HP 13-inch laptops bring on aluminum and affordability

(Credit: HP)

As we gear up for Windows 7, manufacturers are lining up their latest updated models to catch your consumer eye. HP's newest 13-inch laptops, the HP ProBook 5310m and HP Pavilion dm3, both toss in fancy aluminum frames, but with different internal stories. The ProBook 5310m has a 2.2 GHz Core 2 Duo processor or 1.2 GHz Celeron ULV under its hood, while the Pavilion dm3 has a new dual-core AMD Neo X2 (or if you choose, an Intel Pentium SU4100 ULV) running the show.

The ProBook's looks feature an anodized aluminum chassis, a raised keyboard, and .93 inch of thinness. The Pavilion dm3 is a slightly thicker machine, but then again, it's also more affordable. And it has a fancy metal case, too. The ProBook 5310m starts at $699, while the Pavilion dm3 starts at $549. HP claims 7 and 10 hours battery life, respectively, for the duo of 13-inchers. Both come preinstalled with Windows 7.

(Credit: HP)

HP Pavilion DM3
• 13.3-inch LED 1,366x768 display
• 1.6 GHz AMD Neo X2 or 1.3 GHz Intel Pentium SU4100
• 4GB DDR2 RAM (for the Neo) or 4GB DDR3 (Pentium)
• ATI Radeon HD 3200 graphics (Neo) or Intel GMA 4500MHD (Pentium)
• 320GB, 7200rpm HDD (Neo) or 500GB, 7200rpm HDD (Pentium)
• 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth
• Altec Lansing speakers
• 4 USB 2.0, HDMI
• CD/DVD drive
• 4.21 pounds

(Credit: HP)

HP ProBook 5310m
• 13.3-inch LED 1366x768 display
• 2.26 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo SP9300 or 1.2 GHz Intel Celeron SU2300
• Intel GMA 4500MHD
• Up to 4GB DDR2 RAM
• Up to 320GB 7200rpm HDD
• 3 USB 2.0, DisplayPort
• 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth
• QuickWeb and QuickLook instant-launch web and email browser
• 3.79 pounds

[Someone-else]

A 1.3Ghz CPU is a huge bottleneck for 4Gb RAM and a HD3200, if it used a Core 2 Duo or an Athlon, it'd be much better.

[ohsowise]

Release date?

[drara07]

Instead of releasing new laptops, HP needs to improve its Support Service. The HP "total care" support is more like "total dont care"

[hafenbrack]

I have had a minor issue and one major issue with my HP laptop ( the hinge was breaking after only 1 year of normal use). After I contacted them they immediataly responded, sent me a box to overnight my laptop to them and I received the laptop repaired 2 days later. I coulnd't have asked for better service.

[arburg]

We had an intermittent problem with our keyboard on our laptop. It took 5 calls to HP before they finally agreed to send us a box to return it for repairs. And that only after we insisted on talking to a supervisor. Very, very, frustrating experience. On the good side, the repair tech did confirm the problem, replaced the keyboard and returned it very quickly.

[cdtphilpot]

I had a $1400 HP laptop and 4 things broke on it in 8 months and the last time it came back to me it had a huge gouge in the casing that wasn't there when I sent it in. I called HP on it and they said "We're not responsible for that" Both Dell and HP have horrible customer service!

[jayj3000]

the probook 5310 is REALLY attractive

[csoccer1]

are these photos inverted or something? cause i hope they really didn't make everything shine and be unreadable like that.