for!
#4 by Patrick Moorhead - April 13th, 2009 at 21:25
@wpeltola, William, thanks for the great comments. The dv2 does make a great 12″ display, <1" thick, <4lbs ultrathin for games, if you are more familiar with a more powerful fragbox or portable desktop for hi-res, stick with that for the LAN parties.
With that said, notebookreviews.com ran some 3DMark scores versus netbooks and showed the dv2 scoring over 10X, yes 10X the closest all-Intel Atom+Intel graphics netbook solution.
http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=4963&review=hp+pavilion+dv2
Ian McNaughton will be posting more info on games in his dv2 blog this week.
#5 by Robert Hallock - April 13th, 2009 at 14:19
Hello, gentlemen. Familiar crowd here.
First and foremost, I was surprised with the dimensions of the DV2. When I first saw the product making the rumor mill last winter, all the Mr. Blurrycam images contained the notebook by itself which gave no sense of perspective. I’m pleased to see how small this notebook really is now that it’s been placed side-by-side with a DVD case.
I am also impressed with the hardware. I’m a geek, and I know performance when I see it, and the dv2 clearly has it. 1080p, integrated WWAN, L4D-capable video, and a solid chip (Sooo… What can you tell me about Conesus?): This smells like a recipe for success.
Now my sticking point. I earnestly think that the $750 price is too high. It’s probably too much to ask for $500, but even $600 would sit much better with me. I understand there are limitations given the increasing cost of decreasing size, but can’t a nerd dream?
Good show, AMD.
#6 by Patrick Moorhead - April 13th, 2009 at 21:14
@Robert Hallock, Thanks @thracks! Interesting, if you go and try and configure a 12″ netbook with 4GB RAM, 320GB HDD, external DVD-RW, you won’t be paying that much more. For $749 on the dv2, you are getting a PC-class CPU and discrete graphics to boot!
#7 by Franzius - April 15th, 2009 at 01:53
@Patrick.
Great notebook. Been watching it since the announcement and been doing some evangelizing in my circles. Is this platform an exclusive to HP? I would like to see what the other manufacturers can come up with.
@Robert Hallock.
Robert, the unit next to the Blu-Ray case is not the DV2, rather it is the Blu-Ray add-on unit for the DV2.
Franzius
#8 by Patrick Moorhead - April 20th, 2009 at 10:59
@Franzius, Sorry for the delay. I missed this comment. I am sure that more vendors will come out with AMD-based ultrathins in the future.
#9 by Surya - April 21st, 2009 at 17:12
Wow, this thin notebook is a great deal for my next AMD notebook. I have been used my AMD Turion X2 powered notebook for a year now and thinking for new notebook. I’m considered to buy this that could substitutes my old Turion.
I’m wondering since AMD is a platform company what is the next platform will become. I just want a laptop with wireless smartcard devices so I can connect to my bank or buy online securely without debt first using credit card. And, I want my next AMD powered will be equipped with DTV Tuner, Wireless LAN, Wireless USB, Bluetooth and 3G/WIMAX. I think the future Internet connection will be free and subsidized with online commerce that combined with digital TV.
#10 by Patrick Moorhead - April 28th, 2009 at 17:03
@Surya, Surya, thank you for the comment. the next platform is called “Congo” and it will take AMD’s ultrathin roadmap to the next level with dual core and some more advanced graphics technology. Congo will be available 2H09.
#11 by Lefteris Tsolakis - April 29th, 2009 at 07:34
Hi there!
Great product!!!
I have scrumbled my head again and again over the acquisiton of a netbook over the last year, but they all seem to miss a lot of fun being unable to handle HD video and basic gaming.
This package is a well-thought solution and I guess it will answer a lot of prayers. It sure covers my wish for an ultraportable media player and a notebook in one!
Pricewise, I have to nag. In the US the unit comes better equiped (memory, battery, HDD) at a lower price than Europe…
Availability is another thing. The unit has been announced in April and suppliers still have no clue about it. Even HP Europe will ship the unit in 4 weeks!!!
Other than that I am eager to get hold of my Dv2 asap!
Keep up the good work guys, thanx for listening!
#12 by Anoop K - August 20th, 2009 at 06:07
Impressed with the specs of the dv2. but when will AMD/HP release “Congo” platform in India?