HP Mini 311 Review : Windows 7 Home, Nvidia Ion from Verizon
Latest news is that the Samsung GO will find itself in AT&T’s list of subsidized netbooks. The HP Mini 311 has been added to the list of Verizon’s subsidized netbooks, and while we’ve already reviewed the HP Mini 311 with Nvidia with Windows XP, we’ve yet to see how the HP Mini 311 with Nvidia Ion AND Windows 7 Premium from Verizon Wireless, selling at $199.00 + a two-year contract, can hold it up against other netbooks.
Rating: 
Features and Drawbacks
- Bigger screen than other subsidized netbooks – Wireless carriers mostly offer 10″ netbooks for a fraction of the regular price. The Mini 311 is an 11.6″ netbook with 1366 x 768 resolution, which makes web pages very viewable without the need for scrolling.
- Comfortable, classy silver keyboard and touchpad – It’s very comfortable typing on the HP Mini 311’s keyboard and they dip slightly to the middle to make room for your fingertips. The touchpad is okay, and the mouse buttons are decent and easy to press.
- RAM Upgrade and Nvidia Ion LE GPU – The Windows 7 Home version has 2GB of RAM and the Nvidia Ion LE GPU. Powered by Windows 7, you can definitely see how much better this netbook’s performance is than average. It’s faster, and can perform tasks without a sweat even if it still uses an Intel Atom N270. Downloading games while writing a review and having several tabs on two Firefox browsers open didn’t seem like work at all.
- Mostly good feedback from Verizon Wireless users – Like every wireless user in every different part of the globe, your connection depends on the wireless carrier. Speed tests on Verizon (via speedtest.net), show very good results. You can also get online in little more than 10 seconds, and load pages, even multi-media or image-heavy pages, in less time as well. If you’re really going to get a data plan, I recommend the $59.99/mo from Verizon which is their 5GB plan. It would take you less time to reach 5GB than their cheaper 250MB at $39.99 plan, and if you go over the limit, you’ll only get charged 5 cents per MB (as opposed to 10 cents/MB with the 250MB plan).
- Disappointing Battery Life – Windows 7 users are noticing that their machines eat up more battery life than when they were running Windows XP. Of course, even with XP, the Mini 311 still runs about an hour and a half less than an average 6-cell netbook on a single charge. A 6-cell battery on the Mini 311 with Windows 7 will run a little under 5 hours with WiFi on, around fity minutes to an hour less than a 6-cell battery on a Mini 311 with XP. With 3G, battery life runs even shorter at 3 hours and 45 minutes, give and take a few.
Rating – 6.5
Value for Money – 1 (Again, think twice about getting it with the service)
Speed and Performance – 1
Screen – 1
Keyboard – 1
Portability & Battery Life – 0.5
Looks and Design – 1
Extensibility & connectivity – 1
Technical Specifications
- Processor – 1.6 GHz N270 / 1.66GHz N280
- Graphics – Nvidia Ion LE
- OS – Windows 7 Home Premium
- Memory – 2GB (Upgradeable to 3GB)
- Storage – 160GB HDD
- Display –11.6″ (1366 x 768)
- Connectivity – 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 2.1, 3G
- Ports –VGA, HDMI, 5-in-1 card reader, 3 USB ports
- Battery – 6 cell
- Dimensions – 11.4″ x 8.03″ x 1.3″
- Weight – 3.2lbs
Bottomline
Like I always say, rule of thumb when getting a netbook through a wireless carrier is that if you were really planning to get the wireless service, then go for it. But if you just want to get a netbook, you’re better off getting a netbook from Amazon at the regular price than letting yourself be seduced by the discounted price of so-and-so $$$ and ending up paying more an arm and a leg for the netbook and wireless service you might not even need for the next two years.
If you’re set on getting yourself an HP Mini 311 but still having second thoughts about the data plan, you can check out Amazon. They have the HP Mini 311-1030NR with Windows XP sans Nvidia Ion though, for $452.00 $329.00. The HP Mini 311-1000NR is also available for $449.99 $399.99.
Both netbooks are, of course, also available from the HP Store. The Mini 311-1000NR is $399.99 (with Windows XP), and the HP Mini 311-1025NR is $499.99. The latter with Windows 7 Home Premium and Nvidia ION graphics.
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Filed under: HP Mini Note, Windows 7 Netbook
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I received one of the first Mini 311 with Windows 7. It is a great device. In the BIOS I changed the fan setting so that it does not run 100% of the time and I eliminated gadgets. The gadgets were constantly using CPU and I believe draining the battery. I still do not achieve the battery life that I had hoped for. For example, the battery will not last long enough to watch a movie, etc on a flight from Atlanta to LA. I bought a second battery.
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