The Perfect Computing Solution for Students or Mobile Workers (And a Giveaway)

Post by David Pierce. Find me on Twitter.

She wins at computers. And so can you!

As I’ve mentioned a few times before, The 2.0 Life is working with 24 awesome blogs, participating in the HP Better Together: Back to School Giveaway. HP and Microsoft have teamed up with Ivy Worldwide to let us give away two HP Windows computers, some awesome software, and a fantastic bag from Timbuk2. For more giveaway details, check out the Better Together site.

The two computers are a big ol’ notebook (the HP dv6), and a light, long-lasting netbook (the HP Mini 110). The bag is a Hemlock from Timbuk2.

The contest will be running here from August 29-September 2. Mark your calendars, people. The giveaway won’t be difficult or involve (much) heavy-lifting, I promise.

But before we get to the giveaway, here’s a bit about what I’ve got in store for you. I’ve had the same bundle you can win (well, not the same ones, but you know) for about a month now, and have put them through their paces.

(Note: I will never, EVER, review something falsely, or accept money or stuff in exchange for a positive review. If I’m given a product to try and it sucks, I’ll tell you it sucks. Or I’ll ignore it. My writing is my opinion, and is based on nothing but my experience with a product, and whether or not I think it’ll be useful to you all. I promise.)

HP dv6

hp-dv6

(Intel Core 2 Duo P7350, Windows Vista Ultimate 64 bit, 4GB RAM, 500GB SATA HDD, BluRay ROM SuperMulti with LightScribe, HP webcam, integrated fingerprint reader, WiFi 802.11 a/g/n, 16” display (1366×768 pixels), ATI Mobility Radeon HD4650 Graphics, Altec Lansing built-in speakers).

First things first for the dv6: this computer is gorgeous. It’s got a huge, HD display, a full keyboard (complete with the right-side number pad – a nice touch). It opened up, booted right up, and got started immediately. It’s running Windows Vista, but is more than capable of dealing with Windows 7 when it comes out.

Since Windows is Windows, and we’ve all used it, I’ll leave that part out of the review. Instead, here are a few of the things I loved about the computer: it has fingerprint ID, which is more cool than useful, but still makes me feel like James Bond. It’s got a Blu-Ray player, which looks absolutely incredible on the huge screen.

The computer has a veritable ton of jacks and outlets – VGA, HDMI, and all that jazz. There are plenty of USB ports, and all in all it makes a great media-centric PC. It’s got all the outlets and plugs on the sides of the computer, rather than in the back – for me, mostly a Mac user, this is a great touch.

There’s also the “Media Smart” software, which is a great way to watch movies and listen to music. The computer comes with a remote, so you can use your computer as a TV/sound system, and control it all through Media Smart and the remote.

The rest of the hardware is good stuff – an impressive, built-in webcam, touch-sensitive volume controls, one-click WiFi toggling, and TWO headphone jacks. Believe it or not, that’s been my favorite thing about this computer, and the thing I most applaud HP for thinking about.

The dv6 also comes with some great function key (the little “fn” next to the Windows key) stuff – you can control music and screen brightness, put the computer to sleep, and even lock it, all by hitting fn + one of the f keys. And, the winner for the most niggling thing I loved – the delete key is directly above the backspace key. Which is AWESOME. The keyboard is huge, roomy, easy to type on, and has that awesome numberpad.

A few things I didn’t love: the dv6 comes with a weird, recessed, almost sticky trackpad that was a little weird to use at first. It also comes with a LOT of preinstalled HP software, most of which you don’t need – it’s all easy to remove or prevent from starting, but I’d rather it just not be there. Plus, there’s Norton Antivirus, constantly nagging you to register.

This computer’s a powerhouse. It’s the part of HP’s system that’s supposed to be your main machine, the one where you do heavy lifting. It did great with everything from Photoshop to 3D gaming, and handled an absurd amount of my daily multi-tasking. It’s a large, heavy machine, and not one you’d want to carry around with you, but it’s a perfect and capable desk-based machine, with the addition of portability if you want it.

