By Chris Chang, posted Feb 18, 2010 at 2:13 AM, 1,015 views,

HP Mini 5101 Knockoff for a Bigger Display

HP mini netbooks have tempting design and better specs than any competitors out there. The HP mini 5101/5102 is one beautiful netbook for a businessman. The knockoff makers are attracted to it and now they made an identical one with bigger display, cheaper price.

Price and Configuration

The original HP mini 5101 cost about $380 and this knock-off is just $2000 RMB (about $295). It’s packed with Intel Atom N450 processor (1.66GHz), 1GB RAM, 160GB HDD, 4-Cell battery (could last for 120 minutes with Wi-Fi on) and 11.6-inch screen (1366×768). Compared with the original, it’s just cheaper.

Look and Feel

At first sight, I was impressed with its brushed aluminum finish. Other than that, the island-style (or chiclet) keyboard is really cool. The 11.6-inch display is just the right size, since those 10-inch screens are really bothering me and I’m sick of them.

I’m happy to have a 95% real-size keyboard for typing documents here and there, and the shortcut buttons (located on top of the keyboard) just make my geeky life more easier. It’s just the same as the original 5101.

You get 3 USBs, VGA output, SD-card slot, Ethernet, and audio/mic ports. Same as any netbooks out there.

The glossy display is just stunning. It’s LED-backlit with an aspect ratio of 16:9. The color is perfect and there are 5 levels of brightness for you to adjust.

You can access the hard drive, RAM, and wireless card by unscrewing the screws on the back cover. It’s easy to perform any upgrades.

As a bonus, the knockoff makers let you to insert your SIM card into this knock-off to surf the net by using 3G. It’s rare to see this on knock-offs.

More Shots

One more thing, it’s also available in a craaaaazy new color, red!