But for portability, which is so important both to students and mobile professionals, there’s the HP Mini 110.

HP Mini 110

(Intel Atom 270, Windows XP Home Edition SP3, 1GB RAM, 10.1” display (1024×576 pixels), 160GB SATA HDD, HP webcam, WiFi 802.11b/g, 6 cell battery).

The Mini 110 is so small and so light it felt like the box was empty. I pulled it out, and it looks like a tiny child of the dv6 – which it kind of is. But it’s for an entirely different purpose, and it handles it beautifully.

The Mini runs Windows XP, and is intended to do two things: do basic things like Word processing and Web browsing, and last FOREVER. Check, and check.

You can’t use Photoshop, or game, on the Mini – but that’s what the dv6 is for. The Mini is for taking to class or a coffee shop to get some work done, or take notes. It handled Microsoft Office fine, but I wouldn’t try anything more intense than that.

First, the good: with normal use (aka not paying attention to the battery), I got between four and five hours out of this computer. That’s fantastic, and much longer than most other laptops will last. The battery on the computer sticks out of the back, propping the computer up a bit – some people didn’t like it, but I did, because it puts the computer at a more natural angle for your fingers.

It’s got three USB ports, a VGA port, a headphone jack, Ethernet jack, and a card reader. And that’s it. No CD drive (not that anyone uses those anymore…), no HDMI, nothing like that. But that’s not the point. Those things were sacrificed to make the computer run slimmer, longer, and simpler – and it does.

But as with the dv6, it’s not all rainbows and sunshine. The Mini’s keyboard is significantly smaller than a normal keyboard, and there was a sizeable learning curve in using it – I still can’t really touch-type. The trackpad is similarly small, and the two buttons are on the right and left sides, rather than underneath. I actually like the location, but it did take some getting used to.

There’s a webcam, but its quality is awful. It’s okay in a pinch, but really not up to par with the dv6.

A netbook, though, should do two things. It should do the basics (Web browsing, word processing, play music), and it should do them for an awfully long time. And the Mini’s got that down.

Plus, with the awesome Syncables software, it does a third great thing: stay constantly in sync with the dv6, and any other computer you use.

Syncables

I reviewed Syncables the other day – so check it out. Moral of the story, though, is that Syncables is the single best solution I’ve ever come across for keeping computers in sync. Other things sync files, but Syncables syncs everything (Settings, bookmarks, etc.), making it so that your workflow never gets interrupted, regardless of what machine you’re using.

And with the awesome Hemlock bag from Timbuk2, you can even bring them all along.

Timbuk2 Hemlock

There’s not a whole lot to say about a bag because, well, it’s a bag. It carries all your stuff.

What I love about the Hemlock, though, it’s that it’s equally suited to carrying your computer to class, and carrying your essentials through the Himalayas. It’s an incredibly rugged, light backpack, with a roll-top for wetness protection (I guess). The bag has a “Swing Around” pouch, so you can swing the backpack onto one shoulder, and have easy access to your laptop.

It’s also got space for, like, 21 other laptops, lots of padding for your laptop, a bottle opener (not for your laptop), and just a frightening amount of space. I packed for school this year, and got about 80% of the things I own into the Hemlock. That’s no small feat – I own a lot of seasons of Boy Meets World.

Hp, Timbuk2 and Microsoft have come together to put together this system for college students. You’ve got the big, powerful computer that lives on your desk. You’ve got the mobile, light, forever-lasting netbook for when you’re in class or on the go. And you’ve got a sturdy, awesome-looking bag to carry it all in. That’s pretty hard to beat.

And really, anyone who’s ever in need of a computer somewhere other than their desk should love this idea too.

If you love the idea, check back here (or on Twitter or Facebook) on August 29, where I’ll announce details of the contest. It may or may not involve you telling me how terrific I am.

And until then, check out all your other opportunities to win the same package!